When first published, Charles Ziegler's The History of Russia was acclaimed as a source of information not easily found elsewhere, and as "clear, balanced, and insightful," by Rajan Menon of Lehigh University. Now Ziegler's remarkable volume returns, fully updated to be the work of choice for readers looking for an introduction to the history of the world's largest country.The History of Russia: Second Edition moves from the 10th-century founding of Kievan Rus to the czars to the Communist Era to the present, with particular emphasis on the fall of the Soviet Union and the leadership of Mikhail Gorbachev, Boris Yeltsin, and Vladimir Putin. In addition to a new chapter on the tumultuous last decade, this edition features an updated introduction and an expanded chapter on the Yeltsin Era.