Akunin when the 4th volume of history will be released. Boris Akunin - Between Europe and Asia. History of the Russian state. Seventeenth century. Falcon and Swallow

1 Book: From the origins to the Mongol invasion

“The country that we call Ancient Russia was so different from Russia of the post-Mongolian era that through the thickness of the past centuries it seems to us some kind of lost, legendary Atlantis ... Was there really Rurik? Did the Slavs invite the Varangians? Did Oleg nail a shield to the gates of Tsaregrad? Boris Akunin addresses his history of the fatherland to a wide readership: people who are interested in learning (or enthusiastically figure out together with the author) how it really was.
Before you is a unique work from one of the best domestic contemporary writers. The author tried to present the history of the Russian state from its very beginnings to the invasion of the Tatar-Mongolians as reliably and without prejudice as possible. To work on the book, Akunin compared sources of information from different countries and time periods. The book will help those who seek to better know the history of Russia, but do not want to spend a long time studying purely scientific literature.

Book 2: Finger of Fire

In support of the work "History of the Russian State. From the origins to the Mongol invasion" the author decided to release a cycle of stories dedicated to Ancient Rus'. Here are three stories already released within the framework of this project. The author describes the ups and downs of one clan that has been living on the territory of Russia since very ancient times. The stories associated with this family stretched for a thousand years and the saga will gradually be supplemented with more and more new materials.

Listen online or download an audiobook

Book 3: Boch and Rogue

Here are two stories by a cult Russian writer, which are the artistic accompaniment of the second volume of his "History Russian state". One of the stories tells about the times of the Mongol conquest of Russian lands, and the second takes the listeners to the period of the liberation struggle, which ultimately led to the formation of statehood in the Middle Ages.

Listen online or download an audiobook

Book 4: Widow's Plath

Ivan IV is known as the Terrible, but a hundred years before him, another tsar ruled - Ivan III, who was called by the same name during his lifetime. In history Russian state both of these rulers played crucial roles, carrying out a series of reforms that changed the political system. A well-known modern writer decided to tell in more detail about the two greatest kings, whose deeds could be appreciated only centuries later. The collection includes a novel and a story, separated by a hundred-year time period.

This article is completely devoted to such a legendary writer as Boris Akunin. A list in chronological order of all his works can be found below. This is a complete bibliography of the author and all of his most famous books, in order. There is also the History of the Russian state, and books about Fandorin.

Genres

Spy romance

Events are developing in the USSR, in 1941. Great Patriotic War has just begun, but the intrigues around it have reached their peak. The intelligence of the Soviet Union is significantly losing to the German enemy. Agent Vasser arrives in Moscow. His task is to prove to Stalin that the war will begin no earlier than 1943. KGB Major Aleksey Oktyabrsky and assistant Dorin want to understand the real intentions of the enemy. But will they succeed? Further

Fantastic

After a serious accident with the bus, all passengers died, except for two teenagers - Robert and Seryozha. The first was an exemplary student from an unsecured family, the second studied at a technical school. Somehow, the accident gave them superpowers: Robert is able to read minds, and Serezha received superspeed. 10 years later, the guys meet Marianne, a mute girl who controls people's emotions. Further

Quest. Novel and codes for the novel

Boris Akunin will show a new point of view on famous historical figures. You have never seen such a Resolier, Napoleon, Stalin and Hitler. How did they manage to become leaders? What is needed for this? How were decisions made that later influenced thousands of people and the course of history? The novel consists of two parts. In the first part, events develop in the 30s of the 20th century, and in the second part we will find ourselves in 1812. Further

