The Russian Revolution - Softcover

Fitzpatrick, Sheila

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0199237670 ISBN 13: 9780199237678

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA, 2008

Synopsis

The Russian Revolution had a decisive impact on the history of the twentieth century. Now, following the collapse of the Soviet regime and the opening of its archives, it is possible to step back and see the full picture of this event for the first time.

Impeccable in its scholarship and objectivity, this superb volume tells the gripping story of a Marxist revolution that was intended to transform the world, but instead visited enormous suffering on the Russian people, and, like the French Revolution before it, ended up devouring its own children. The author offers insightful descriptions of the February and October Revolutions of 1917, the Civil War, the interlude of NEP, Stalin's "revolution from above," the various Five-Year Plans, and the Great Purges-all treated as discrete episodes in a twenty-year process of revolution. The book incorporates data from archives that were previously inaccessible not only to Western but also to Soviet historians, as well as drawing on important recent Russian publications such as the memoirs of one of the great survivors of Soviet politics, Vyacheslav Molotov. In the Select Bibliography, the author highlights the most important of the recent scholarly works, directing readers to the burgeoning Western scholarship on the Russian Revolution in the last ten to fifteen years.

Shelia Fitzpatrick is an internationally known expert on Soviet history. This lively and readable Third Edition uses newly available Soviet archival material and the latest Russian and Western research to provide an authoritative, compact account of one of the key events of modern history.

About this title

Review

Review from previous edition A lucid and indeed instantly classic explanation of the revolutionary spirit in its pre-1917 and Lenin-then-Stalin dominated stages. (Tribune)

A welcome new edition of this classic history, a triumph of concision and incise analysis by a scholar who knows more than almost anyone about the early years of the Soviet system. (Orlando Figes, Birkbeck College, London, and author of A People's Tragedy: The Russian Revolution, 1891-1924)

A succinct, insightful, and highly original interpretation of the Russian Revolution as a process of social transformation lasting from 1917 to 1937... Fitzpatrick gives us a challenging rethinking that will shape our discussions for years to come. (Ronald Suny, University of Michigan)

A beautiful little introduction to the topic. This is a fine work for introductory students, as well as for general readers looking for a window into the Russian enigma. (Robert V. Daniels, University of Vermont)

Synopsis

The Russian Revolution had a decisive impact on the history of the twentieth century. In the years following the collapse of the Soviet regime and the opening of its archives, it has become possible to step back and see the full picture. This fully updated new edition of Sheila Fitzpatrick's classic short history of the Russian Revolution takes into account the new archival and other evidence that has come to light since then, incorporating material that was previously inaccessible not only to Western but also to Soviet historians Starting with an overview of the roots of the revolution, Fitzpatrick takes the story from 1917, through Stalin's 'revolution from above', to the great purges of the 1930s. She tells a gripping story of a Marxist revolution that was intended to transform the world, visited enormous suffering on the Russian people, and, like the French Revolution before it, ended up by devouring its own children.

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0199237670
• ISBN 13: 9780199237678
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 3
• Number of pages: 232