What do you think?
Rate this book
A Brief History of 1917: Russia's Year of Revolution
Russia's Bolshevik Revolution began in 1917 and has remained a controversial political and academic battleground, fought over for almost a century. It has been demonized—its more sinister aspects used as an anti-Communist battering ram throughout the Cold War—and glorified, as exemplified by John Reed's classic Ten Days That Shook the World. Much has been written about the key figures—Lenin, Trotsky, Kerensky, and the rest—while the various political movements have been relentlessly analyzed. Yet there is another side to it, a more human story.
What was life like for a peasant or a manual worker in Petrograd or Moscow in 1917? How much did a tram driver, his wife, or a common soldier know or understand about Bolshevism? What was the price of a loaf of bread or a pair of boots? Who kept the power stations running, the telephone exchanges, bakeries, farms, and hospitals working? These are just some of the details historian Roy Bainton brings to life, not through memoirs of politicians and philosophers, but in the memories of ordinary working people. As witnessed on the streets of Petrograd, Bainton brings us the indelible events of the most momentous year in Russian history.
What was life like for a peasant or a manual worker in Petrograd or Moscow in 1917? How much did a tram driver, his wife, or a common soldier know or understand about Bolshevism? What was the price of a loaf of bread or a pair of boots? Who kept the power stations running, the telephone exchanges, bakeries, farms, and hospitals working? These are just some of the details historian Roy Bainton brings to life, not through memoirs of politicians and philosophers, but in the memories of ordinary working people. As witnessed on the streets of Petrograd, Bainton brings us the indelible events of the most momentous year in Russian history.
512 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
17 people are currently reading
221 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
March 18, 2022
My lifetime knowledge of Russian history had been limited to World War Two and that was about that! It was by sheer accident that I began to listen to an excellent podcast on its revolutionary history, and with that the appetite was certainly whetted for more. So dive I did into online resources with a vengeance, and then Russia invaded Ukraine. Timing!
I thought I had better read this “A Brief History” that had been on the shelf for a while. I have found Robinson’s “A Brief History” series to usually be very good primers. This one is no different. Covering the events in chronological order with a few personal anecdotes from the children of the revolution thrown in for good measure, author Roy Bainton has produced a breezily written and useful primer for the absolute beginner. There is an illustrations section, a preface explaining the Julian and Gregorian calendars, a couple of perfunctory maps and his introduction makes interesting reading. The appendices are very useful with a chronology of events and an A to Z of political parties, prominent figures and organisations.
Considering this book was published in 2005 and the present circumstances that Russian finds itself in with the war in Ukraine, I was interested in a paragraph that the author wrote near the end of the historical narrative and will quote verbatim.
“Common workman. Dark people. In Russia and around the world, they still exist. They labour for long hours making trainers and sportswear in the sweat shops of the Far East. They work beneath the earth as children in the mines of South America. They beg in the streets and railway stations of India. Closer to the epicentre of the revolution what was once the ‘proletariat’, visibly at least, has ceased to exist. We’re the ones with the tattoos, the mobile phones, the credit cards, laptops, iPads and wide screen TV’s.
What on earth Lenin and Trotsky would have made of us is anyone’s guess”
Quite.
I will make one comment; from what I have listened to and read over the last couple of months as I have immersed myself in the Russian Revolutionary history there may be no bigger fool in modern history that Tsar Nicholas II, What he failed to see, understand etc etc and with that what his sheer blindness eventually foisted on the Russian people via the gangster that was Stalin deserves nothing but contempt.
Recommended to the beginner only.
I thought I had better read this “A Brief History” that had been on the shelf for a while. I have found Robinson’s “A Brief History” series to usually be very good primers. This one is no different. Covering the events in chronological order with a few personal anecdotes from the children of the revolution thrown in for good measure, author Roy Bainton has produced a breezily written and useful primer for the absolute beginner. There is an illustrations section, a preface explaining the Julian and Gregorian calendars, a couple of perfunctory maps and his introduction makes interesting reading. The appendices are very useful with a chronology of events and an A to Z of political parties, prominent figures and organisations.
