This is a select bibliography of post World War II English language books (including translations) and journal articles about the history of Russia and its borderlands from the Mongol invasions until 1613. Book entries may have references to reviews published in academic journals or major newspapers when these could be considered helpful.
A brief selection of English translations of primary sources is included. The sections "General Surveys" and "Biographies" contain books; other sections contain both books and journal articles. Book entries have references to journal articles and reviews about them when helpful. Additional bibliographies can be found in many of the book-length works listed below; see Further reading for several book and chapter-length bibliographies. The External links section contains entries for publicly available select bibliographies from universities.
Inclusion criteria
Works included are referenced in the notes or bibliographies of scholarly secondary sources or journals. Included works should either be published by an academic or widely distributed publisher, be authored by a notable subject matter expert as shown by scholarly reviews and have significant scholarly journal reviews about the work. To keep the bibliography length manageable, only items that clearly meet the criteria should be included.
Citation style
This bibliography uses APA style citations. Entries do not use templates. References to reviews and notes for entries do use citation templates. Where books which are only partially related to Russian history are listed, the titles for chapters or sections should be indicated if possible, meaningful, and not excessive.
If a work has been translated into English, the translator should be included and a footnote with appropriate bibliographic information for the original language version should be included.
When listing works with titles or names published with alternative English spellings, the form used in the latest published version should be used and the version and relevant bibliographic information noted if it previously was published or reviewed under a different title.
General works on Russian history which have significant content about this bibliography's timeframe of history.
A limited number of English language translated primary sources referred to in the above works. [b]
Notes on Muscovite Affairs (1549) was a Latin book by Baron Sigismund von Herberstein on the geography, history and customs of the Grand Duchy of Moscow. The book was the main early source of knowledge about Russia in Western Europe.
A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Bulgaria, Kievan Rus', Moldavia and Wallachia, Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. Comparable to Dukes/Grand Dukes, Boyars were second only to the ruling princes, grand princes or tsars from the 10th to the 17th centuries.
Ivan III Vasilyevich, also known as Ivan the Great, was Grand Prince of Moscow and all Russia from 1462 until his death in 1505. Ivan served as the co-ruler and regent for his blind father Vasily II before he officially ascended the throne.
The Principality of Suzdal, from 1157 the Grand Principality of Vladimir, also known as Vladimir-Suzdal, or simply Suzdalia, was a medieval principality that was established during the disintegration of Kievan Rus'. In historiography, the territory of the grand principality and the principalities that emerged from it is commonly denoted as north-east Russia or north-east Rus'.
Ivan Ivanovich or Ioann Ioannovich, also known as Ivan the Young, was the eldest son and heir of Ivan III of Russia from his first marriage to Maria of Tver. In 1471, he was given the title of grand prince by his father and made co-ruler. In 1485, he was given Tver as an appanage.
The Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars were a series of wars between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, allied with the Kingdom of Poland, and the Grand Duchy of Moscow, which was later unified with other Russian principalities to eventually become the Tsardom of Russia. After several defeats at the hands of Ivan III and Vasily III, the Lithuanians were increasingly reliant on Polish aid, which eventually became an important factor in the creation of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Before the first series of wars in the 15th century, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania controlled vast stretches of Eastern European land, from Kiev to Mozhaysk, following the collapse of Kievan Rus' after the Mongol invasions. Over the course of the wars, particularly in the 16th century, the Muscovites expanded their domain westwards, taking control of many principalities.
Tsarist autocracy[a], also called Tsarism, was an autocracy, a form of absolute monarchy localised with the Grand Duchy of Moscow and its successor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire.[b] In it, the Tsar possessed in principle authority and wealth, with more power than constitutional monarchs counterbalanced by legislative authority, as well as a more religious authority than Western monarchs. The institution originated during the time of Ivan III (1462−1505) and was abolished after the Russian Revolution of 1917.
The Principality of Moscow (1263–1389), later the Grand Principality of Moscow (1389–1547), was a medieval Russian principality. Its capital was the city of Moscow.
