Maclean was a Scot who was a diplomat in Moscow in the 1930s; he's a great storyteller with a passion for the place, and this is a good short history.

A good read about one of Russia's most famous and influential rulers.

This flowing account of the Gorbachev era and its end won a Pulitzer for Remnick, a Washington Post correspondent; it combines analytic history with hundreds of interviews.

A lovingly compiled guide to just about every pre-1917 building of interest in the capital, full of detail about their past inhabitants.

A fine-tooth reference book about the architecture and history of both cities, dense with detail about every doorway you pass.

A collection of stories about big souls in little Moscow flats.

An impressive work documenting Jewish culture and its effects on these lands.

That rare thing, a gripping thriller written with an artist's eye for character and setting.

This bittersweet book captures the mood of late 1990s Moscow.