An erudite and entertaining history of Moscow, a city whose rich past offers crucial insight into contemporary global politics

'A marvellous book' HELEN RAPPAPORT, author of The Rebel Romanov

‘Every page pulses with individual stories and historical insights' MARK GALEOTTI, author of A Short History of Russia

‘Morrison is the perfect biographer of Moscow’ SHAUN WALKER, author of The Illegals

Moscow stands at the centre of a nation comprising eleven percent of the globe’s landmass, eleven time zones and nearly one hundred and fifty million people, some thirteen million of whom live in the capital. A Kingdom and a Village vividly brings to life Russia’s heart and soul, tracing its transformation from a ‘big village’ into a metropolis of vast geopolitical import.

It is a stranger-than-fiction arc. The last century alone has featured invasions and battles, the destruction and reconstruction of sacred landmarks, and the collapse of the Soviet republic – not to mention the rise of an authoritarian leader who is a keen student of Russian history. Morrison reaches back to the city’s founding as a fortress on a river nearly a millennium ago. In the following centuries, any number of external forces – from Tatar Mongols and Swedes to Napoleon and Hitler – set their sights on Moscow, bolstering its self-conception as a glittering prize and site of perpetual defence and resurrection.

Understanding Moscow not only unlocks the spellbinding mysteries of Russia’s past, but also the grim logic of its present. A Kingdom and a Village is a magisterial biography of a place – and an essential guide to a people and a nation.

‘Magisterial … gripping’ BEN RHODES, author of The World As It Is

‘A mesmerising tale of how Moscow came to be’ JILL DOUGHERTY, author of My Russia

‘Combines taut storytelling with penetrating analysis … a sweeping history’ REBECCA REICH, University of Cambridge