Description
Book SynopsisRevolutionary Russia: A History in Documents provides a visually stimulating survey of revolutionary Russia, from the collapse of the autocracy in 1917 to the consolidation of the Stalinist system in the 1930s. Authors Robert Weinberg and Laurie Bernstein have collected far-flung documents--many available in English for the first time--and woven them into a narrative that focuses on the effort to build communism in Russia and its effects on the lives of ordinary people. Providing introductions to each chapter and document along with sidebars and detailed photo captions, the main text tantalizes readers with the great vision, conflict, hopes, and horrors of this much-mythologized part of modern history, while the back matter offers resources for further exploration. Utilizing a mix of textual and visual documents-including photographs, posters, and objects-to create a textured history of revolutionary Russia, the book covers such diverse topics as the prelude to revolution, the Bolshevi
Table of ContentsWhat is a Document? ; How to Read a Document ; Introduction ; 1. PRELUDE TO REVOLUTION ; A Land of Contrasts ; Revolutionary Politics ; The Revolution of 1905 ; The Eve of War and Revolution ; 2. 1917: THE YEAR OF REVOLUTION ; Society Becomes Radical ; The Bolshevik Rise to Power ; Views of the Revolution ; 3. THE CONSOLIDATION OF BOLSHEVIK RULE, 1918-1921 ; The Fate of the Royal Family ; Opposition and Criticism ; The Embrace of Dictatorship ; Peasant Resistance and the Crisis of Kronstadt ; 4. THE ROAD TO SOCIALISM ; The Transformation of Culture and Society ; Celebrating Revolution ; The Debate about NEP ; 5. STALIN'S REVOLUTION FROM ABOVE, 1928-1932 ; Beating Russia into the Twentieth Century ; The War against the Peasantry and Church ; The World of Five-Year Plans ; 6. PICTURE ESSAY: WOMEN'S LIBERATION IN THE SOVIET UNION ; 7. SOVIET SOCIETY AND CULTURE IN THE 1930s ; The Cult of Stalin ; The Revolution of Stalin ; 8. THE GREAT TERROR ; The Gulag ; Three Views of the Purges ; The Trial of Bukharin ; The Purges in Literature ; Epilogue ; Assessments of Stalin's Work ; Reflection on the Soviet Experience ; Timeline ; Further Reading ; Websites ; Text Credits ; Picture Credits ; Index ; Index
