A magisterial, richly detailed history of the Kremlin, and of the centuries of Russian elites who have shaped it—and been shaped by it in turn The Moscow Kremlin is the heart of the Russian state, a fortress whose blood-red walls have witnessed more than eight hundred years of political drama and extraordinary violence. It has been the seat of a priestly monarchy, a worldly church and the Soviet Union; it has served as a crossroads for diplomacy, trade, and espionage; it has survived earthquakes, devastating fires, and at least three revolutions. Its very name is a byword for enduring power. From Ivan the Terrible to Vladimir Putin, generations of Russian leaders have sought to use the Kremlin to legitimize their vision of statehood. Drawing on a dazzling array of sources from hitherto unseen archives and rare collections, renowned historian Catherine Merridale traces the full history of this enigmatic fortress. The Kremlin has inspired innumerable myths, but no invented tales could be more dramatic than the operatic successions and savage betrayals that took place within its vast compound of palaces and cathedrals. Today, its sumptuous golden crosses and huge electric red stars blaze side by side as the Kremlin fulfills its centuries-old role, linking the country's recent history to its distant past and proclaiming the eternal continuity of the Russian state. More than an absorbing history of Russia's most famous landmark, Red Fortress uses the Kremlin as a unique lens, bringing into focus the evolution of Russia's culture and the meaning of its politics.
WINNER OF THE WOLFSON PRIZE 2013 The extraordinary story of the Kremlin - from prize-winning author and historian Catherine Merridale Both beautiful and profoundly menacing, the Kremlin has dominated Moscow for many centuries. Behind its great red walls and towers many of the most startling events in Russia's history have been acted out. It is both a real place and an imaginative idea; a shorthand for a certain kind of secretive power, but also the heart of a specific Russian authenticity. Catherine Merridale's exceptional book revels in both the drama of the Kremlin and its sheer unexpectedness: an impregnable fortress which has repeatedly been devastated, a symbol of all that is Russian substantially created by Italians. The many inhabitants of the Kremlin have continually reshaped it to accord with shifting ideological needs, with buildings conjured up or demolished to conform with the current ruler's social, spiritual, military or regal priorities. In the process, all have claimed to be the heirs of Russia's great historic destiny.
In the impregnable red fortress, the mysterious leader of the slavers waits, accumulating power. Slavers have been taking children from across the divided world for longer than Nes can remember. While she’s rescued her sibs with the help of her friends Malenie and Paza, her cousins are still missing and most everyone else has given up hope. But Nes has the shaper’s sense. With it, a lock of hair will lead her to its owner and a pebble can become a truth stone. Friends may not let friends hunt slavers alone, but if Nes doesn’t succeed, she will lose not just her family but Malenie and Paza too.
Today, we associate the Red Fort with the view of the Prime Minister proudly unfurling the national flag every year on 15 August on the massive red wall curtain. To children and even most of us, the Red Fort is only this view that is broadcast on television. It is the ubiquitous image often used in marketing as well. Many of us haven’t even bothered to go inside the Fort, and many, including me, satisfied ourselves with our photos taken in front of this wall. This actually is a later addition erected by Shah Jahan’s son Aurangzeb. The Red Fort is much more than this red wall and the platform where the prime minister delivers his speech. In the book, the author attempts to swipe aside the wall and take a deep dive inside the Fort – not just the physical structures but how exactly the planning was done to create a truly complex and artistic palace fortress, to explore the Mughal way of life with their festivals, ceremonies, food and clothing amongst other themes. The beauty of the fort can only be understood and best appreciated from the string of apartments that once lined the river Yamuna on its opposite side. It must have been beautiful indeed to glide down the Yamuna on a boat and appreciate all the buildings that housed the emperor’s private quarters. Now the river has receded afar, but in olden times the various private apartments such as the Rang mahal, Khwabgah (‘abode of dreams’) or the emperor’s bed-chamber as well as the famous Diwan-e-Khas where the Mughal Emperor sat on the Peacock Throne were lined along the river front. There is a reason why the pioneering British historian-explorer James Fergusson termed the Red Fort ‘the most magnificent palace in the East.’ It was a creative venture well integrated to a new city and was truly unrivalled with respect to its design as well as functioning. The book also highlights that, though separated in time by more than three centuries from today, we can still visualize how the unsure footsteps which Babur took in Hindustan took shape in the reign of Shah Jahan, a connoisseur of art and culture. Descending on one side from Genghis Khan and the brutal Tamerlane on the other, Babur gained an irreversible entry to India in the plains of Panipat almost unexpectedly, by defeating a mammoth army of Ibrahim Lodi in 1526. The Mughals, which was the Persian word for ‘Mongols’, set up an incredible empire in Agra and Delhi, to which were born great emperors like Akbar and Shah Jahan. Apart from magnificent monuments they also built a truly syncretic culture of shared values, encouraged free exchange of knowledge and established rituals, customs and festivals that assimilated age-old traditions from east and west. Even the Taj Mahal, described by Rabindranath Tagore as a ‘teardrop on the face of Time’, was built as a symbol of love of a king to his departed queen, like an re-incarnation of Majnun for his Laila, so different from the obvious imagery that a barbaric king may evoke in one’s mind. Similarly, the Red Fort of Delhi was the culmination of Mughal soft power. With profusely laid flower and fruit-bearing char-bagh gardens criss-crossed with streams of water canals, it was layered in symbolism that art historians find interesting even after many centuries to discuss elements that give it a sense of freshness even with the mere empty shell of buildings left behind after 1857. As the author says, “Delhi however lived up to its reputation of slipping through the very fingers of those who attempted to raise a new city here: starting with Prithvi Raj Chauhan’s Lal Kot; Allauddin Khilji’s Siri; the Tughluq trio’s troika of Tughluqabad, Jahanpanah & Kotla Firuz Shah; Humayun’s Dinpanah and later Lutyen’s Delhi of the British; Shah Jahan’s majestic offering to the city of his choice was soon to be destroyed by fate.” The narrative follows the incidents of 1857 till the British Durbars and highlights that the Fort was not the home of the Mughals only in their prime, but also in their decline and till their very extinction. The book seeks to present the lived culture of Mughals in all its multiple facets. The book is divided in four parts. In Part 1 the focus is on the Imperial court and the court etiquette, cultivation of Persian and its enrichment with translations from Sanskrit, patronage of Hindu and Jain scholars. Part 2 contains detailed accounts of the Red Fort and the symbolism of its architecture, the philosophy of jharokha darshan, ceremonies, games and pastimes, the material culture of costumes and jewellery, food, drink and perfumery. The remaining two parts deal with the decline and fall of the Mughal rule and the British Colonial Durbars at the Red Fort. The broadly historical narrative is enlivened by various anecdotes.
This volume presents the results of recent archaeological and historical studies of the Ottoman fort of Quseir, which was Upper Egypt's only direct outlet to the Red Sea at that time. Illustrated with over 100 maps, drawings, and photos, this groundbreaking study examines a key example of Ottoman-era material culture in Egypt--a topic largely overlooked by archaeologists. With contributions from seven historians and archaeologists, Quseir traces the development and history of an important Ottoman fortress, built near an abandoned medieval port. Its establishment was part of a constant struggle by the Ottoman state to maintain control of the desert and the routes across it. Studies of the archaeological remains from the fort reveal the presence of reused stones from a Greco-Roman temple and emphasize its key role as a regional grain entrepôt and port of embarkation for Muslim pilgrims on the way to Mecca. Quseir is a portrait of a place at the boundary of two powerful cultural and economic systems. While serving as an outlet for the pilgrims and produce of Upper Egypt, Quseir also played a role in the distinctive maritime culture of the Red Sea. This study also reveals in detail for the first time the story of the struggle between the British and French for control of Quseir during the Napoleonic occupation of 1798-1801. Drawing on recent archaeological investigations and new archival research, Quseir offers important new scholarship on a key Ottoman site. American Research Center in Egypt Conservation Series 2
This middle grade mystery adventure, told in a unique format including diary entries, maps and photos, takes readers along on the harrowing journeys of two twelve-year-old siblings, separated just before the Nazi siege of their city and each desperate to reunite with one another. Twins Viktor and Nadya are twelve years old when Hitler's Germany declares war on the Soviet Union. With little notice, the city's children are evacuated on trains that are meant to take them to safety. Shockingly, Viktor and Nadya are separated, and disaster befalls them both. As the terrible conflict rages, each embarks on a desperate race across snow and ice, struggling through the destruction in an effort to be reunited. Their chances are slim, but they never lose hope. In an original format--using the kids' diary entries, with historical photos, maps, and drawings throughout, this fictionalized account of the Nazi siege of Leningrad during the Second World War, this heart-stopping story of danger, courage and bravery emphasizes the power of truth and what it means to be a hero.
