Against the monumental canvas of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Europe and Russia, Robert K. Massie unfolds the extraordinary story of Peter the Great. A volatile feudal tsar with a taste for barbaric torture; a progressive and enlightened reformer of government and science; a statesman of vision who recreated his country's army and navy and founded St Petersburg as his imperial capital: Peter the Great embodied the greatest strengths and weaknesses...

A study of the marriage of the last Russian tsar and tsarina offers psychological insights into their relationship and covers the Empress's ill health, their relationship with confidante Ania Vyrubova, and their reliance on the infamous Rasputin.

Part One of Sergei Eisenstein's two-part epic chronicling the life of the 16th Century Tsar, Ivan Grozny, is one of film's most artistic and absorbing creations.

The Romanovs were the most successful dynasty of modern times, ruling a sixth of the world's surface for three centuries. How did one family turn a war-ruined principality into the world's greatest empire? And how did they lose it all? This is the intimate story of twenty tsars and tsarinas, some touched by genius, some by madness, but all inspired by holy autocracy and imperial ambition. Simon Sebag Montefiore's chronicle reveals their secret world...

A minor German princess with connections to Swedish royalty, the future Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia began as the handpicked bride of the future Czar. When he ascended the throne, Catherine plotted his overthrow, took power, and began to pull her country out of the dark ages. She led Russia for 30 years, creating an enviable dynasty build on cunning and ruthlessness, in addition to newfound notions of justice, progress, and a centralized...