History on a grand scale-an enchanting masterpiece that explores the making of one of the world's most vibrant civilizations a people's tragedy, wrote eric hobsbawm, did "More to help us understand the Russian revolution...History on a grand scale-an enchanting masterpiece that explores the making of one of the world's most vibrant civilizations a people's tragedy, wrote eric hobsbawm, did "More to help us understand the Russian revolution than any other book I know." Now, In Natasha's dance, internationally renowned historian Orlando Figes does the same for Russian culture, summoning the myriad elements that formed a nation and held it together. Beginning in the eighteenth century with the building of st. Petersburg-a "Window on the west"-and culminating with the challenges posed to Russian identity by the soviet regime, figes examines how writers, artists, and musicians grappled with the idea of Russia itself-its character, spiritual essence, and destiny.