This book retraces 1,000 years of Russian history from its Christianization in the late 10th century to the reign of Peter the Great in the first quarter of the 18th century.

Beginning with the emergence of "Russians" in Latin and Byzantine history, and the rivalries and power struggles between Latins, Vikings, Byzantines, and Caucasians, followed by the early conversions in the late 10th century, the book strives to demonstrate how Russia became Christian and borrowed the ecclesiastic model from Constantinople.

The sumptuous "Holy Russia" exhibition presents more than 400 works primarily from a number of museums and libraries in Russia, exhibited for the first time in France, and shows that Russian art, heir to Byzantium, had entered the political and religious history of Europe long before the reign of Peter the Great.