Patterns of Russia

Reviews / Votes

From the outset, Robin Milner-Gulland's approach to Russia's extensive continental landmass as the locus for his cultural history of the country is both stimulating and informative . . . The book is excellently produced, generously illustrated, and benefits from a densely textured and elegantly written text which is further enhanced by the author's personal experience of many of the spaces, places and artefacts he so assuredly adduces throughout. * Journal of European Studies * Accessible and informed . . . A series of reflections on the interrelationships between culture, history and place, Patterns of Russia makes no attempt to be comprehensive. It is a surprisingly personal account but nonetheless interesting for that . . . Illustrated throughout by stunning photography and useful maps, this charming book comes highly recommended - it's an ideal demonstration of what Lenin was to so fittingly term "Great Russian national pride." * Morning Star * Despite being well illustrated, this is not a coffee-table book. The author goes out of his way not to be "political", and this for me made a very welcome change from my everyday reading. What happened has happened, is happening and will happen - this is how I read the text - and there is nothing much any of us outsiders can do to alter Russia, either for what we Russophiles might presume to think is for the better, or for what some Russophobes might hope is for the worse. The more Russia changes, the more Russia stays the same . . . Milner-Gulland is well aware of historical myth-making ("mythistory"), of the interconnections between history and geography . . . Over several decades he has travelled widely in Russia, especially in its North, and understands better than most foreigners "what makes Russia Russia". * East-West Review * In Patterns of Russia, other nations and cultural traditions appear sporadically and matter only as much as they contribute to the imperial narrative. But Milner-Gulland creates a portrait, not a photograph of Russia, and it is a lovely portrait. * Slavonic and East European Review * With its beautiful and unusual illustrations, Patterns of Russia sheds light on the historical development of Russian national self-awareness through its art, literature, and architecture. This is not a geography of Russia, nor a history of Russian art or Russian spirituality . . . It is a study rather of the belief-systems and the symbolic dynamic through which the Russian people have formed their identity. * Ann Shukman, writer and translator * Any lively mind will have something to learn from this book. Students will welcome its range and clarity; scholars will find it provocative and illuminating; and the author's vivacious style brings the vast and often unfamiliar cultural world of the early Russian lands within the reach of all interested readers. * Simon Dixon, Sir Bernard Pares Professor of Russian History, University College London *