Telling October: Memory and the Making of the Bolshevik Revolution

by Frederick C. Corney

All revolutionary regimes seek to legitimize themselves through foundation narratives that, told and retold, become constituent parts of the social fabric, erasing or pushing aside alternative histories. Frederick C. Corney draws on a wide range of sources―archives, published works, films―to explore the potent foundation narrative of Russia's Great October Socialist Revolution. He shows that even as it fought a bloody civil war with the forces that sought to displace it, the Bolshevik regime set about creating a new historical genealogy of which the October Revolution was the only possible culmination. This new narrative was forged through a complex process that included the sacralization of October through ritualized celebrations, its institutionalization in museums and professional institutes devoted to its study, and ambitious campaigns to persuade the masses that their lives were an inextricable part of this historical process. By the late 1920s, the Bolshevik regime had transformed its representation of what had occurred in 1917 into a new orthodoxy, the October Revolution. Corney investigates efforts to convey the dramatic essence of 1917 as a Bolshevik story through the increasingly elaborate anniversary celebrations of 1918, 1919, and 1920. He also describes how official commissions during the 1920s sought to institutionalize this new foundation narrative as history and memory. In the book's final chapter, the author assesses the state of the October narrative at its tenth anniversary, paying particular attention to the versions presented in the celebratory films by Eisenstein and Pudovkin. A brief epilogue assesses October's fate in the years since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Genres: History, Russia

320 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2004

Reviews

[maxgo]

my professor wrote this!

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Corney's book delves into the foundational narrative of the Soviet state: the October Revolution of 1917. He explores the evolution of both the story of the happenings of that night in October (November in the Western calendar) and the evolution of the Bolshevik Party and how it defined itself. He gives us a party that really did not know exactly what it stood for or who stood for it or how to accomplish it, or how to articulate what exactly it was that they expected people to do. Unfortunately, it seems, the revolution of the proletariat doesn't always quite happen exactly as Marx would have envisioned, and there's some argument whether it would have worked if it did. There's depictions of the s truggles between the parties' leaders to define what the revolution was, and how that sets up what they are today, there's a long depiction of the state's historical arm, Istpart, trying to put together a coherent, Russia-wide narrative of what happened during the revolution and pre-revolutionary years, to very little success, and a thorough depiction of the jubilees of the revolutions of 1905 (1925) and 1917 (1927) and the work that went into making sure each experience properly represented what the Soviets were and should be. It is a fascinating look into why foundational narratives are important and why they last, and into the formation, from scratch, of a state that wanted to remake the world and start over, and the difficulties they had in doing that, and how they were bound to the past they were trying to escape by the very language of that escape.

However- this book can be dry, heavy, dull, and repetitive. The entire middle section is about the trials and tribulations Istpart experienced in trying to set up a national story of the October Revolution, and deals over and over with several local bureaus' issues with producing what central Istpart wanted to see. It put me to sleep several times. I do think the opening part of the book that deals with the actual dramatization of October, is really good, and the end elucidates some very good points as well. Just skim through the middle, you won't miss anything.

[Zachary · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this book College of William & Mary Professor of Russian History Fred Corney examines the Russian Revolution from a new perspective; by applying memory studies and examining how the original narrative of the Revolution was created. Corney skillfully demonstrates how myths were created about the Revolution by the Soviet regime, which took control after the Revolution, and how these myths aggrandized and distorted the truth for political gain and to create patriotism among the masses. He demonstrates, among many things, how the narrative of the Revolution was created, the processes involved, and how this narrative became part of the national Soviet myth. He also examines the memoirs of many who participated in the Revolution, and how their own memories sometimes changed to conform with the national myth, or demonstrated how the narrative of the Revolution was distorted. Overall, this is a unique and thought provoking study worth the read.