The Fate of the Bolshevik Revolution

The Fate of the Bolshevik Revolution

Author: Lara Douds

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2020-01-23

Total Pages: 539

ISBN-13: 1350117927

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How did a regime that promised utopian-style freedom end up delivering terror and tyranny? For some, the Bolsheviks were totalitarian and the descent was inevitable; for others, Stalin was responsible; for others still, this period in Russian history was a microcosm of the Cold War. The Fate of the Bolshevik Revolution reasons that these arguments are too simplistic. Rather, the journey from Bolshevik liberation to totalitarianism was riddled with unsuccessful experiments, compromises, confusion, panic, self-interest and over-optimism. As this book reveals, the emergence (and persistence) of the Bolshevik dictatorship was, in fact, the complicated product of a failed democratic transition. Drawing on long-ignored archival sources and original research, this fascinating volume brings together an international team of leading scholars to reconsider one of the most important and controversial questions of 20th-century history: how to explain the rise of the repressive Stalinist dictatorship.


Book Synopsis The Fate of the Bolshevik Revolution by : Lara Douds

Download or read book The Fate of the Bolshevik Revolution written by Lara Douds and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2020-01-23 with total page 539 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How did a regime that promised utopian-style freedom end up delivering terror and tyranny? For some, the Bolsheviks were totalitarian and the descent was inevitable; for others, Stalin was responsible; for others still, this period in Russian history was a microcosm of the Cold War. The Fate of the Bolshevik Revolution reasons that these arguments are too simplistic. Rather, the journey from Bolshevik liberation to totalitarianism was riddled with unsuccessful experiments, compromises, confusion, panic, self-interest and over-optimism. As this book reveals, the emergence (and persistence) of the Bolshevik dictatorship was, in fact, the complicated product of a failed democratic transition. Drawing on long-ignored archival sources and original research, this fascinating volume brings together an international team of leading scholars to reconsider one of the most important and controversial questions of 20th-century history: how to explain the rise of the repressive Stalinist dictatorship.


The Fate of the Bolshevik Revolution

The Fate of the Bolshevik Revolution

Author: Lara Douds

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2020-01-23

Total Pages: 539

ISBN-13: 1350117927

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

How did a regime that promised utopian-style freedom end up delivering terror and tyranny? For some, the Bolsheviks were totalitarian and the descent was inevitable; for others, Stalin was responsible; for others still, this period in Russian history was a microcosm of the Cold War. The Fate of the Bolshevik Revolution reasons that these arguments are too simplistic. Rather, the journey from Bolshevik liberation to totalitarianism was riddled with unsuccessful experiments, compromises, confusion, panic, self-interest and over-optimism. As this book reveals, the emergence (and persistence) of the Bolshevik dictatorship was, in fact, the complicated product of a failed democratic transition. Drawing on long-ignored archival sources and original research, this fascinating volume brings together an international team of leading scholars to reconsider one of the most important and controversial questions of 20th-century history: how to explain the rise of the repressive Stalinist dictatorship.


Book Synopsis The Fate of the Bolshevik Revolution by : Lara Douds

Download or read book The Fate of the Bolshevik Revolution written by Lara Douds and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2020-01-23 with total page 539 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How did a regime that promised utopian-style freedom end up delivering terror and tyranny? For some, the Bolsheviks were totalitarian and the descent was inevitable; for others, Stalin was responsible; for others still, this period in Russian history was a microcosm of the Cold War. The Fate of the Bolshevik Revolution reasons that these arguments are too simplistic. Rather, the journey from Bolshevik liberation to totalitarianism was riddled with unsuccessful experiments, compromises, confusion, panic, self-interest and over-optimism. As this book reveals, the emergence (and persistence) of the Bolshevik dictatorship was, in fact, the complicated product of a failed democratic transition. Drawing on long-ignored archival sources and original research, this fascinating volume brings together an international team of leading scholars to reconsider one of the most important and controversial questions of 20th-century history: how to explain the rise of the repressive Stalinist dictatorship.