Master's Adventures

Altyn Tolobas

Nicholas Fandorin - grandson English aristocrat Erast Fandorin. This grandson came across a will left by his distant ancestor Cornelius von Dorn, who lived in the 17th century. The latter discovered a secret that was hidden in Muscovy. To understand how to solve the riddle and get to the bottom of the truth, Fandorin goes to Russia - to his historical homeland. For 300 years, a lot has changed in this state, but not everything. Further

extracurricular reading

The novel intersects two historical lines - Last year reign of Empress Catherine the Great and the beginning of the 20th century. Mithridates was the favorite of the Empress - a seven-year-old boy who accidentally found out about the plans and conspiracies against Her Majesty. To save Catherine II, this boy is ready for anything. In the second storyline, Nicholas Fandorin works as a tutor for the daughter of a wealthy entrepreneur. The girl will become just a bargaining chip in the great game of business. Further

F. M.

Nicholas Fandorin has a new business. A certain owner of an agency called "Country of Soviets" received a manuscript of an early and unknown part of Dostoevsky's novel "Crime and Punishment". Fandorin wants to find the manuscript and the ring that once belonged to the writer. But the opponent will do everything to prevent him. Further

Falcon and Swallow

Once upon a time, a treasure was hidden in the Mediterranean Sea. Perhaps the innumerable treasures would have remained untouched, but Nicholas Fandorin's aunt gave him a gift. He obtained a letter that is over 300 years old and contains a family heirloom - a message that can lead the heir to the pirate treasure, and at the same time reveal secrets. At this time, a certain person goes on the same path, but for a different reason - she is trying to find her father. Further

The Adventures of Erast Fandorin

Yin and Yang

Millionaire Sigismund Boretsky has died and his will is being read in his estate. Niece Inga received all his capital and the family estate, and nephew Jan got only one fan. While Inga is daydreaming about marrying her cousin, Jan is thinking only about creating a vaccine. To explain why the fan is so important, Erast Fandorin arrives at the estate. It turned out that this little thing is magical, and can change people for better or worse if a special ritual is performed. Further

Azazel

A young detective police officer, Erast Petrovich Fandorin, has a new case - he needs to investigate the suicide of a wealthy student. In appearance, the guy himself made such a decision, but if you look at the evidence, it becomes clear that this is a large-scale and unthinkable conspiracy. While Fandorin does not know that the investigation will lead to dozens of deaths, explosions and a completely unpredictable outcome. One question - will the killer get what he deserves, given such sacrifices? Further

Russian-Turkish war. 1877 Varvara Suvorova is a brave girl who was not afraid to go to Turkey in the midst of military events to tell her fiancé that she agreed to marry him. The journey was not easy and it is not known how it would have ended if Erast Fandorin had not been on her way. Further

The New Ararat Monastery is experiencing better times. Novices complain that they see the shadow of the holy Basilisk, and the Black Monk scares people so much that even deaths happen. The brethren ask for help from Mitrofiy, who, in turn, sent an unbeliever Alyoshka to the monastery. After a while, Alyoshka began to send very strange letters, and later ended up in a psychiatric hospital. Colonel Lagrange is going to sort out the circumstances, but trouble also happened to him. Then Pelageya goes to the rescue. Further

The last work of a pious woman. This time she needs to go to the ship "Sevryuga", where a strange company has gathered: there is a thief, and sodomites, and Jews, and German colonists. Several people on the ship were killed during the voyage and the circumstances of their death turned out to be very strange. Is there some mystic involved here? Or just coincidences? Further

Death on brotherhood

Baby and hell

Events before the First World War. German intelligence is doing everything possible to steal the master plan for the deployment of Russian troops, if they suddenly gather to attack. They almost succeeded, but counterintelligence managed to intercept the documents. Ordinary student Alexei Romanov intervened in big games and quite by accident thwarted the capture of a German resident. Now he has to help his homeland, as he is the last one who saw the object. Further

The pain of a broken heart

Alexei Romanov is in grief - his lover is marrying another man. If not for the debt, Romanov would have committed suicide. At this time, the first World War. The battlefields are bloodied, but intelligence is also working with might and main to end this infernal mess of global proportions. Alexey has to go to Switzerland to learn important secrets. Further

flying elephant

The Russian Empire gained a great advantage during the First World War when it decided to use the super-powerful Ilya Muromets aircraft. Germany will have to do everything possible to ensure that the imperial observer does not consider new technologies dangerous. Sepp, a spy and saboteur, is sent to the country of the enemy. Further

