Russian Revolution: A Very Short Introduction
Stephen Smith 2002
E-Book: 182 English Pages
Publisher: OUP
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This concise, accessible introduction provides an analytical narrative of the main events and developments in Soviet Russia between 1917 and 1936. It examines the impact of the revolution on society as a whole–on different classes, ethnic groups, the army, men and women, youth. Its central concern is to understand how one structure of domination was replaced by another. The book registers the primacy of politics, but situates political developments firmly in the context of massive economic, social, and cultural change. Since the fall of Communism there has been much reflection on the significance of the Russian Revolution. The book rejects the currently influential, liberal interpretation of the revolution in favor of one that sees it as rooted in the contradictions of a backward society which sought modernization and enlightenment and ended in political tyranny.
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 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
About the Author
Stephen Smith is Professor of History at the University of Esseex. He works on the social history of the Russian and Chinese revoltuions and is author of Red Petrograd: Revolution in the Factories, 1917-1918 (Cambridge University Press, 1983), and A Road is Made: Communism in Shanghai, 1920-27 (Curzon Press, 2000).