Sir Anthony Beevor: Russia Is ‘A Prisoner of Their Own Past’

Oct 20, 2026 | The multitude of interconnected wars engulfing the globe are leading many to draw parallels with 1939, the eve of the Second World War. Historian Sir Anthony Beevor – one of the world’s great chroniclers of the 20th century – is one of those raising the alarm, particularly about the threats posed by Russia. Following the release of his new book Rasputin and the Downfall of the Romanovs, we caught up with him at The Times and The Sunday Times-sponsored Cheltenham Literary Festival, to ask what the ‘mad monk’ of late-Imperial Russia can tell us about the country today, and just how dangerous this present moment is.