In The Russian Revolution, historian Sean McMeekin traces the origins and events of the Russian Revolution, which ended Romanov rule, ushered the Bolsheviks into power, and changed the course of world history. Between 1900 and 1920, Russia underwent a complete and irreversible transformation: by the end of these two decades, a new regime was in place, the economy had collapsed, and over 20 million Russians had died during the revolution and what followed. Still, Bolshevik power remained intact due to a remarkable combination of military prowess, violent terror tactics, and the failures of their opposition. And as McMeekin shows, Russia's revolutionaries were aided at nearly every step by countries like Germany and Sweden who sought to benefit-politically and economically-from the chaotic changes overtaking the country. The first comprehensive history of these momentous events in a decade, The Russian Revolution combines cutting-edge scholarship and a fast-paced narrative to shed new light on a great turning point of the twentieth century.
Record details
ISBN:9780465039906 (hardcover) :
ISBN:0465039901
Physical Description:print xxxi, 445 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps ; 25 cm
Publisher:New York :Basic Books,[2017]
Content descriptions
Bibliography, etc. Note:
Includes bibliographical references (pages 359-420) and index.
Formatted Contents Note:
Prologue: The blood of a peasant -- I. The twilight of the Romanovs -- The old regime, and its enemies -- 1905: shock to the system -- The fragile giant: Tsarist Russia on the precipice of war -- Russia's war: 1914-1916 -- II. 1917: a false dawn -- Full of fight -- A break in the weather -- Army in the balance -- The German gambit -- Twilight of the liberals -- Kerensky's moment -- III. Hostile takeover -- Lenin shows his hand -- Army on the brink -- Red October -- General strike -- Ceasefire -- Russia at low ebb -- Reprieve -- IV. The Bolsheviks in power -- War communism -- Red on white -- The Communist International -- The ides of March -- "Turn gold into bread": famine and the war on the church -- Rapallo -- Epilogue: the specter of Communism.
Summary: In The Russian Revolution, historian Sean McMeekin traces the origins and events of the Russian Revolution, which ended Romanov rule, ushered the Bolsheviks into power, and changed the course of world history. Between 1900 and 1920, Russia underwent a complete and irreversible transformation: by the end of these two decades, a new regime was in place, the economy had collapsed, and over 20 million Russians had died during the revolution and what followed. Still, Bolshevik power remained intact due to a remarkable combination of military prowess, violent terror tactics, and the failures of their opposition. And as McMeekin shows, Russia's revolutionaries were aided at nearly every step by countries like Germany and Sweden who sought to benefit-politically and economically-from the chaotic changes overtaking the country. The first comprehensive history of these momentous events in a decade, The Russian Revolution combines cutting-edge scholarship and a fast-paced narrative to shed new light on a great turning point of the twentieth century.
Book