Children's book for boys

Reprint of the Children's Book. A descendant of Erast Petrovich Fandorin simply cannot have an ordinary life - the schoolboy Eraser experiences adventures more abruptly than his ancestor. He will meet Solomka, Shuisky, and even see False Dmitry himself, and all this against the background of the search for a huge diamond. Further

Children's book for girls

Continuation of the "Children's Book", which was written by Gloria Mu based on the script by B. Akunin. Angelina Fandorina had no one to be friends with. But she had a great brother. Although she also lost him when the boy was sent to a mathematical lyceum. Bored, Gelya suddenly finds out that she is able to save the world. She is a simple schoolgirl from Moscow! However, in order to do this, she has to go to someone else's past. Further

Love for history

Do you want to know what is hidden in the past? What happened at the Dyatlov Pass? Or who was the first genius in the English criminal investigation? How many treasures have not yet been revealed to the public? You will plunge into the world of monsters, heroes and warriors, without whom life would not be life. Further

These are the stories ordinary people that history has forgotten. Ordinary heroes should remain in the memory of people, and Akunin talks about them with pleasure. When is beauty superior to morality? Is the world really the way we imagine it to be? Are there people on the planet whose life is different from the generally accepted one? And most importantly - how to improve life in Russia? Further

The collection includes interesting stories about Japan, generals, pilots. You will plunge into the world of duels, history. The sea is waiting for you interesting facts, myths and anecdotes. After reading, you will find out what he is - the ideal of a man and a woman; who is our hero and do we need to live forever? Further

Part of Asia. History of the Russian state. Horde period

There is no sadder time in the formation of the Russian state than the Tatar-Mongol invasion. This is an era of great suffering and sadness, when the Russian people lost their identity. However, what ruined the Russian state created a huge power. Now the country and people could be reborn. This is the history of the 13th - 15th centuries. Further

Between Asia and Europe. History of the Russian state. From Ivan III to Boris Godunov

History does not change immediately, and only after a while you can see how seemingly insignificant personalities changed the fate of many peoples. 15 - 16 centuries. The time when the Russian land was liberated from foreign influence and the time when the great Time of Troubles began. The state lost its independence under the onslaught of enemies and internal crises. Further

Library project B. Akunin "History of the Russian state"

This list presents examples of historical literature in the form of collections, which the writer Boris Akunin recommends for reading and familiarization. He is also a compiler of collections. Here are collected monuments and documents reflecting all the main milestones of the country, starting from its origins.

Voices of the time. From the origins to the Mongol invasion (compilation)
The first Russian tsars: Ivan the Terrible, Boris Godunov (collection)
Horde period. The best historians: Sergei Solovyov, Vasily Klyuchevsky, Sergei Platonov (collection)
(compilation)
The faces of the era. From the origins to the Mongol invasion (compilation)

History of the Russian state (collection)

He controls the Moscow guards, defends the city order and investigates high-profile crimes. Bye main character is engaged in hunting for murderers and charlatans, the reader will plunge into the history of the 17th century and take part in adventures where riots and robbers are indispensable. Further

13th century The time when Rus' is experiencing fragmentation and decline. Ingvar considers his power a heavy burden, and meanwhile his small principality forces him to take every day complex decisions. It seems that the people began to live at least a little better, and the neighbors maintain a bad peace. But what if the one whom Ingvar counts on as himself does not withstand the temptation of power? Further

The collection includes two stories that are completely different in style, which are connected, meanwhile, by a common theme: one tells about the beginning of the Tatar-Mongol invasion, and the second about its end. How it was and what happened. Further

