MOSCOW proved a decisive turning point for the political ambitions of two of history's most infamous tyrants.

Napoleon managed to capture a burned out city, but the ensuing winter destroyed his army. More than a century later Hitler's juggernaut was brought to a grinding halt at the city's gates.

While Napoleon's defeat has been well documented, the battle of Moscow in 1941 has been largely forgotten by Russians; a collective amnesia brought about by shame. Rodric Braithwaite, a former British ambassador to Moscow, has rectified the omission with this fascinating book.

Among episodes buried by official propaganda was the great panic generated by the approaching Germans. Crowds fought to get on trains and many of the elite fled eastward in cars and trucks; they were stopped by enraged crowds and murdered and beaten.

Stalin's decision to remain in the city proved critical, as did his appointment of Zhukov. To further stiffen resistance, hundreds were shot for running away. Up to 600,000 civilians were mobilised to dig anti-tank ditches. The six-month battle itself was fought over a territory the size of France and claimed 926,000 Soviet soldiers; more than the combined casualties of the British and Americans in the whole of the Second World War.

Many accounts would have remained unheard but for this book, which includes moving interviews with soldiers and generals, intellectuals and factory workers, artists and dancers, peasants and schoolchildren. The author provides a compelling record of the broad sweep of events, while painting a vivid and intimate picture of what life was like for thousands of ordinary people. An invaluable contribution to the history of the period.