AQA history coursework on Russia 1855-1964

I am currently in year 12 looking for books to read about tsarist and communist russia for my coursework. Does anyone have any recommendations for authors or books.
My question is whether people had more freedom under the tsars than the communists so books that focus on society and people would be the most useful.
Thank you

Im doing Russia 1855-1964 as my breadth study, here's a couple of historians to help get the ball rolling:

Thank you so much