The Empire Must Die

Russia's Revolutionary Collapse, 1900 - 1917

By: Mikhail Zygar

Narrated by: Simon Vance

The window between two equally stifling autocracies - the imperial family and the communists - was open only briefly, in the last couple of years of the 19th century until the end of WWI, by which time the revolution was in full fury.

From the last years of Tolstoy until the death of the Tsar and his family, however, Russia experimented with liberalism and cultural openness. In Europe, the Ballet Russe was the height of chic. Novelists and playwrights blossomed, political ideas were swapped in coffee houses, and St. Petersburg felt briefly like Vienna or Paris. The state, however, couldn't tolerate such experimentation against the backdrop of a catastrophic war and a failing economy. The autocrats moved in and the liberals were overwhelmed. This story seems to have strangely prescient echoes of the present.

©2017 Mikhail Zygar (P)2017 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Stunningly good!

I must admit that I was skeptical when I saw that the author was a journalist and not an academic historian. I am so very delighted to have given it a try. I have really encountered such vivid portraits of the protagonists of this tragic story. Highly recommend it. one of my favorite books ever on the Russian Revolution.

This was a decent history book.

This book was done well. It has a good ratio of data-to-anecdote. Your won't get lost in the weeds too much with repetitive listing of dates and people, but that info is included where relevant.

It will give you a good grounding on how the stage was set for the Communist regime of early 20th century.

An excellent look at an interesting history.

A documentary format, if you will, through old diary and other forms to look on those interesting and dark days. Narration by Simon Vance is excellent as always, a narrator I love to hear, among many others, American and British.

Simon Vance is excellent

Very good book excellent narration, well written and recommended for those interested in Russian history.

Heartbreaking synopsis

This is an absolutely heartbreaking and poignant synopsis of HOW what happened in Russia - happened. A general but pretty thorough account - I really enjoyed the book. I escaped USSR aged 14 for America, as a Jewish refugee, with my family. So much blood spilled in that country, for all involved, generations past, and - by now as we are in Putin’s war on Ukraine- onto the future generations of that land. Utterly heartbreaking. Informative. A must-read.