Family album

Aristonomy

Boris Akunin

Between Europe and Asia. History of the Russian state. Seventeenth century

Illustrations provided by Shutterstock, Rossiya Segodnya MIA, Diomedia and free sources are used in the design

* * *

Reviewers:

K. A. Kochegarov

(Institute of Slavic Studies RAS)

Yu. M. Eskin

(Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts)

S. Yu. Shokarev

(Historical and Archival Institute of the Russian State University for the Humanities)

Foreword

The movement of history is uneven. Incidents memorable for posterity - usually these are some kind of epoch-making changes or upheavals - alternate with periods about which in ancient chronicles it is briefly reported "nothing happened" (that is, everything was not bad and there was nothing special to talk about). The pace of events accelerates, then slows down; quick "breaths" are replaced by long "exhalations"; sometimes the state begins to develop jerkily - as a rule, this happens when a purposeful leader appears who implements a certain program; there are equally rapid crises - for reasons both internal and external.

That is why it is more convenient to talk about different periods in different ways, adapting the presentation technique to the features and “importance” of the era. The Russian seventeenth century, to which this volume is devoted, is difficult to describe in this sense. In a relatively short period of history, both "fatal minutes" that require detailed study, and whole decades of unhurried development, when it is more interesting to talk not about events, but about phenomena and trends, are compressed.

This explains the asymmetric structure of the book. Its first part is devoted to a detailed account of just a few years, and the next three parts are much more lapidary. However, the same proportion is observed in the entire array of historical studies on the Russian seventeenth century: much more has been written about its dramatic beginning than about subsequent events - right up to the very end of the century, when Russia seemed to wake up or switched from slow walking to fast running.

However, the reforms of Peter I will be the subject of the fifth volume, while the fourth will end in 1689. The tightest knot of this era is the Time of Troubles - the experience of the collapse of the state. A crisis of comparable scale in Russia will only be repeated three hundred years later, at the beginning of the 20th century.

The Russian state, destroyed by the Time of Troubles, was second in historical continuity. The first - the Grand Duchy of Kiev - arose in the 9th century, when the Rurik family took control of the trade route "from the Varangians to the Greeks." Early Russian state remained until the river transit in the 11th-12th centuries lost its former significance. After that, the central government weakened and the country began to break up into separate principalities, which became easy prey for the Mongol invasion.

The second centralization was carried out by Prince Ivan III of Moscow (1462-1505), who took as a model the structure of the Genghis Khan Empire, the greatest state known to the then Russian people. The fortress of the Horde was based on a pyramidal hierarchy of power, the only bearer of which was the great khan. The country was governed not by laws common to all, but by khan's decrees, which were issued taking into account the specific situation and could change the old "rules of the game" at any time. Morally and religiously, the principle of such unlimited power was supported by the sacralization of the person of the monarch, intercessor and mediator for the people before God.

The "second" Russian state architecturally represented a very simple design. All decisions of any importance were made exclusively by the sovereign, who not only was in charge of all areas of politics, but also sought to fully control life in the regions of his rather large country. At the same time, the central government and the regional administration were in their infancy. The country was ruled as a personal fiefdom of one owner.

In the conditions of the Middle Ages, such a structure certainly had its advantages, which included good manageability, accumulation of resources and high mobilization ability. The main rivals of the Moscow autocrats - the Polish-Lithuanian kings - for the war needed to obtain the consent of the aristocracy and get permission to raise finances, so the western neighbor was always late with the start of hostilities, and then often found himself unable to take advantage of the fruits of victories due to lack of money. It was enough for the Russian sovereign to simply order - all the human and material resources of the country were in his full will.

The main weakness of the "second" state, as usual, was reverse side his strength. With an active and capable ruler, the country grew stronger and grew, with a ruler of average abilities, it turned out to be in a state of stagnation, a bad ruler led the country to decline. And the absence of an autocrat became a complete disaster, it led the state to paralysis.

