What Others Are Saying About the Series

“[A]fter watching a series like Chernobyl, The Last Czars is basically like following a dinner at a James Beard Award-winning restaurant with a trip to Taco Bell.” — Dustin Rowles, Pajiba

“Documentary buffs will find it light on information. Costume drama fans will find it a shallow imitation of shows like The Tudors and The Crown. […] In the ‘90s, this could have been a popular stealth softcore porn, but in the age of PornHub, the gratuitous nudity just seems awkward and not especially sexy.” — Brenden Gallagher, The Daily Dot

“Who is the intended audience? People who have never heard of Rasputin? People who have never heard of Russia? If that’s what you want to do, make a Russian imperial Game of Thrones — and make it bloody and mindblowing. Don’t make this.” — Viv Groskop, The Guardian

“[T]he story has been told so often that it has become a fairy tale — a romanticised ghost of historical fact. The mad monk, the haemophiliac son, the weak Tsar, the hysterical Tsarina, the doomed and lovely grand duchesses — we are obsessed with these archetypes, eschewing socio-cultural analysis for overly personalistic narratives that leave no room for new voices, new subplots, that might disrupt the tale we know so well.” — Emily Couch, independent writer

“What’s the point of a history lesson if the historian isn’t upfront about their own biases?” — Karthik Shankar, Thrillist

Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.
Driving Down Russia's Spine

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 
Turgenev Bilingual

Turgenev Bilingual

A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.
Fearful Majesty

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.
Woe From Wit (bilingual)

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.
Jews in Service to the Tsar

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
Okudzhava Bilingual

Okudzhava Bilingual

Poems, songs and autobiographical sketches by Bulat Okudzhava, the king of the Russian bards. 
93 Untranslatable Russian Words

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.
Tolstoy Bilingual

Tolstoy Bilingual

This compact, yet surprisingly broad look at the life and work of Tolstoy spans from one of his earliest stories to one of his last, looking at works that made him famous and others that made him notorious. 
A Taste of Chekhov

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955