Revised and expanded, the second edition of this fascinating study surveys the first two centuries of Romanov rule from the foundation of the dynasty by Michael Romanov in 1613 to the accession of Alexander I in 1801.

Revised and expanded, the second edition of this fascinating study surveys the first two centuries of Romanov rule from the foundation of the dynasty by Michael Romanov in 1613 to the accession of Alexander I in 1801. The central theme of the book is the growth of absolutism in Russia throughout these years, and it traces in detail how the Russian variety of what was a contemporary European phenomenon came fully into being.