Considering this book was published in 2005 and the present circumstances that Russian finds itself in with the war in Ukraine, I was interested in a paragraph that the author wrote near the end of the historical narrative and will quote verbatim.
“Common workman. Dark people. In Russia and around the world, they still exist. They labour for long hours making trainers and sportswear in the sweat shops of the Far East. They work beneath the earth as children in the mines of South America. They beg in the streets and railway stations of India. Closer to the epicentre of the revolution what was once the ‘proletariat’, visibly at least, has ceased to exist. We’re the ones with the tattoos, the mobile phones, the credit cards, laptops, iPads and wide screen TV’s.
What on earth Lenin and Trotsky would have made of us is anyone’s guess”
Quite.
I will make one comment; from what I have listened to and read over the last couple of months as I have immersed myself in the Russian Revolutionary history there may be no bigger fool in modern history that Tsar Nicholas II, What he failed to see, understand etc etc and with that what his sheer blindness eventually foisted on the Russian people via the gangster that was Stalin deserves nothing but contempt.
Recommended to the beginner only.
March 20, 2024
I knew little about the 1917 Russian Revolutions before reading this, and it’s an excellent introduction. I found it thorough and informative, as well as interesting and thoroughly dramatic. There are a lot of names and political parties to keep track of, but the author defines important ideas (like the differences between Bolsheviks, Mensheviks, and Social Revolutionaries) as you read; AND there is a glossary of names, parties & organizations, and publications at the back of the book that I recommend using as you read. Or you can do what I did and say “Alexa, what was Bolshevism?” only to have the author explain it on the following page.
SO MUCH happened in Russia in 1917, I loved learning about it all and being pulled into the drama of it with this book. The first- and second- hand accounts from “children of the revolution” really humanized the story and gave me an idea of what some people were actually dealing with day to day.
SO MUCH happened in Russia in 1917, I loved learning about it all and being pulled into the drama of it with this book. The first- and second- hand accounts from “children of the revolution” really humanized the story and gave me an idea of what some people were actually dealing with day to day.
December 2, 2021
Não foi o favorito do ano . Foi , aliás , a leitura mais longa que tive. Várias vezes estive para desistir . A temática do livro fascina -me , o que me levou à compra do mesmo . Mas a história está mal contada , não tem um fio condutor que prenda o leitor .
Ainda assim , relatos de pessoas que viveram a revolução tornaram o livro interessante. Se formos a ver bem, Svetlana Alexvietch consegue interligar muito melhor as histórias de uma forma humana e brilhantemente construída . Ou então Yuval Noah Harari que consegue fazer um discurso absorvente e a acompanhar a cronologia da História .
Não está tudo perdido . Aprendi imenso sobre a revolução de Fevereiro e Outubro de 1917, a queda do Czarismo, Romanov e Rasputin , os Duma , Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin e a Guerra Civil. O livro tem também referências a Gorky.
Para a próxima , escolho um autor mais entendido na matéria 😅
Ainda assim , relatos de pessoas que viveram a revolução tornaram o livro interessante. Se formos a ver bem, Svetlana Alexvietch consegue interligar muito melhor as histórias de uma forma humana e brilhantemente construída . Ou então Yuval Noah Harari que consegue fazer um discurso absorvente e a acompanhar a cronologia da História .
Não está tudo perdido . Aprendi imenso sobre a revolução de Fevereiro e Outubro de 1917, a queda do Czarismo, Romanov e Rasputin , os Duma , Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin e a Guerra Civil. O livro tem também referências a Gorky.
Para a próxima , escolho um autor mais entendido na matéria 😅
April 22, 2025
A sarting read and leaves me wanting to learn more, but I liked it. Probably a 3.5 overall
April 3, 2017
Growing up in Vietnam, once a staunch ideological ally of the Soviet Union, I came to know about the October Revolution through standard history textbooks at school: Lenin was the ultimate champion of a new socialist utopia in which the proletarian class took power into their own hand and plotted out their own destiny to a happy and egalitarian society.
