The Russian Revolution, 1905-1921

Description

A new history of the Russian Revolution, exploring how people experienced it in their own lives, from Bloody Sunday in 1905 to the final shots of the civil war in 1921. The Russian Revolution, 1905-1921 focuses on human experience to address key issues of inequality, power, and violence, and ideas of justice and freedom.

• A new history of the Russian Revolution, exploring how people experienced it in their own lives
• Concise but expert account of living through the revolution - perfect for students and general readers
• Ranges from the events of Bloody Sunday in 1905 to the final shots of the civil war in 1921
• Deals with key characters of the Revolution, such as Vladimir Lenin, Lev Trotsky, Alexandra Kollontai, Vladimir Mayakovsky, and Isaac Babel
• Draws extensively on contemporary texts and voices to bring the past and its meanings to life

About the Author(s)

Mark D. Steinberg, Professor of history, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Mark D. Steinberg, a professor of history at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, is the author of many books and articles, including The Fall of the Romanovs: Political Dreams and Personal Struggles in a Time of Revolution (1995), Voices of Revolution, 1917 (2001), Proletarian Imagination: Self, Modernity, and the Sacred in Russia, 1910-1925 (2002), Petersburg Fin-de-Siecle (2011), and recent editions of the late Nicholas Riasanovsky's A History of Russia. His research and teaching interests include histories of cities, working-class culture, emotions, violence, revolutions, and utopia.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Experiencing the Russian Revolution
PART I: Documents and Stories
1:Springtime of Freedom: Walking the Past
PART II: Histories
2:Revolution, Uncertainty, and War
3:1917
4:Civil War
PART III: Places and People
5:Politics of the Street
6:Women and Revolution in the Village
7:Overcoming Empire
8:Utopians
Conclusion: An Unfinished Revolution
Bibliography

Reviews

"Steinberg has in the past produced valuable work on the "voices" of remarkable individuals, especially workers, in the revolutionary process, and the new book builds on this ... There are few accounts that so sharply bring to life a wide range of ethnic groups, especially Ukrainians, Jews and the peoples of Central Asia. Steinberg also examines the distinct experience of the peasantry and offers vignettes on the travails and rebellions of country-dwellers. The purpose is always to portray the entire population as having been active in its own local revolutions." - Robert Service, Times Literary Supplement

"draws in particular on contemporary journalism of the period, which provides some fascinating insights into attitudes and experiences of the revolution ... [he] provides some fascinating insight into issues of nationality, religion and ethnic identity during the revolutionary period. Steinberg also gives a very useful and detailed bibliography of English language publications about the Russian Revolution which forms a good guide to anyone wanting to read further." - James Eaden, International Socialism