Making Sense of War

Making Sense of War

Author: Amir Weiner

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2012-01-16

Total Pages: 433

ISBN-13: 1400840856

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In Making Sense of War, Amir Weiner reconceptualizes the entire historical experience of the Soviet Union from a new perspective, that of World War II. Breaking with the conventional interpretation that views World War II as a post-revolutionary addendum, Weiner situates this event at the crux of the development of the Soviet--not just the Stalinist--system. Through a richly detailed look at Soviet society as a whole, and at one Ukrainian region in particular, the author shows how World War II came to define the ways in which members of the political elite as well as ordinary citizens viewed the world and acted upon their beliefs and ideologies. The book explores the creation of the myth of the war against the historiography of modern schemes for social engineering, the Holocaust, ethnic deportations, collaboration, and postwar settlements. For communist true believers, World War II was the purgatory of the revolution, the final cleansing of Soviet society of the remaining elusive "human weeds" who intruded upon socialist harmony, and it brought the polity to the brink of communism. Those ridden with doubts turned to the war as a redemption for past wrongs of the regime, while others hoped it would be the death blow to an evil enterprise. For all, it was the Armageddon of the Bolshevik Revolution. The result of Weiner's inquiry is a bold, compelling new picture of a Soviet Union both reinforced and enfeebled by the experience of total war.


Book Synopsis Making Sense of War by : Amir Weiner

Download or read book Making Sense of War written by Amir Weiner and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2012-01-16 with total page 433 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Making Sense of War, Amir Weiner reconceptualizes the entire historical experience of the Soviet Union from a new perspective, that of World War II. Breaking with the conventional interpretation that views World War II as a post-revolutionary addendum, Weiner situates this event at the crux of the development of the Soviet--not just the Stalinist--system. Through a richly detailed look at Soviet society as a whole, and at one Ukrainian region in particular, the author shows how World War II came to define the ways in which members of the political elite as well as ordinary citizens viewed the world and acted upon their beliefs and ideologies. The book explores the creation of the myth of the war against the historiography of modern schemes for social engineering, the Holocaust, ethnic deportations, collaboration, and postwar settlements. For communist true believers, World War II was the purgatory of the revolution, the final cleansing of Soviet society of the remaining elusive "human weeds" who intruded upon socialist harmony, and it brought the polity to the brink of communism. Those ridden with doubts turned to the war as a redemption for past wrongs of the regime, while others hoped it would be the death blow to an evil enterprise. For all, it was the Armageddon of the Bolshevik Revolution. The result of Weiner's inquiry is a bold, compelling new picture of a Soviet Union both reinforced and enfeebled by the experience of total war.


“Truth Behind Bars”

“Truth Behind Bars”

Author: Paul Kellogg

Publisher: Athabasca University Press

Published: 2021-11-05

Total Pages: 440

ISBN-13: 177199245X

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Just north of the Arctic Circle is the settlement of Vorkuta, a notorious camp in the Gulag internment system that witnessed three pivotal moments in Russian history. In the 1930s, a desperate hunger strike by socialist prisoners, victims of Joseph Stalin’s repressive regime, resulted in mass executions. In 1953, a strike by forced labourers sounded the death knell for the Stalinist forced labour system. And finally, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, a series of strikes by new, independent miners’ unions were central to overturning the Stalinist system. Paul Kellogg uses the story of Vorkuta as a frame with which to re-assess the Russian Revolution. In particular, he turns to the contributions of Iulii Martov, a contemporary of Lenin, and his analysis of the central role played in the revolution by a temporary class of peasants-in-uniform. Kellogg explores the persistence and creativity of workers’ resistance in even the darkest hours of authoritarian repression and offers new perspectives on the failure of democratic governance after the Russian Revolution.


Book Synopsis “Truth Behind Bars” by : Paul Kellogg

Download or read book “Truth Behind Bars” written by Paul Kellogg and published by Athabasca University Press. This book was released on 2021-11-05 with total page 440 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Just north of the Arctic Circle is the settlement of Vorkuta, a notorious camp in the Gulag internment system that witnessed three pivotal moments in Russian history. In the 1930s, a desperate hunger strike by socialist prisoners, victims of Joseph Stalin’s repressive regime, resulted in mass executions. In 1953, a strike by forced labourers sounded the death knell for the Stalinist forced labour system. And finally, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, a series of strikes by new, independent miners’ unions were central to overturning the Stalinist system. Paul Kellogg uses the story of Vorkuta as a frame with which to re-assess the Russian Revolution. In particular, he turns to the contributions of Iulii Martov, a contemporary of Lenin, and his analysis of the central role played in the revolution by a temporary class of peasants-in-uniform. Kellogg explores the persistence and creativity of workers’ resistance in even the darkest hours of authoritarian repression and offers new perspectives on the failure of democratic governance after the Russian Revolution.


Telling October

Telling October

Author: Frederick C. Corney

Publisher: Cornell University Press

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 324

ISBN-13: 9780801489310

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'Telling October' chronicles the construction of an official 'foundation narrative' by the Soviet Union as the new state sought to legitimise itself by portraying the October Revolution as the inevitable culmination of a historical process.


Book Synopsis Telling October by : Frederick C. Corney

Download or read book Telling October written by Frederick C. Corney and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2004 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Telling October' chronicles the construction of an official 'foundation narrative' by the Soviet Union as the new state sought to legitimise itself by portraying the October Revolution as the inevitable culmination of a historical process.


The Fate of the Revolution

The Fate of the Revolution

Author: Walter Laqueur

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers

Published: 1987

Total Pages: 318

ISBN-13:

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Laqueur compares and analyzes interpretations provided by both Soviet and non-Soviet historians and critics over the past 70 years, including Trotsky, E.H. Carr, Isaac Deutscher, and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. Essential reading for anyone trying to understand the Soviet Union today.


Book Synopsis The Fate of the Revolution by : Walter Laqueur

Download or read book The Fate of the Revolution written by Walter Laqueur and published by Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers. This book was released on 1987 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Laqueur compares and analyzes interpretations provided by both Soviet and non-Soviet historians and critics over the past 70 years, including Trotsky, E.H. Carr, Isaac Deutscher, and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. Essential reading for anyone trying to understand the Soviet Union today.


Bankers and Bolsheviks

Bankers and Bolsheviks

Author: Hassan Malik

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2020-05-26

Total Pages: 317

ISBN-13: 0691202222

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A must-read financial history for investors navigating today's volatile global markets Following an unprecedented economic boom fed by foreign investment, the Russian Revolution triggered the largest sovereign default in history. In Bankers and Bolsheviks, Hassan Malik tells the story of this boom and bust, chronicling the experiences of leading financiers of the day as they navigated one of the most lucrative yet challenging markets of the first modern age of globalization. He reveals how a complex web of factors—from government interventions to competitive dynamics and cultural influences—drove a large inflow of capital during this tumultuous period. This gripping book demonstrates how the realms of finance and politics—of bankers and Bolsheviks—grew increasingly intertwined, and how investing in Russia became a political act with unforeseen repercussions.


Book Synopsis Bankers and Bolsheviks by : Hassan Malik

Download or read book Bankers and Bolsheviks written by Hassan Malik and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2020-05-26 with total page 317 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A must-read financial history for investors navigating today's volatile global markets Following an unprecedented economic boom fed by foreign investment, the Russian Revolution triggered the largest sovereign default in history. In Bankers and Bolsheviks, Hassan Malik tells the story of this boom and bust, chronicling the experiences of leading financiers of the day as they navigated one of the most lucrative yet challenging markets of the first modern age of globalization. He reveals how a complex web of factors—from government interventions to competitive dynamics and cultural influences—drove a large inflow of capital during this tumultuous period. This gripping book demonstrates how the realms of finance and politics—of bankers and Bolsheviks—grew increasingly intertwined, and how investing in Russia became a political act with unforeseen repercussions.


