I would like to inform You about my thesis that describes and analyses all eight novels by Roberto Pazzi ("La Dimensione del Tempo e della Storia nelle Opere di Roberto Pazzi"). This year, in August, I completed my studies Italian Language and Literature at the University of Utrecht. Maybe you would like to know more about his work or his motivs. I very much admire Pazzi's second novel; the description of Giorgio's solitude, the lack of privacy, the invention and description of his journeys as his way of escapism, his love for Elena that will never be answered openly, al these dramatic aspects are described in the beautiful words of the poet that Pazzi used to be before he started to write his novels, and still is.

This work is a seminal look at the February and October Revolutions by a member of the Executive Committee of the Petrograd Soviet (later executed by Stalin) who was nominally a Menshevik, but whose view of these events was remarkably neutral and detached. He offers glimpses of most of the major players such as Trotsky, Kerensky, Miliukov, Lenin, Chernov, Martov, etc.
although NOT Stalin, which may have been one reason for his eventual destruction. A strong primary source about the events of the critical year 1917 in Russian history.

If ever there was an excellent book on Soviet aircraft to emerge from the post cold war era, this is the one. Not only do the authors have a lot of knowledge on these impressive aircraft, but also a collection of photos never before published of many little-known aircraft. Some of these aircraft are truly impressive such as massive bombers from the pre-war period to the Strategic Bombers fielded by the former Soviet Union. Tupolev is also the constructor of most of Russia's commercial jets and the book is therefore useful for anyone interested in civil aviation. there are also tables giving the production levels of most Tupolev aircraft and also others indicating the registration numbers of Tupolev airliners. But most of all it describes the personality and contributions to aerospace of Andrei N.Tupolev, one of the world's greatest aircraft designers, who dominated his country's aircraft industry for much of this century.

This is a wonderful book compiled from the papers of Tsar Nicholas II's children's English teacher. It was also published under the title "The House of Special Purpose".

For Tolstoi, this qualifies as an "O. Henry surprise-type ending" since you aren't expecting the wealthy merchant to sacrifice his own life for that of his lowly serf. This seems especially true since Tolstoi gives you several examples throughout the story of how the master undervalues his loyal servant.

For example, Tolstoi tells you that he is underpaid even for a serf. Also, his shrewd master always manages to manipulate and maneuver the servant into buying his goods from him, instead of from the store in the village, by making it look like he is doing him a favor in the process. This way he can overcharge for everything and thereby takes back what little money he is paying his servant anyway. The servant is well aware of this but is resigned to the situation.

Another interesting thing is how they get into a life-threatening situation in the first place. The workaholic merchant decides to press on at night in a severe blizzard, rather than remain safe in a farmhouse they have happened on in the snow, because he is impatient to get on to his next deal, and doesn't want to miss out on a possible opportunity.

I thought the time-obsessed businessman was primarily a late 20th century invention, but not so. The wealthy landowner and businessman regards even a few lost moments of time as unacceptable, and so they venture out into the fatal storm. They get lost in the driving and trackless snow on the way to the next town.

Tolstoi describes this poignantly. At several points, the master is certain they have come back to where they started and so are just going in circles, but the snow is coming down so hard that the horse carriage's tracks have already been covered up, and so he can't be sure. At that point he realizes the situation is hopeless.

Finally, the master parks the horse and carriage under a tree and they huddle together and try to survive until morning. But only the servant survives, his wealthy master in the end sacrificing his own life for that of his servant, by deciding to keep his servant warm instead of himself.

I, too, have to disagree with this 'english class' in their dull-assesment of this story. This must be a very young class of students who haven't experienced enough of human nature to fully appreciate and understand the complexity and beauty of the 2 characters in this wonderfully touching story. This is the first story that has ever made me weep openly while reading. The second, also by Tolstoy, was Strider: The Story of a Horse. If you liked Master and Man, you must find this one! That's why I'm here today; looking to replace my lost copy.

I felt I had to respond to the above comment by saying that this is a masterfully written short story and a moving account of a Master who makes the ultimate sacrifice, whether knowing it or not, to his lowly, faithful servant. The story contrasts well the attitudes and lives of rich masters and their voluntary slaves.

Zernov and Pain (the editors) have excelled in culling these excerpts from Sergius Bulgakov's writings. Anyone who has the least interest in Russian intellectual history, Eastern Orthodoxy, or in ecumenism should become familiar with his thought.

