Riddle, Mystery, and Enigma

Two Hundred Years of British-Russian Relations
Erscheinungsjahr 2022
ISBN: 978-1-913368-67-8
Verlag: Haus Publishing

Buch, Englisch, 468 Seiten, Format (B × H): 198 mm x 129 mm, Gewicht: 432 g

Britain’s relationship with Russia is surprisingly under-explored. When the two formed a pragmatic alliance and fought together at Navarino in 1827, it was overwhelmingly the work of the British prime minister, George Canning. His death brought about a volte-face that would see the countries fighting on opposite sides in the Crimean War and jostling for power during the Great Game.

It was not until the 1917 revolution that another statesman had a defining impact on relations between Britain and Russia. Winston Churchill opposed Bolshevism, yet he never stopped advocating diplomatic and military engagement with Russia. In the Second World War, he recognised earlier than most the necessity of allying with the Soviets against the menace of Nazi Germany – as well as the post-war threat to freedom posed by the Soviets themselves.

Bringing us into the twenty-first century, Owen chronicles how both countries have responded to their geopolitical decline. Drawing on British imperial and Soviet history, he explains the unique nature of Putin’s autocracy and addresses Britain’s return to ‘blue water’ diplomacy.

With Owen’s characteristic insight and expertise, Riddle, Mystery and Enigma depicts a relationship governed by principle as often as by suspicion, expediency, and outright necessity.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Owen, David

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politikwissenschaft Allgemein Politische Geschichte
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Internationale Beziehungen Diplomatie
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Europäische Geschichte

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction // xiii

1. George Canning and the Path to Navarino // 1

2. The Untoward Event // 47

3. British and Russian Relations with the Ottoman Empire, 1825-1914 // 67

4. Winston Churchill and the Russian Revolution // 97

5. Churchill and Stalin: World War to Cold War // 147

6. Face-Off in Europe // 199

7. Russia on the Road to Reform // 233

8. Yeltsin: A Free Spirit // 277

9. Putin's Russia // 313

10. Britain, Russia, and the Wider World // 371

Notes // 419

Index // 457

Über Autor(innen)

DAVID OWEN served as foreign secretary under James Callaghan from 1977 until 1979, and later co-founded and went on to lead the Social Democratic Party (SDP). He is the author of books including Cabinet's Finest Hour and The UK's In-Out Referendum.