Making Sense of War

Making Sense of War

Author: Amir Weiner

Publisher:

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 416

ISBN-13:

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Book Synopsis Making Sense of War by : Amir Weiner

Download or read book Making Sense of War written by Amir Weiner and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:


The Russian Revolution

The Russian Revolution

Author: Sean McMeekin

Publisher: Profile Books

Published: 2017-06-01

Total Pages: 446

ISBN-13: 178283379X

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At the turn of the century, the Russian economy was growing by about 10% annually and its population had reached 150 million. By 1920 the country was in desperate financial straits and more than 20 million Russians had died. And by 1950, a third of the globe had embraced communism. The triumph of Communism sets a profound puzzle. How did the Bolsheviks win power and then cling to it amid the chaos they had created? Traditional histories remain a captive to Marxist ideas about class struggle. Analysing never before used files from the Tsarist military archives, McMeekin argues that war is the answer. The revolutionaries were aided at nearly every step by Germany, Sweden, and Switzerland who sought to benefit - politically and economically - from the changes overtaking the country. To make sense of Russia's careening path the essential question is not Lenin's "who, whom?", but who benefits?


Book Synopsis The Russian Revolution by : Sean McMeekin

Download or read book The Russian Revolution written by Sean McMeekin and published by Profile Books. This book was released on 2017-06-01 with total page 446 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At the turn of the century, the Russian economy was growing by about 10% annually and its population had reached 150 million. By 1920 the country was in desperate financial straits and more than 20 million Russians had died. And by 1950, a third of the globe had embraced communism. The triumph of Communism sets a profound puzzle. How did the Bolsheviks win power and then cling to it amid the chaos they had created? Traditional histories remain a captive to Marxist ideas about class struggle. Analysing never before used files from the Tsarist military archives, McMeekin argues that war is the answer. The revolutionaries were aided at nearly every step by Germany, Sweden, and Switzerland who sought to benefit - politically and economically - from the changes overtaking the country. To make sense of Russia's careening path the essential question is not Lenin's "who, whom?", but who benefits?


Red Flag Unfurled

Red Flag Unfurled

Author: Ronald Suny

Publisher: Verso Books

Published: 2017-11-14

Total Pages: 321

ISBN-13: 1784785644

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Reconsidering the Russian Revolution a century later Reflecting on the fate of the Russian Revolution one hundred years after the October Uprising, Ronald Grigor Suny—one of the world’s leading historians of the period—explores how scholars and political scientists have tried to understand this historic upheaval, the civil war that followed, and the extraordinary intrusion of ordinary people onto the world stage. Suny provides an assessment of the choices made in the revolutionary years by Soviet leaders—the achievements, costs, and losses that continue to weigh on us today. A quarter century after the disintegration of the USSR, the revolution is usually told as a story of failure. However, Suny reevaluates its radical democratic ambitions, its missed opportunities, victories, and the colossal agonies of trying to build a kind of “socialism” in the inhospitable, isolated environment of peasant Russia. He ponders what lessons 1917 provides for Marxists and anyone looking for alternatives to capitalism and bourgeois democracy.


Book Synopsis Red Flag Unfurled by : Ronald Suny

Download or read book Red Flag Unfurled written by Ronald Suny and published by Verso Books. This book was released on 2017-11-14 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reconsidering the Russian Revolution a century later Reflecting on the fate of the Russian Revolution one hundred years after the October Uprising, Ronald Grigor Suny—one of the world’s leading historians of the period—explores how scholars and political scientists have tried to understand this historic upheaval, the civil war that followed, and the extraordinary intrusion of ordinary people onto the world stage. Suny provides an assessment of the choices made in the revolutionary years by Soviet leaders—the achievements, costs, and losses that continue to weigh on us today. A quarter century after the disintegration of the USSR, the revolution is usually told as a story of failure. However, Suny reevaluates its radical democratic ambitions, its missed opportunities, victories, and the colossal agonies of trying to build a kind of “socialism” in the inhospitable, isolated environment of peasant Russia. He ponders what lessons 1917 provides for Marxists and anyone looking for alternatives to capitalism and bourgeois democracy.