No other country has been so divided over its own past as Russia. How the Russians came to tell their own national story, and to reinvent it as they went along, is a vital aspect of their history, their culture and beliefs. To understand what Russia’s future holds – to grasp what Putin’s regime means for Russia and the world – we need to unravel the ideas and meanings of that history.

That’s the argument that historian Orlando Figes made when he came to Intelligence Squared on September 14 to reveal the vibrant characters that comprise Russia’s rich history. Figes shed light on significant historical moments including the crowning of 16-year-old Ivan the Terrible in a candlelit cathedral, Catherine the Great riding out in a green uniform to arrest her husband at his palace, and the bitter last days of the Romanovs.

Drawing from his new book The Story of Russia, Figes wove together the past and the present to provide an accurate picture of the country that threatens Ukraine and the liberal global order today. 

Praise for The Story of Russia: 

‘Figes knows more about Russia than any other historian’ – Max Hastings, The Sunday Times

‘The history book you need if you want to understand modern Russia’ – Anne Applebaum 

‘A magnificent, magisterial thousand year history of Russia . . . by one of the masters of Russian scholarship’– Simon Sebag Montefiore 

‘A great historian at the peak of his powers’ – William Dalrymple