This is exactly what happened in April 1605, which was told in the previous volume and to which we will return again, looking at the same events from the other side - the side of the Pretender. We will see that his adventure was poorly organized and would undoubtedly have ended in defeat if Tsar Boris had not suddenly died in Moscow. Two fatal factors coincided here. First, Boris' heir was a teenager and could not rule on his own. Secondly, the new dynasty, which arose only seven years ago, had not yet acquired an aura of sacredness (a circumstance that preserved the country during the infancy of Ivan the Terrible).

To put it very briefly, main reason the collapse of the "second" Rus' became too strong autocracy with a too weak state. The combination of the unlimited power of the monarch with the underdevelopment of institutions made political system fragile. It was enough to break the only rod on which it rested, and the state crumbled.

The history of the Time of Troubles (as well as the events of 1917) demonstrates that a seemingly mighty state can fall apart very quickly. This is truly a scary and breathtaking sight.

Compared to the Troubles, the next part of the book looks dull. High drama disappears, bright personalities disappear, everything seems to become smaller and discolored. The story about the reign of Mikhail Romanov is less advantageous - but the story of getting a wound is always more interesting in plot than the description of its treatment. At the same time, from the point of view of the history of the state, the process of healing and restoration of the country's strength, the process of creating a new system instead of the collapsed one is no less important.

The Moscow kingdom of the seventeenth century, with external similarities, is very different from the Moscow kingdom of the sixteenth century. I believe that here we are talking about a slightly different model, and I will explain in detail why I consider this state to be the “third”.

Europe has become the center of the development of world civilization, and Russia, politically, technologically, culturally, is increasingly drifting into westbound. In the seventeenth century, it was already closer to Europe than to Asia, but the "Horde foundation" remained the same, and it was difficult to build something fundamentally new on it. In just seventy years, there will be a need for a new modification.

The book "Between Europe and Asia" consists of four parts, which correspond to the stages of life of almost any state: the preceding chaos; birth and growth; maturity and stagnation; finally, exhaustion and crisis.

The death of the state

In the seventeenth century, Russia entered, apparently, a strong and prosperous power. With a population of fifteen million, it was one of the most populated countries in Europe, and the first in size. Moscow maintained peace with neighbors who respected her power; the treasury was full; trade flourished; cities grew. An experienced ruler, Boris Godunov, sat on the throne, seemingly holding the country in an iron fist: the intimidated aristocracy was afraid to intrigue, the downtrodden peasants did not rebel. It seemed that in Rus', after the severe trials experienced in the second half of the previous century, calm, peaceful times were established for a long time.

However, this strength was an illusion.

The most important element of the system of autocracy founded by Ivan III was the deification of royal power - only this, from a religious and rational point of view, could justify the undivided power of one person over a vast country, all the inhabitants of which were considered his "serfs". If such authority is established by God himself, there is nothing to complain about: the Lord is in heaven, and all His servants; on earth - the Sovereign, and all his serfs.

However, Godunov also came out of the "serfs", which the whole power knew and remembered. He himself perfectly understood this vulnerability of his own and compensated for it with a kind of “people's mandate”, for which, during his accession to the throne, for the first time in Russian history, he arranged something like an election - he did not arbitrarily sit on the throne, but was “trigged” by the patriarch with the boyars and “shouted out” to the metropolitan crowd, that is, he replaced heavenly sacralization with earthly legitimization.

The cycle was conceived by the writer Boris Akunin as a multi-volume historical work, supplemented by a series of fiction. According to Akunin, he took 10 years to implement the project.

It all started in March 2013, when the writer announced in his LiveJournal blog that he would stop writing detective stories ("of course, I will finish the series about Fandorin") and devote himself to creating a new multi-volume "History of the Russian State". That he was always haunted by the laurels of Karamzin, and even the novel "Azazel" was to some extent inspired by "Poor Liza". And that from the first steps in literature, Akunin cherished "a megalomaniacal plan to repeat Karamzin's trajectory and, starting with fiction, come to writing the history of the state."

