A People's Tragedy: A History of the Russian RevolutionOn the brink of the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution, read the most vivid, moving, and comprehensive history of the events that changed the world It is history on an epic yet human scale. Vast in scope, exhaustive in original research, written with passion, narrative skill, and human sympathy, A People's Tragedy is a profound account of the Russian Revolution for a new generation. Many consider the Russian Revolution to be the most significant event of the twentieth century. Distinguished scholar Orlando Figes presents a panorama of Russian society on the eve of that revolution, and then narrates the story of how these social forces were violently erased. Within the broad stokes of war and revolution are miniature histories of individuals, in which Figes follows the main players' fortunes as they saw their hopes die and their world crash into ruins. Unlike previous accounts that trace the origins of the revolution to overreaching political forces and ideals, Figes argues that the failure of democracy in 1917 was deeply rooted in Russian culture and social history and that what had started as a people's revolution contained the seeds of its degeneration into violence and dictatorship. A People's Tragedy is a masterful and original synthesis by a mature scholar, presented in a compelling and accessibly human narrative. |
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arrested autocracy became Bolshevik leaders Bolsheviks bourgeois Brusilov bureaucratic called campaign capital Central Committee Cheka civil command commissars commune comrades Congress Constituent Assembly Cossacks countryside crisis crowd culture defeat defend delegates democratic Denikin Duma élite factory February February Revolution fighting forced Front GARF German Gorky imperial industrial intelligentsia Jews Kadets Kamenev Kanatchikov Kerensky Kerensky's Kolchak Komuch Kornilov Kronstadt labour land later Left SRs Lenin liberal lived Lvov March Marxist mass Mensheviks military Minister Moscow movement nationalist Nicholas October offensive officers organized Os'kin party peace peasant peasantry people's Petrograd police political Prince Lvov propaganda province Provisional Government Rasputin Red Army reform revolutionary Romanov seizure of power Semenov social socialist soldiers Soviet leaders Soviet power Sovnarkom St Petersburg Stalin Stolypin streets Sukhanov Tauride Palace terror took troops Trotsky Tsar Tsar's tsarist turned Ukraine Ukrainian uprising village violence volost Whites Winter Palace workers wrote zemstvo