Bulgakov offers thoughtful insights in the realms of philosophy, Christian doctrine, humanitarian ideals, and even economics. In light of the current (Spring 2000) re-evaluations of the roles of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), his economic idealism offers suggestions which remain fresh -- even 56 years after his death.

For those interested in Christian ecumenism or even world peace, Bulgakov's essay "The Orthodox Church" should be considered. In it he develops the principle of conciliarity, or _sobornost_. Although conciliarity is offered as a solution to Christian disunity between East and West, it has serious implications for inter-national relations as well.

The anthology includes five autobiographical essays, eight reflective essays which interact with the cultural and philophical mileau (and often turmoil) of Bulgakov's day, ten excerpts related to Russian Orthodox Christian doctrine (including an excellent offering entitled "The Orthodox Church"), a sermon delivered to an American audience on "Social Teaching in Modern Russian Orthodox Theology" (in 1938), and five "Festival Sermons" centered on themes of joy.

The nine page Introduction by James Pain is informative and fair while Lev Zander's seven page Memoir is a fitting tribute to Father Bulgakov. This collection deserves to come back in print.

Just watched this play at the State Academic Childrens Theatre, now called the Globus, in Novosibirsk, Russia. Can't wait to read it again (this time in English...)

P.S. Somebody needs to fix the Author's Name

Surname: Ostrovskii

Given name: Aleksandr

Patronymic: Nikolaevich

This book is the only true biography widely available in English of a great and controversial soldier. Marshal of the Soviet Union Mikhail N. Tukhachevskii is something of a legend to all students of the Soviet military. This aristocrat turned Bolshevik served Soviet Russia well as a brilliant and audacious commander in the Russian Civil War from 1918-22, and in the years following played a key role in developing the Red Army into the force that would eventually defeat Hitler. Tragically, Marshal Tukhachevskii was executed in 1937 on highly questionable grounds of treason.

There has been much written about Tukhachevskii as a military theorist and innovator, as well as his impressive peacetime accomplishments (modernizing the Red Army, forming large independent mechanized and airborne forces several years in advance of any Western power). Likewise, there is no shortage of information on his arrest and execution, mostly (but not always) pointing to his innocence.

While the author devotes the second half of his book to these topics, the first half is far more unique in that it covers Tukhachevskii's childhood and career as a combat soldier. He was born into an aristocratic family and, against his father's wishes, enrolled in a military academy. At the outbreak of World War I, he was commissioned as a lieutenant in an elite tsarist regiment and fought courageously until his capture by the Germans. Imprisoned as a P.O.W. until 1918, he finally escaped captivity and returned to Russia, which was now plunging into civil war. Tukhachevskii became a devoted Communist and, at the age of 25, a top Red Army Commander. He played a key role in the defeat of Admiral Kolchak's forces in the Urals and Siberia, and then commanded the final victorious campaign against Denikin's White Army in South Russia. After Poland invaded Soviet territory in 1920 under the pretense of supporting Ukrainian separatists, Tukhachevskii was placed in command of the Western Front. His bold counter-offensive brought the Red Army to the gates of Warsaw where he, in turn, was defeated in a battle that remains controversial to this day. In spite of this failure, the young Red general crushed Polish Marshal Pilsudski's bid to dominate Eastern Europe. His final actions as a combat commander came in 1921-22 when he successfully put down the Kronstadt mutiny and the Tambov rebellion.

I wish that the author had gone into more detail, especially when discussing his sources. I hadn't heard of many of the books listed in the bibliography, and occasionally had to wonder if what I was reading was based on popular myth rather than established fact. However, I still give it four stars because there is, as yet, no other comparable book on the market. It's fast and exciting reading, and well worth the effort it took me to find a copy.

This book is so confusing, everyone in class think it's stupid. Bottom line: He attemps to classify tales when it is an impossible task to do, and criticizes others for trying to do what he can't even do himself.

This is the first work to systematically characterize and describe a corpus of folktales. It includes a list of possible plot twists, in their correct chronological order for any story, and numerous examples from actual Russian fairy tales. This translation in particular reads well and makes a point of not departing from the text's literal meaning in any significant way. I would highly recommend this work for anyone interested in folktales or oral literature in general.