It is noteworthy that the author of the historical work is not a professional historian Grigory Chkhartishvili, but his writer's "I" Akunin. Grigory Shalvovich, referring to Isaac Asimov, Peter Ackroyd and the same Nikolai Karamzin, explains: when an amateur fiction writer tells the history of the country for amateurs like him, he, by virtue of his profession, tries to be boring. Almost all historical works are boring, ideologized and reveal only fragments of history. Akunin, on the other hand, set himself the goal of being not boring, to give a complete picture of history (“how the state was formed, developed and why it became like this”) without ideological overtones (“I want to know how it really was; the truth or the version closest to the truth, - this is what I need").

"New Karamzin" was criticized by both writers and historians. According to some, today the picture of the world is too complex for one person to grasp it with a glance; it is impossible to repeat the experience of Karamzin or Solovyov. According to others, Akunin still tells the story uninterestingly. According to others, there are many inaccuracies in his "History", and the treatment of historical sources too free. Grigory Shalvovich got ahead of the latest objections with the following statement: “My method is simple. I read the available primary sources, trying not to miss anything, and see how the information contained there is interpreted by various authors. From the whole mass of facts, names, figures, dates and judgments, I try to select everything undoubted, or at least the most plausible. I cut off the insignificant and unreliable.

Reviewers of the publication, confirming the compliance of the author's presentation historical facts, employees of the Institute of Slavic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Institute Russian history RAS and the Historical and Archival Institute of the Russian State Humanitarian University.

Akunin illustrates the history of Russia with works of art: in parallel with historical volumes, he publishes volumes of action-packed stories, the action of which takes place in a particular time period. As conceived by the writer, the characters of these stories will belong to the same family - a kind of mega-story a thousand years long about the life of one family. "The history of the state and human history will go side by side, testing each other for strength," Akunin promised his readers.

Illustrations provided by Shutterstock, Rossiya Segodnya MIA, Diomedia and free sources are used in the design

Reviewers:

K. A. Kochegarov

(Institute of Slavic Studies RAS)

Yu. M. Eskin

(Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts)

S. Yu. Shokarev

(Historical and Archival Institute of the Russian State University for the Humanities)

Foreword

The Russian state, destroyed by the Time of Troubles, was second in historical continuity. The first - the Grand Duchy of Kiev - arose in the 9th century, when the Rurik family took control of the trade route "from the Varangians to the Greeks." The early Russian state persisted until river transit in the 11th-12th centuries lost its former significance. After that, the central government weakened and the country began to break up into separate principalities, which became easy prey for the Mongol invasion.

The “second” Russian state was architecturally a very simple structure. All decisions of any importance were made exclusively by the sovereign, who not only was in charge of all areas of politics, but also sought to fully control life in the regions of his rather large country. At the same time, the central government and the regional administration were in their infancy. The country was ruled as a personal fiefdom of one owner.

The main weakness of the "second" state, as usual, was the reverse side of its strength. With an active and capable ruler, the country grew stronger and grew, with a ruler of average abilities, it turned out to be in a state of stagnation, a bad ruler led the country to decline. And the absence of an autocrat became a complete disaster, it led the state to paralysis.

To put it very briefly, the main reason for the collapse of the "second" Rus' was too strong autocracy with a too weak state. The combination of the unlimited power of the monarch with the underdevelopment of institutions made the political system fragile. It was enough to break the only rod on which it rested, and the state crumbled.

The history of the Time of Troubles (as well as the events of 1917) demonstrates that a seemingly mighty state can fall apart very quickly. This is truly a scary and breathtaking sight.

Europe has become the center of the development of world civilization, and politically, technologically, culturally Russia is increasingly drifting in a western direction. In the seventeenth century, it was already closer to Europe than to Asia, but the "Horde foundation" remained the same, and it was difficult to build something fundamentally new on it. In just seventy years, there will be a need for a new modification.

The death of the state