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Captain Jacques Margeret (fl. 1591-1621), a brave and highly intelligent French Huguenot soldier, was an active observer-participant in the Time of Troubles who contributed to Russia’s military modernization. Margeret also wrote one of the most valuable foreign accounts of early modern Russia: Estat de l’Empire de Russie et Grand Duché de Moscovie (1607). In this essay, Chester Dunning surveys two hundred years of scholarship about Margeret and his famous book, and he lays the foundation for a more objective biography of the remarkable French captain who served Tsar Boris Godunov, Tsar “Dmitrii”, Tsar Vasilii Shuiskii, the Tushinite pretender Dmitrii, “Tsar” Wladyslaw, King Sigismund III of Poland-Lithuania, Prince Janusz Radziwiłł, and finally King Gustav II Adolf of Sweden. This essay challenges recent scholarship concerning Margeret’s identity, his religious affiliation, his early career in France, his controversial career in Russia, his later career, and the composition of his book. This essay is based on fifty years of research by the translator of Jacques Margeret’s book into English as The Russian Empire and Grand Duchy of Muscovy: A 17th-Century French Account (1983). In addition to reading most published sources and scholarship about Margeret and his account of Russia, the author has examined documents related to Margeret’s biography in French, Russian, Polish, and British archives. In the process, Dunning discovered a letter Margeret wrote to King James I in 1612 encouraging English military intervention in north Russia to counter Polish and Swedish intervention.

Includes the original Russian text and, for the first time, an English translation of that version. “Antony Wood’s translation is fluent and idiomatic; analyses by Dunning et al. are incisive; and the ‘case’ they make is skillfully argued. . . . Highly recommended.”— Choice

Captain Jacques Margeret (fl. 1591-1621), a brave and highly intelligent French Huguenot soldier, was an active observer-participant in the Time of Troubles who contributed to Russia’s military modernization. Margeret also wrote one of the most valuable foreign accounts of early modern Russia: Estat de l’Empire de Russie et Grand Duché de Moscovie (1607). In this essay, Chester Dunning surveys two hundred years of scholarship about Margeret and his famous book, and he lays the foundation for a more objective biography of the remarkable French captain who served Tsar Boris Godunov, Tsar “Dmitrii”, Tsar Vasilii Shuiskii, the Tushinite pretender Dmitrii, “Tsar” Wladyslaw, King Sigismund III of Poland-Lithuania, Prince Janusz Radziwiłł, and finally King Gustav II Adolf of Sweden. This essay challenges recent scholarship concerning Margeret’s identity, his religious affiliation, his early career in France, his controversial career in Russia, his later career, and the composition of his book. This essay is based on fifty years of research by the translator of Jacques Margeret’s book into English as The Russian Empire and Grand Duchy of Muscovy: A 17th-Century French Account (1983). In addition to reading most published sources and scholarship about Margeret and his account of Russia, the author has examined documents related to Margeret’s biography in French, Russian, Polish, and British archives. In the process, Dunning discovered a letter Margeret wrote to King James I in 1612 encouraging English military intervention in north Russia to counter Polish and Swedish intervention.

Herber-stein's sharp mind, his ability to speak and read Slavonic languages, his wide-ranging travels and experience as an ambassador, and his direct observations while visiting the court of Grand Prince Vasilii III combine to make Herberstein's account a work of enduring value for anyone interested in early modern Russia. Modern scholars have mined Herberstein's book for every scrap of evidence and have written extensively about the strengths, weaknesses, and varying degree of accuracy of his information as well as his \"negative\" views of early modern Russian political culture. Volume 2 contains essays on the historical context of Herberstein's embassies to Russia, Herberstein's life and work, and the composition, publication and early translation of his account of Russia.

Boris Godunov is play written by Alexander Pushkin written in 1825, published in 1931, but not approved for performance by the censor until 1966. Its subject is the Russian ruler Boris Godunov who rained as Tsar from 1598 to 1605. When Pushkin's much anticipated Boris Godunov appeared in print in January 1831, it was met with disappointment and puzzlement by many of Pushkin's friends. Their initial judgment was that the play was a flop, a harsh view confirmed by a majority of critics of later generations. But Tsar Nicholas 1 read it with great pleasure because the 1831 edition was much less politically incorrect, and it more closely reflected the tsar's aesthetic and historical views. Here, Dunning discusses the history of the play's censorship and its underappreciated impact to the play.