It is a series of ingeniously linked short novels, with a great deal of history painlessly delievered ... a very good read indeed

Even textured, with just the right amount of spice, it is the literary equivalent of hot cakes

Rewarding reading ... an engrossing story. The novel manages to capture and convey the vastness of Mother Russia, her story and her potential

What's impressive about Russka is Edward Rutherfurd's audacity - and his erudition

Impressive . . . Rutherfurd has indeed embraced all of Russia

Russka succeeds where [other books] of trendy Soviet-watching have failed ... Rutherfurd can take his place among an elite cadre of chroniclers such as Harold Lamb, Maurice Hindus and Henri Troyat

Fast moving ... Rutherfurd believes in adding color and adventure to facts that are exhaustively researched, making history palatable if not delicious

Sprawling ... Rutherfurd's close observation of Russia's religious and ethnic diversity gives this epic a distinctive flavor

Rutherfurd literally personifies history