In the impregnable red fortress, the mysterious leader of the slavers waits, accumulating power.Slavers have been taking children from across the divided world for longer than Nes can remember. While she's rescued her sibs with the help of her friends Malenie and Paza, her cousins and her ma are still missing and most everyone has given up hope.But Nes has the shaper's sense. With it, a lock of hair will lead her to its owner and a pebble can become a truth stone. Friends may not let friends hunt slavers alone, but if Nes doesn't succeed, she will lose not just her family but Malenie and Paza too.
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2015 Reality TV and advanced technology make for high drama in this political thriller that combines the military action of Zero Dark Thirty with the classic science fiction of The Forever War. Lieutenant James Shelley, who has an uncanny knack for premeditating danger, leads a squad of advanced US Army military tasked with enforcing the peace around a conflict in sub-Saharan Africa. The squad members are linked wirelessly 24/7 to themselves and a central intelligence that guides them via drone relay—and unbeknownst to Shelley and his team, they are being recorded for a reality TV show. When an airstrike almost destroys their outpost, a plot begins to unravel that’s worthy of Crichton and Clancy’s best. The conflict soon involves rogue defense contractors, corrupt US politicians, and homegrown terrorists who possess nuclear bombs. Soon Shelley must accept that the helpful warnings in his head could be AI. But what is the cost of serving its agenda?
In 1905 more than seven hundred Russian sailors mutinied against their officers aboard the battleship Potemkin, one of the most powerful battleships in the world. Led by the charismatic firebrand Matyushenko, they risked their lives to take control of their ship and fly the red flag of revolution. What followed was a violent port-to-port chase that spanned eleven harrowing days and came to symbolize the Russian Revolution itself. This pulse-pounding story alternates between the opulent court of Nicholas II and the drama on the high seas. Neal Bascomb combines extensive research and fresh information from Soviet archives to tell the true story of the deadliest naval mutiny in history. Red Mutiny is a terrific adventure filled with epic naval battles, heroic sacrifices, treachery, bloodlust, and the rallying cries of freedom.
Unmasking the Untold Story of World War II Of the thirty million who fought in the eastern front of World War II, eight million died, driven forward in suicidal charges, shattered by German shells and tanks. They were the men and women of the Red Army, a ragtag mass of soldiers who confronted Europe's most lethal fighting force and by 1945 had defeated it. Sixty years have passed since their epic triumph, but the heart and mind of Ivan–as the ordinary Russian soldier was called–remain a mystery. We know something about how the soldiers died, but nearly nothing about how they lived, how they saw the world, or why they fought. Sourced from previously inaccessible military archives, personal diaries, and intimate veterans' narratives, author Catherine Merridale unveils the untold journey of these soldiers from their first encounter with the German offensive to their hard-earned victory in Stalingrad–a place where survival was measured in mere hours. Accompany these brave hearts into the morose streets of Berlin, as they face their anger, fear, and finally, a bitter homecoming, denied of the new life for which they sacrificed everything. Discover this unique fusion of patriotism, courage, and human spirit that drove these undernourished, poorly led troops to overthrow the Nazi menace. Ivan's War emphatically places these invisible millions at the core of their deserved historical context, accounting for their major role in shaping a new era.
