The Companion to Russian Studies aims at providing a first orientation for those embarking on the study of Russian civilization, past or present, in its most important aspects. It lays no claim to cover them all. While we hope that it will be of use to university students of Russian language and literature, Russian history, or Soviet affairs, it is equally directed to the general reader interested in these subjects. Each chapter seeks to offer a self-contained introduction to a particular topic; but the editors have not wished to impose a uniform pattern, and each author has been free to approach and present his subject in his own way. Particular care has been taken to provide up-to-date bibliographies, which are intended as a guide to further study.

As is the way with collective works of this kind, the Companion has been some years in the making. We should like to express our gratitude to the contributors for their forbearance – sometimes sorely tried – in the face of difficulties and delays which have held up the completion of the enterprise. Economic considerations beyond our control have made it necessary to divide the contents of what had originally been planned as a single book into three volumes. The first is mainly concerned with the history of Russia and the Soviet Union; the second with Russian language and literature; the third with art and architecture. However, the three volumes, for which we share the editorial responsibility, should be regarded as complementary parts of a single whole.

We are grateful to all those at the Cambridge University Press who, over the years, have been involved in this project.