Born a little German princess without a drop of Russian blood in her veins she came to embody Russia and as the country moved from war to war and conquest to conquest it was Catherine who became great. Those who served her throne, or her bed, were well re
The author of the best-selling Tolstoy, winner of France's prestigious Prix Goncourt, member of the Académie Française, and renowned expert on Russia paints yet another indelible portrait of one of Russia's imposing historical figures. Henri Troyat, aut
In his work, Chekhov is renowned for his wisdom and wit; in his life, he needed them. Raised by a brutal and alcoholic father, he moved to Moscow to escape--and to become the author of popular magazine stories. His stories led to plays and his plays to fa
Leo Tolstoy embodies the most extraordinary contradictions. He was a wealthy aristocrat who preached the virtues of poverty and the peasant life, a misogynist who wrote Anna Karenina, and a supreme writer who declared, "Literature is rubbish." From Tolsto
Nascido no final do século XIX numa obscura aldeia da Sibéria, Gregório Rasputine surge, na sua juventude, como um mugique semianalfabeto, dado à bebida e às mulheres, mas igualmente atraído pelos segredos da religião. Dotado de um magnetismo incon
