{"product_id":"a-kingdom-and-a-village-a-one-thousand-year-history-of-moscow-by-simon-morrison","title":"A Kingdom and a Village: A One-Thousand-Year History of Moscow by Simon Morrison","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAn 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\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e‘Every page pulses with individual stories and historical insights' MARK GALEOTTI, author of A Short History of Russia\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e‘Morrison is the perfect biographer of Moscow’ SHAUN WALKER, author of The Illegals\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMoscow 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.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe 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.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eUnderstanding 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. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e‘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\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"imageBlockWrap\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"imageBlock\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"productImageWrapper\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cem\u003eHardback | Extent: 240 pages,\u003cbr\u003ePublication: 26 Mar 2026, Vintage |\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cem\u003e ISBN: 9781847926524\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"David's Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56794476872062,"sku":null,"price":25.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0753\/0892\/5225\/files\/9781847926524.jpg?v=1767966643","url":"https:\/\/www.davids-bookshops.co.uk\/products\/a-kingdom-and-a-village-a-one-thousand-year-history-of-moscow-by-simon-morrison","provider":"David's Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}