In the slightly more than two centuries since the dawn of the nineteenth century, Russia has undergone sweeping changes several times over. Readers will learn about the tension between reform and autocracy that marked the nineteenth century, World War I and the fall of the last tsar, and the rise of the USSR. They will examine the USSR's time as a twentieth-century superpower, the fall of communism, and Russia's current power plays for global influence. Sidebars provide extra information, while historical photographs let readers see the figures and events that shaped Russian history with their own eyes.