Russia is a country of contradictions: a nation of cultural refinement and artistic originality and yet also a country that rules by 'the iron fist'. In this riveting history, Martin Sixsmith shows how Russia's complex identity has been formed over a thousand years, and how it can help us understand its often baffling behaviour at home and abroad.

Combining in-depth research and interviews with his personal experiences as a former BBC Moscow correspondent, Sixsmith skilfully traces the conundrums of modern Russia to their roots in its troubled past, and explains the nation's seemingly split personality as the result of influences that have divided it for centuries.

ASunday Timesbestseller,Russiais essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the complex political landscape of this country, and its unique place in the modern world.

Martin Sixsmith studied at Oxford, Harvard and the Sorbonne. From 1980 to 1997 he was the BBC correspondent in Moscow, Washington, Brussels and Warsaw. From 1997 to 2002 he worked for the Government as Director of Communications and Press Secretary to Harriet Harman, Alistair Darling and Stephen Byers. He is now a writer, presenter and journalist. He has written two novels,SpinandI Heard Lenin Laugh, and is the author of three non-fiction titles -Moscow Coup: The Death of the Soviet System,The Litvinenko File: The True Story of a Death ForetoldandThe Lost Child of Philomena Lee: A Mother, Her Son and a Fifty Year Search. He lives in London.

Martin Sixsmith's bestselling history of Russia, now available in paperback