The Russian Revolution, S.A. Smith
The Russian Revolution, S.A. Smith
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
Club: $9.99

The Russian Revolution
A Very Short Introduction

Author: S.A. Smith

Narrator: S.A. Smith

Unabridged: 6 hr 36 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 05/31/2021

Synopsis

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.

About S.A. Smith

S. A. Smith is a historian of modern Russia and China, who was a graduate student at both Moscow State University and at Peking University. He is the author of many books and articles on the Russian and Chinese revolutions, including Red Petrograd: Revolution in the Factories, 1917-18 and Revolution and the People in Russia and China: A Comparative History, and is editor of The Oxford Handbook of the History of Communism. He taught for many years at the University of Essex, where he is an emeritus professor, and then at the European University Institute in Florence, before being elected to a senior research fellowship at All Souls College, Oxford, in 2012.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Claire on March 23, 2017

A concise but surprisingly comprehensive history of the 1917 Revolution. Smith covers 1917 itself- and it's political, economic, social and cultural consequences with rigour. My only criticism that it was light on causes, and often introduced concepts and groups that weren't explained or clearly ide......more

Goodreads review by Alexander on November 22, 2017

I didn't approach Oxford's crash course in Russian history with high expectations, and to be fair it's done about as well as it could be, but that doesn't make it good. The Russian Revolution was probably the single most important event of the twentieth century. When you think about the things it dir......more

Goodreads review by Daniel on November 03, 2015

I studied the Russian Revolution for GCSE history. It's a mark of how superficially you learn things at that age that I still learned a lot from this VSI. Chapter 1: From February to October Chapter 2: Civil war and the foundation of the Bolshevik regime Chapter 3: War communism Chapter 4: NEP: politics......more

Goodreads review by Francesco on August 07, 2020

As many other books in the Oxford series, this introduction can be useful for someone new to this subject but it lacks deeper substance and analysis. Be careful about the clear political slant against the revolutionary spirit that permeated those years. Is the author afraid it could happen here soon?......more

Goodreads review by James on January 08, 2012

Quite a good introduction. Fair balance between chronological narrative and analysis.......more

Add to Cart
Add to Wish List