I40 SEER, 8i, I, 2003 Bushkovitchacknowledgesthat such 'bizarre'appointmentswere 'important' (p. 373), but makesno attempt to explore the linksbetween 'real' and 'mock' roles or to reflect in his narrative the comparatively large amount of time which Peter devoted to 'play'. The forthcoming work of Ernest Zitser, who arguesthat parodic institutionswere vital for binding Peter's'disciples'to his cause, should provide a corrective.Another omission within the goals which the authorsetshimselfis any systematicexaminationof the role ofwomen and female networks.Despite the statementthat 'inattentionto Peter'sprivatelife is a basic methodological error' (p. 6), he offers surprisinglylittle on Peter's relationship with his second family and especially with his second wife Catherine. The couple's wedding in I712, the guest list of which had implications for court politics, is passed over in a few sentences, Catherine's alliance with Alexander Menshikov is never explored in any detail and even her children are mostly consigned to footnotes. There is littlepreparationfor the statementthatby I724 she had become a 'formidablefigure'(p. 433). My other criticism concerns the vexed issue of 'user-friendliness'.To take full advantage of the considerable erudition displayed here, readers need a sound knowledge of Russian history and a command of Russian and several otherEuropeanlanguages.The footnotes,which at a roughestimatecomprise some thirty per cent of the text, feature extensive extracts from primary sources in the original languages French, German, Dutch, Swedish sometimes accompanying Englishtranslationsin the text, more often without benefitof translation.Charactersand institutionsareoftenintroducedwithout explanation and sometimes are spelt inconsistently (e.g., Westphal/ Westphalen,Jules/Juel). Just a few nods in the direction of intelligent nonspecialists providinga glossaryof the Russiantermsin the text, familytrees of the royal family and leading clans, more references to furtherreading in English - could have widened the book's usefulnesswithout compromising its scholarship. In conclusion, as a narrative about relations between the ruling, male elite in the period I671-17I8 aimed at specialists in Russian history, this book has no rivals. Readers wishing to know about women, peasants, buildings, pictures, battles, ceremonies, religion, historiography, myths and legends and Peter's own pastimes and passions will need to look elsewhere. School ofSlavonic andEastEuropean Studies LINDSEY HUGHES University College London Thyret, Isolde. Between GodandTsar.Religious Symbolism andtheRoyalWomen of Muscovite Russia.Northern Illinois University Press, DeKalb, IL, 2001. XiV+ 275 PP. Illustrations. Tables. Notes. Glossary. Appendix. Bibliography .Index. [30.50. DURING recent years, scholars of medieval and early modern Europe have shown a resurgence of interest in women's studies and in the concept of queenship. As a result,Russianwomen, too, have been the subjectsof several new studies, among which Isolde Thyret's book is a timely and valuable addition. BetweenGodand Tsardoes not replicate, nor aim to supersede, REVIEWS I4I previous authors on Russian women, such as Susanne McNally, Alexandre Eck or Lindsey Hughes, but seeksto complement theirwork, and in doing so providesa fascinatingnew insightinto thepoliticaland sociallife of Muscovite Russia. The author'sstatedaim isto explore the development of the image and role of royal women in the evolution of the ideology of centralizedgovernment in Muscovy, fromthe consolidationof the GrandPrincipalityin the late fifteenth century to the end of the Muscovite period in the late seventeenth century. Thyret considers the role that royal women played in politics, society and culture, and the extent to which religious symbolism interpreted that role. Much of the book dealswith the productionof mythsdefiningthe role of royal women, and the part played by the Russian Orthodox Church and royal women themselvesin thismythopoeic process. Between GodandTsarchallenges previous assumptionsabout the oppressive nature of the Russian autocracy's impact on the role of royal women, who have frequently been portrayed as victims. Thyret refutes the view that the terem (theliving quartersof female members of the ruler'sfamily)implied the removal of these women from public life, and points out that their lives were far more complex and dynamic than historians, all too often influenced by contemporarynotions, have formerlyassumed.Likewise,Thyretconvincingly shows that the Byzantine religious heritage did not influence the position of Russianwomen entirelynegatively,as some scholarshave claimed. Although the chapters of Between GodandTsarare arranged thematically, thisarrangementoften coincideswith a chronologicalviewpoint. Chapterone analysesthe myth of the 'Tsaritsa'sBlessedWomb', focusing on the maternal role of Muscovite queens. The second chapter considersthe tsaritsa'srole as helpmate...