Russia in Flames

War, Revolution, Civil War, 1914 - 1921

Nonfiction, History, Asian, Russia, Modern, 20th Century
Cover of the book Russia in Flames by Laura Engelstein, Oxford University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Laura Engelstein ISBN: 9780190621773
Publisher: Oxford University Press Publication: September 19, 2017
Imprint: Oxford University Press Language: English
Author: Laura Engelstein
ISBN: 9780190621773
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication: September 19, 2017
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Language: English

October 1917, heralded as the culmination of the Russian Revolution, remains a defining moment in world history. Even a hundred years after the events that led to the emergence of the world's first self-proclaimed socialist state, debate continues over whether, as historian E. H. Carr put it decades ago, these earth-shaking days were a "landmark in the emancipation of mankind from past oppression" or "a crime and a disaster." Some things are clear. After the implosion of the three-hundred-year-old Romanov dynasty as a result of the First World War, Russia was in crisis-one interim government replaced another in the vacuum left by imperial collapse. In this monumental and sweeping new account, Laura Engelstein delves into the seven years of chaos surrounding 1917 --the war, the revolutionary upheaval, and the civil strife it provoked. These were years of breakdown and brutal violence on all sides, punctuated by the decisive turning points of February and October. As Engelstein proves definitively, the struggle for power engaged not only civil society and party leaders, but the broad masses of the population and every corner of the far-reaching empire, well beyond Moscow and Petrograd. Yet in addition to the bloodshed they unleashed, the revolution and civil war revealed democratic yearnings, even if ideas of what constituted "democracy" differed dramatically. Into that vacuum left by the Romanov collapse rushed long-suppressed hopes and dreams about social justice and equality. But any possible experiment in self-rule was cut short by the October Revolution. Under the banner of true democracy, and against all odds, the Bolshevik triumph resulted in the ruthless repression of all opposition. The Bolsheviks managed to harness the social breakdown caused by the war and institutionalize violence as a method of state-building, creating a new society and a new form of power. Russia in Flames offers a compelling narrative of heroic effort and brutal disappointment, revealing that what happened during these seven years was both a landmark in the emancipation of Russia from past oppression and a world-shattering disaster. As regimes fall and rise, as civil wars erupt, as state violence targets civilian populations, it is a story that remains profoundly and enduringly relevant.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

October 1917, heralded as the culmination of the Russian Revolution, remains a defining moment in world history. Even a hundred years after the events that led to the emergence of the world's first self-proclaimed socialist state, debate continues over whether, as historian E. H. Carr put it decades ago, these earth-shaking days were a "landmark in the emancipation of mankind from past oppression" or "a crime and a disaster." Some things are clear. After the implosion of the three-hundred-year-old Romanov dynasty as a result of the First World War, Russia was in crisis-one interim government replaced another in the vacuum left by imperial collapse. In this monumental and sweeping new account, Laura Engelstein delves into the seven years of chaos surrounding 1917 --the war, the revolutionary upheaval, and the civil strife it provoked. These were years of breakdown and brutal violence on all sides, punctuated by the decisive turning points of February and October. As Engelstein proves definitively, the struggle for power engaged not only civil society and party leaders, but the broad masses of the population and every corner of the far-reaching empire, well beyond Moscow and Petrograd. Yet in addition to the bloodshed they unleashed, the revolution and civil war revealed democratic yearnings, even if ideas of what constituted "democracy" differed dramatically. Into that vacuum left by the Romanov collapse rushed long-suppressed hopes and dreams about social justice and equality. But any possible experiment in self-rule was cut short by the October Revolution. Under the banner of true democracy, and against all odds, the Bolshevik triumph resulted in the ruthless repression of all opposition. The Bolsheviks managed to harness the social breakdown caused by the war and institutionalize violence as a method of state-building, creating a new society and a new form of power. Russia in Flames offers a compelling narrative of heroic effort and brutal disappointment, revealing that what happened during these seven years was both a landmark in the emancipation of Russia from past oppression and a world-shattering disaster. As regimes fall and rise, as civil wars erupt, as state violence targets civilian populations, it is a story that remains profoundly and enduringly relevant.

More books from Oxford University Press

Cover of the book The Great Disorder by Laura Engelstein
Cover of the book Singleness and the Church by Laura Engelstein
Cover of the book Searching for Justice After the Holocaust by Laura Engelstein
Cover of the book The Ant Trap by Laura Engelstein
Cover of the book Understanding TIAA-CREF by Laura Engelstein
Cover of the book Overdiagnosis in Psychiatry by Laura Engelstein
Cover of the book Pediatric Intensive Care by Laura Engelstein
Cover of the book Becoming Hewlett Packard by Laura Engelstein
Cover of the book Institutional Cosmopolitanism by Laura Engelstein
Cover of the book Handbook of Normative Data for Neuropsychological Assessment by Laura Engelstein
Cover of the book The Aztecs: A Very Short Introduction by Laura Engelstein
Cover of the book US Foreign Policy on Transitional Justice by Laura Engelstein
Cover of the book The Space of Opinion by Laura Engelstein
Cover of the book Diabetes and Ocular Disease by Laura Engelstein
Cover of the book The Simple Flute by Laura Engelstein
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy