The Bolshevik Revolution 1917-23, Vol 2

A History of Soviet Russia #2

by Edward Hallett Carr

This volume discusses the economic policies and predicaments of the first years of the Soviet regime.

Genres: History, Russia, Politics, Russian Revolution, Nonfiction, Russian History, Soviet Union

Paperback

First published January 1, 1950

About the author

Edward Hallett Carr was a liberal realist and later left-wing British historian, journalist and international relations theorist, and an opponent of empiricism within historiography.

Carr was best known for his 14-volume history of the Soviet Union, in which he provided an account of Soviet history from 1917 to 1929, for his writings on international relations, and for his book What Is History?, in which he laid out historiographical principles rejecting traditional historical methods and practices.

Educated at Cambridge, Carr began his career as a diplomat in 1916. Becoming increasingly preoccupied with the study of international relations and of the Soviet Union, he resigned from the Foreign Office in 1936 to begin an academic career. From 1941 to 1946, Carr worked as an assistant editor at The Times, where he was noted for his leaders (editorials) urging a socialist system and an Anglo-Soviet alliance as the basis of a post-war order. Afterwards, Carr worked on a massive 14-volume work on Soviet history entitled A History of Soviet Russia, a project that he was still engaged in at the time of his death in 1982. In 1961, he delivered the G. M. Trevelyan lectures at the University of Cambridge that became the basis of his book, What is History?. Moving increasingly towards the left throughout his career, Carr saw his role as the theorist who would work out the basis of a new international order.

Reviews

[Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

مجلد دوم به بررسی سیاست‌های اقتصادی حزب بلشویک در 4 مرحله می‌پردازد: پیش از انقلاب- بدست گیری قدرت تا جنگ داخلی- کمونیسم جنگی- سیاست نوین اقتصادی "نپ". پروفسور کار در هر یک از مراحل فوق بخشهای کشاورزی، صنایع، کار و اتحادیه‌های کارگری، بازرگانی و توزیع و امور مالی را جداگانه مورد بررسی قرار می‌دهد. کتاب را می‌توان از ابتدا تا انتها خواند یا هر یک از بخشهای پنج‌گانه را جداگانه مطالعه نمود. شاید روش دوم در بازخوانی کتاب مفیدتر باشد.

تاریخ اقتصادی شوروی در سال‌های آغازین انقلاب پیچیده و در عین حال بسیار جذاب است. لنین و بلشویک‌ها علیرغم بورژوازی واپس‌مانده، دهقانان محافظه‌کار و تشنه زمین، گرایشات سندیکالیستی اتحادیه‌های کارگری و پس از امضای معاهده برست لیتوفسک؛ مخالفت احزاب هم‌دل با مرام سوسیالیستی، تحریم متفقین و جنگ داخلی در پی تحقق آرمان‌های سوسیالیستی‌اند. ایدئولوژی مارکسیستی در نحوه گذار به سوسیالیسم چیز چندانی برای عرضه ندارد و تولید صنعتی و کشاورزی در مقیاس وسیع را فرض می‌گیرد. اقتصاد روسیه صحنه‌ی آزمون و خطاهای متعدد است که عمدتا در پی واکنش به مصائب و مشکلات پیش آمده صورت رادیکال‌تری به خود می‌گیرد...

[Javier · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it but I don't think a thematic division works better than a chronological one (for me). I would expect the book to be a bit dated. The author seems to be at least a bit familiar with marxist theory, which is nice.

[Neal Maro · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second volume of E H Carr's History of Soviet Russia details the transition from the seizure of state power to the policy of War Communism through to the New Economic Policy. Carr highlights a continuity between the two modes of organisation. They were developing answers to a truly catastrophic economic situation inherited from the Provisional Government and Tsarist regime. It's a miracle they were able to maintain power and reconstruct Russian society after nearly a decade of complete devastation.

[James McLelland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very very in depth look at the various stages of the economy post revolution until the close of the NEP. Really emphasises just how difficult the situation faced by the new Republic was for those first few years, with every conceivable economic and political crisis happening at once, all of which were somehow overcome. Really quite inspiring in a way.