Imperial and Soviet Russia: Power, Privilege and the Challenge of Modernity - Hardcover

David Christian

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0333662938 ISBN 13: 9780333662939

Publisher: Red Globe Press, 1997

Synopsis

This is an interpretative history of the Russian Empire and Soviet Union between 1850 and 1991. During this tumultuous period, the countries of this vast area were transformed from traditional, agrarian societies into modern industrial states. Like China, the Soviet Union underwent this transition under the banner of communism. After introductory chapters on traditional Russian history and lifeways, David Christian discusses how these transformations affected both governments and ordinary citizens, what they gained, what they endured, and why the Communist experiment ultimately failed.

About this title

Review

'...provides an excellent overview for those coming to the subject for the first time, or those seeking to fit the specifics of a particular period into the wider picture. The text takes care to clarify the concepts used, does not assume previous knowledge and is interspersed with extracts from relevant period documents...Christian has succeeded in providing a readable textbook distinguished by a coherent line of argument throughout.' - Edwin Bacon, Slavonica

From the Back Cover

It is impossible to make sense of the modern world without understanding the vast, and ultimately unsuccessful, experiment with Communism that began in Russia in 1917. Imperial and Soviet Russia offers a coherent interpretation of the turbulent history of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union during the last two centuries. Tracing the roots of the Communist experiment in the peasant world of traditional Russia, it shows how the harsh social and economic changes of the nineteenth century created enough dislocation to topple the tsarist regime and bring the Bolsheviks to power in 1917.

Edition details

• Publisher: Red Globe Press
• Publication date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0333662938
• ISBN 13: 9780333662939
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 488