The Russian Revolution / Edition 3

by Sheila Fitzpatrick

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199237678
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	03/20/2008
Edition description:	Older Edition
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	7.60(w) x 5.00(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Sheila Fitzpatrick is Bernadotte E. Schmitt Professor of Modern Russian History at the University of Chicago. A past president of the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies and a co-editor of The Journal of Modern History, she is the author of many other books and articles about Russia. She lives in Chicago and Washington, DC.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Editorial Reviews

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

From the Publisher

01/01/2017
Fitzpatrick's succinct history covers the revolutions in February and October 1917, the Russian Civil War (1917–23), Lenin's New Economic Plan, and Stalin's revolution, ending with the Great Purge of the 1930s.

Library Journal