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History, European history, Politics and government
Human-narrated audio
Professor of modern history examines Scotland's politics, laws, society, religious institutions, schools and universities, culture, and relationship with the world,…
including the factors that have distinguished it from England both before and after Union. 2008
DAISY audio (Direct to player), DAISY audio (Zip)
Literature, Poetry, Criticism
Human-narrated audio
Analysis of the Italian poet's major works focuses on the Divine Comedy, exploring its relevance to its own time and…
the ways it still speaks to modern readers. Considers Dante's use of allegory, his inventive language, and his insights into human nature. 2015
DAISY audio (Direct to player), DAISY audio (Zip)
European history
Human-narrated audio
Russia is rarely out of the news. Yet Russian politics can be difficult to understand. It is powerfully shaped by…
large, impersonal forces such as geography, and Russia's place in the international political and economic system. At the same time, Russia's formal political institutions, such as the Constitution and electoral procedures, are relatively weak and manipulable compared to those of stable, established democracies. Under these circumstances, powerful leaders represent a source of potential dynamism and change. This Very Short Introduction provides a guide to understanding Russian Politics that goes beyond the headlines, offering a vivid account of the key forces driving Russian politics. It places Russia in a global context while explaining its internal political development. Several major themes run through the book, including the primacy of the state over society, the role of the so-called "West," which has represented a source of inspiration, of threat, and of competition for generations of Russians, and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The Soviet collapse brought about dramatic change across multiple spheres, from the nature of the political and economic system to the country's borders and who counted as a citizen. To this day, Russia is still working its way through the consequences of these transformations