An introduction, complete in one volume, to the history of Russia from medieval times to the fall of Khrushchev and beyond. A study of the geographical setting in which the Russian state grew to its present super-power status is followed by five chapters which discuss the political, social, and economic history of the country, and four final chapters examine respectively the role of the Church, Soviet government and politics, the economy of the Soviet state, and the international relations of the USSR. Each chapter has been specially commissioned for this volume, and the writers are acknowledged experts in their fields. Every chapter is followed by a guide to further reading. This is perhaps the most comprehensive and authoritative collaborative history of Russia yet to appear. It will be read as a continuous account, and will also be consulted as a standard reference guide in libraries of universities, colleges, and schools wherever Russian and Soviet history, European history, and international relations are studied. It forms the first part of the three-volume Companion to Russian Studies, the two other parts of which deal with Russian language and literature, and Russian art and architecture respectively.