"Russian literature has always been inseparably linked to Russian history. D. S. Mirsky, in dealing with this fact, constantly keeps in mind the ever-colorful and ever-changing aspects of the one in discussing the other. Mirsky's book is essential reading for anyone interested in Russian literature. A History of Russian Literature: From its Beginnings to 1900 contains all of the author's History of Russian Literature and the first two chapters of his Contemporary Russian Literature."--BOOK JACKET.