"This collection of imaginative biographical portraits depicts representatives of every social group in Old Russia--princes, boyars, metropolitans, monks, icon painters, artisans, landowners, free peasants, serfs, and slaves--including Russians, Tatars, Cossacks, and Greeks. Some of the portraits are reconstructions of known individuals, others are composites, but all are true to their time and place. The contributing historians undertook this collaborative project as a way to bring Old Russia vibrantly to life for students and other readers. The volume includes a pronunciation guide, a glossary, a chronology (1304-1725), annotated reading lists, and illustrations."--Publisher description.