About

In The Russian Album, Michael Ignatieff chronicles five generations of his Russian family, beginning in 1815. Drawing on family diaries, on the contemplation of intriguing photographs in an old family album, and on stories passed down from father to son, he comes to terms with the meaning of his family's memories and histories. Focusing on his grandparents, Count Paul Ignatieff and Princess Natasha Mestchersky, he recreates their lives before, during, and after the Russian Revolution.

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Reviews

"A vividly fascinating account by a gifted writer who sweeps back the curtain from the past, revealing it full of color and life."

Suzanne Massie, The New York Times Book Review

"A rich story of a cultivated elite bound to a disintegrating autocracy."

Walter Goodman, The New York Times

"The Russian Album is a poignant family memoir, a fitting close to Russian life before the 'red curtain of the revolution.'"

Elena Brunet, Los Angeles Times

Artists

Michael IgnatieffAuthor