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Russka (novel)

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Russka
First edition (UK)
AuthorEdward Rutherfurd
LanguageEnglish
GenreHistorical novel
PublisherCentury Hutchinson (UK)
Crown Publishers (US)
Publication date
July 1991
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Media typePrint (Hardback & paperback)
Pages704 pp (first edition, hardback)
ISBN978-0-7126-2466-4 (first edition, hardback)
OCLC21293710

Russka is a historical novel by Edward Rutherfurd, published in 1991 by Crown Publishers. It quickly became a New York Times bestseller.[1]

Plot summary

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The narrative spans 1,800 years of Russian history. The families that provide the focus for the story are the Bobrovs, Romanovs, Karpenkos, Suvorins and Popovs. The five families span the main ethnic groups and social levels of the society in this northern empire.

Historical characters encountered through the narrative include Genghis Khan, Ivan the Terrible and his secret police, the westernizing Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, and the Bolsheviks of the twentieth century.

The stories of different characters in those families use actual stories of different Russian families. For example, the peasant family that joins the nobility, because of its business, is based on the Stroganovs. The nobleman who is a friend of Ivan IV of Russia and asks his territory to be part of the Oprichnina is also based on a member of the Stroganovs but at a different period.

Publication details

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References

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  1. ^ "Paperback Best Sellers: December 20, 1992". NYTimes online. 20 December 1992. Retrieved 21 February 2008.