Transforming Russia

School Library Journal

Gr 8-12-- The recent changes in the Russian political system seem sweeping to those familiar only with the communist USSR. However, as this book shows, Russia has undergone almost continual political upheaval from the days of Peter the Great. Coverage of the years of the Romanovs, the Bolshevik Revolution, Stalin's reign of terror, Kruschev and Brezhnev's regimes, and the changes wrought by Gorbachev is detailed and clear. However, the text is quite dry, perking up a bit in the section on Catherine the Great, but generally droning on implacably. The information is correct, the chronological flow easy to follow, but the lack of verve in the prose relegates this to the report-source category. Those looking for up-to-date information will be satisfied, and the extensive bibliography lists numerous supporting sources. Black-and-white photographs are well placed and extend the text ably. Students might be well served by pairing this with Graham Yost's The KGB (Facts on File, 1989), which despite an irritatingly ``gee whiz'' style, provides not only relief from the vanilla approach taken here, but also shows the same sets of political circumstances from the persective of the espionage involved. --Ann Welton, Terminal Park Elementary School, Auburn, WA