This seminal work is essential for an understanding of structuralist theory and the theory of folklore. It differs from the psychological view of the folktale in its descriptive ability. This theory is based on objective description and sytagmatic conjunction and complementation. Because of that, it is more applicable and flexible than any psychological dissection. Also, two people will reach roughly the same conclusions with this method- something impossible with a psychological approach. This is excellent for anyone interested in attacking the down and dirty working parts of a narrative.

This book is absolute rubbish! Don't even waste your money on it. You'd do better reading The Cat in the Hat rather than this. For any Romanov fan, this book is a must-a must throw in the trash. I don't know why people still insist that Aleksey survived Ekaterinburg. Just drop it. He didn't survive. Anastasiya didn't survive. Maria didn't survive. None of them survived! They most likely just burned the two "missing" bodies and scattered the ashes around the site...

I found this book to be most intriguing, but it left the door wide open for speculation. Obviously, DNA testing would solve the riddle. Despite the fact that the authors are scrupulous in presenting documents which have little relevance to deciding the question (such as report cards from the supposed tsarevich) and repetitive accounts of Filatov's demeanor, personality, habits and traditions, they do not address the DNA question in a similar manner. Nor do they make it clear as to the efforts to have this testing completed or the impediments to this process. There are some inconsistencies in sections of the book which relate the personal stories of different familiy members - some of this may be a result of ideas or impressions that are "lost in the translation." The most impacting evidence I found in the book were the photos of Filatov's children and their comparison with those of the Royal Romanov family. Amazing likenesses, but DNA it is not. Filatov's son purposefully sports a beard, mustache and hairstyle in imitation of Nicholas 11. Still, one can see a haunting likeness to the murdered tzar if one looks close enough. The organization of the book itself is hampered by the determination to present everything - history, photos, documents - without having to hop across the decades to make comparisons. Some of the historical material in the beginning is tedious and repetitive. The impression most people have of the Romanov execution is one of the precise following of orders, taking the family by surprise and completing the execution without a hitch. Even if the remains of Anastasia and Alexei are someday found in another nearby grave, settling the question once and for all, it apparently did not happen without confusion, gunmen wounded by ricocheting bullets or the poor marksmanship of other gunmen, trucks breaking down or caught in mud, bodies that would not burn, burial sites that had to be changed and the constant attempt to keep the execution from the curious and probably sympathetic villagers. In summary, The Escape of Alexei did not confirm or deny the birthright of Vasily Filatov. I was intrigued by the possibility, but I am still left wanting - the conclusions were not enough.

Appearances are deceiving: just as the man on the right of the cover doesn't look a bit like the little boy on the left though they are supposed to be the same person, this book is not really about "the escape" of Alexei Romanov, as the title says, but about a family who honestly believes their father/husband was actually the tsarevich. If you want solid historical documentation and scientific data of this fact, you'll be terribly disappointed. But if you only want to explore, open-mindedly, a very exciting possibility that more than likely is *not* true, you may have a good time reading this book, and learn a little bit on the way too. I did. The book has many faults: it is a bit frankenstein-like in its clumsy attempt to glue together its different parts. There are repetitions, contradictions; boring and useless material. It also ignores obvious questions such as, what happened to the other missing body or, weren't Alexei's and this guy's eyes of a completely different color? But the book also has a nice layout, plenty of pictures and the testimony of family members that in the least reveal a personal and often moving picture of life at the times of one of the most important events of the last century: the Russian communist revolution and its aftermath. It also has an incomplete but interesting theory about how the tsarevich might have escaped his execution and survived since then, though of course the holes in it at times seem bigger than the cheese. But, who knows, in an event so confuse and controversial such as the execution of the tsar and his family, with questions still unanswered (where are the two missing bodies, for instance?), this book might just have the enough amount of "possible" to make you enjoy the ride. After all, though according to the executioners the tsar and his family were all shot, bayoneted and confirmed dead, should we really take only the word of a bunch of cold-blooded killers for it? When you finish this book you'd probably be at least curious to see the results of a DNA test comparing the Romanov and Filatov families. And whatever you chose to believe or think more reasonable, in the end you may also find yourself wishing it was all true, wishing that the little boy who had such a difficult life since he was born suffering from a painful condition, had indeed survived the terrible ordeal his family went through and lived to have a rich and reasonably happy life. And, most of all, lived to become the nice guy the man on the right cover of the book was, if not on his external appearance, at least in character and spirit.