Lost Kingdom

Starred review from August 21, 2017
Plokhy (The Man with the Poison Gun), director of Harvard’s Ukrainian Research Institute, eloquently relates the historical ebbs and flows of Russian nationalism and imperialism. Condensing more than six centuries into 20 well-focused chapters, Plokhy shows how Russia has invented and reinvented itself, beginning with Ivan III, who in the 15th century claimed the title of ruler of “all Rus’ ” upon defeating the Mongol khans. Myth played a major role in establishing the early czars by linking them to the “Scandinavian Rurikid dynasty,” which successfully ruled Kyivan Rus’—territory that roughly includes present-day Western Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine—from 980 to 1240. Plokhy suggests that Russia’s preoccupation with this legacy became a persistent national headache, requiring many refabrications over several centuries and leading to many territorial conflicts. He describes how imperial leaders used these conflicts, as well as language and religion, to dominate other Slavic and non-Slavic peoples and lands. His coverage of the Russian revolution and the Soviet era includes a fascinating chapter on Stalin and the Kyivan myth, and he surveys the post-Soviet resurgence of nationalism. Plokhy’s thorough historical analysis places President Vladimir Putin’s 21st-century foreign policy in a firm historical context. Maps. Agent: Jill Kneerim, Kneerim & Williams Literary.