Aktion	Zweigstelle	Standorte	Status	Frist	Vorbestellungen
Vorbestellen	Zweigstelle: 07., Urban-Loritz-Pl. 2a	Standorte: GE.H FS:E Katharina II. / College 2d - Geschichte / Sammlung Duffek	Status: Verfügbar	Frist:	Vorbestellungen: 0

So highly coloured was Catherine's private life that it has often distracted attention from her remarkable professional statecraft. Dr de Madariaga, the doyenne of Catherine the Great scholars in the West, redresses the balance in this authoritative and substantial account of Catherine's personality, her politics and the nature of the Russia she ruled.

Review: Russia's most powerful empress came to the throne against all the odds. Born into an impoverished line of German aristocracy, well down the pecking order even in her own country, a woman in a man's world, her likely fate was to be despatched to a convent or married off to some old but wealthy landowner. But for 34 years from 1762 she presided over the emergence of Russia as a mighty force both militarily and in terms of social change. What's more, she did it all her own way, often in the face of opposition from her ministers. Catherine abhorred the methods of the despots who had ruled Russia before her. She wanted her reign to be underpinned by the will of the people rather than their fear. In a few short decades she introduced massive cultural changes, gave justice to the poor, instilled a sense of honour and pride in the masses and brought the country closer to Western Europe than would be the case until Gorbachev came along nearly 200 years later. Isabel de Madariaga's scholarly study has become the definitive account of Catherine's life. First published in 1981, it shows a human side to a ruler who had previously been regarded as a female version of Napoleon, known mostly for grabbing territory and stamping down on dissidence. Catherine did these things, and like Napoleon she had an overweening and misplaced sense of her own indestructibility. All great leaders have flaws and Catherine had her share, but she was also a genius who had heart and compassion. De Madariaga, Professor Emeritus of Slavonic Studies at the University of London, paints a sympathetic picture of her subject and reveals an immense amount of information about Russian society in the late 18th century. The glossary, notes, bibliography and index run to 107 pages - an indication of how much research has gone into the book. It remains a classic. Surprisingly, though, for a volume of this length and depth, the illustrations are restricted to three maps. (Kirkus UK)