Tsar is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word caesar, which was intended to mean emperor in the European medieval sense of the term—a ruler with the same rank as a Roman emperor, holding it by the approval of another emperor or a supreme ecclesiastical official—but was usually considered by Western Europeans to be equivalent to "king".
The gathering of the Russian lands or Rus' lands was the process in which new states – usually the Principality of Moscow and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania – acquired former territories of Kievan Rus' from the 14th century onwards, claiming to be its legitimate successor. In Russian historiography, this phenomenon represented the consolidation of a national state centered on Moscow. The sobriquet gatherer of the Russian lands or Rus' Land is also given to the grand princes of Moscow by Russian historians, especially to Ivan III. The term is also used to describe the expansion of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania into Rus' principalities; the Lithuanian grand dukes claimed authority over all territories inhabited by Rus' people. Some historians argue that Lithuania began "gathering Rus' lands" before Muscovy did. The rules of Moscow adopted the title Sovereign of all Russia while the Lithuanian Grand Dukes adopted the title King of the Lithuanians and [many] Ruthenians and later under the Polish–Lithuanian union as King of Poland, Grand Prince of Lithuania, Rus', Prussia, Samogitia, Mazovia and other.
Moscow, third Rome is a theological and political concept asserting Moscow as the successor to ancient Rome, with the Russian world carrying forward the legacy of the Roman Empire. The term "third Rome" refers to a historical topic of debate in European culture: the question of the successor city to the "first Rome" and the "second Rome".
This is a select bibliography of post-World War II English language books and journal articles about the Revolutionary and Civil War era of Russian (Soviet) history. The sections "General surveys" and "Biographies" contain books; other sections contain both books and journal articles. Book entries may have references to reviews published in English language academic journals or major newspapers when these could be considered helpful. Additional bibliographies can be found in many of the book-length works listed below; see Further reading for several book and chapter length bibliographies. The External links section contains entries for publicly available select bibliographies from universities.
This is a select bibliography of post-World War II English-language books and journal articles about Stalinism and the Stalinist era of Soviet history. Book entries have references to journal reviews about them when helpful and available. Additional bibliographies can be found in many of the book-length works listed below.
This is a select bibliography of English language books and journal articles about the post-Stalinist era of Soviet history. A brief selection of English translations of primary sources is included. The sections "General surveys" and "Biographies" contain books; other sections contain both books and journal articles. Book entries have references to journal articles and reviews about them when helpful. Additional bibliographies can be found in many of the book-length works listed below; see Further reading for several book and chapter-length bibliographies. The External links section contains entries for publicly available select bibliographies from universities.
This is a select bibliography of post-World War II English-language books and journal articles about the Early Slavs and Rus' and its borderlands until the Mongol invasions beginning in 1223. Book entries may have references to reviews published in academic journals or major newspapers when these could be considered helpful.
This is a select bibliography of post-World War II English language books and journal articles about the history of Russia and its empire from 1613 until 1917. It specifically excludes topics related to the Russian Revolution. Book entries may have references to reviews published in academic journals or major newspapers when these could be considered helpful.
This is a select bibliography of English-language books and journal articles about the history of Ukraine. Book entries have references to journal reviews about them when helpful and available. Additional bibliographies can be found in many of the book-length works listed below. See the bibliography section for several additional book and chapter-length bibliographies from academic publishers and online bibliographies from historical associations and academic institutions.
This is a select bibliography of English language books and journal articles about the history of Belarus. A brief selection of English translations of primary sources is included. Book entries have references to journal articles and reviews about them when helpful. Additional bibliographies can be found in many of the book-length works listed below. The External links section contains entries for publicly available select bibliographies from universities.
Donald "Don" Gary Ostrowski is an American historian, and a lecturer in history at Harvard Extension School. He specialises in the political and social history Kievan Rus' and Muscovy.
Charles J. Halperin is an American historian specialising in the high and late medieval history of Eastern Europe, particularly the political and military history of late Kievan Rus', the Golden Horde, and early Muscovy. Aside from several monographs, including three on Ivan the Terrible, over 100 articles of Halperin have been published.
Many of the above works contain bibliographies. Included below are a selection of works with large bibliographies related to Russian history.