This book is the very somber counterbalance to that idyllic facade. It is a primer into a world of chaos and seismic social changes that plunged a country deep into decades of political struggles, wars, horror and death. Revolutionary though they were, Lenin, Trotsky and the Bolshevik bandwagon were by no means romantic revolutionists-they embodied a wave of radicalism, hell-bent on destroying everything and everyone blocking its way. They possessed deep hatred for the "bourgeois scums", the nobility and all those deemed "enemies to the working class". They betrayed, intimidated, tortured and killed their way to total and absolute power, subjugating the whole population to their iron will. And ironically enough, many of them would meet the same tragic fate at the hand of fellow comrades.
In any significant event, the mass plays the most crucial role in catapulting the leading figures into the prominence of history. People of the Russian Empire, ravaged by unutterable hardship of wars, famine and exploitation under the Tsarist Regime decided "enough is enough" in 1917. They rallied under the banner of the Provisional Government and later on the Bolshevik, sacrificing their blood for a better future of freedom, only to have their hopes and dreams dashed by the very people with whom they had entrusted them.
This book is the very somber counterbalance to that idyllic facade. It is a primer into a world of chaos and seismic social changes that plunged a country deep into decades of political struggles, wars, horror and death. Revolutionary though they were, Lenin, Trotsky and the Bolshevik bandwagon were by no means romantic revolutionists-they embodied a wave of radicalism, hell-bent on destroying everything and everyone blocking its way. They possessed deep hatred for the "bourgeois scums", the nobility and all those deemed "enemies to the working class". They betrayed, intimidated, tortured and killed their way to total and absolute power, subjugating the whole population to their iron will. And ironically enough, many of them would meet the same tragic fate at the hand of fellow comrades.
In any significant event, the mass plays the most crucial role in catapulting the leading figures into the prominence of history. People of the Russian Empire, ravaged by unutterable hardship of wars, famine and exploitation under the Tsarist Regime decided "enough is enough" in 1917. They rallied under the banner of the Provisional Government and later on the Bolshevik, sacrificing their blood for a better future of freedom, only to have their hopes and dreams dashed by the very people with whom they had entrusted them.
October 12, 2014
B
Nothing special. A nice introductory text on the subject if you don't know too much, but by no means illuminating on any broader issues.
Nothing special. A nice introductory text on the subject if you don't know too much, but by no means illuminating on any broader issues.
January 18, 2018
Short book which details Petrograd, Russia in the year of 1917. Mixed in with history, are personal stories from older generations who lived through the Feburary and October Revolutions of 1917.
December 24, 2024
A somewhat glossary introductory look into Russia's revolutionary year. Bainton has done a good job gathering first-hand accounts of the Bolshevik takeover.
January 31, 2015
The author attempted to take a basic outline of the Russian Revolution and then inject it with insights from elderly Russians....it didn't work.
December 14, 2017
As a first book on the Russian revolution, this book is ok place to start, in the sense that it does tell you factually what happened and it manages to do so while being fairly concise. However, I found the book a bit misleading. Ostensibly, it is supposed to be the story of the revolution told through the stories of ordinary people. This is what is written on the back and suggested in the introduction, where the author talks about tracking these people down being the idea behind the book. To me this is a very interesting premise.
However, what the book actually consists of is a fairly generic description of the revolution with eyewitness accounts occasionally sprinkled in - much like other history books. It turns out that the bulk of the interviews are contained in the final chapter, where the author also talks about how he went about tracking down these people.
To me, that final chapter was the most interesting part of the book, and somebody already well acquainted with the events of the revolution could probably safely skip the rest of the book.
However, what the book actually consists of is a fairly generic description of the revolution with eyewitness accounts occasionally sprinkled in - much like other history books. It turns out that the bulk of the interviews are contained in the final chapter, where the author also talks about how he went about tracking down these people.
To me, that final chapter was the most interesting part of the book, and somebody already well acquainted with the events of the revolution could probably safely skip the rest of the book.
June 11, 2020
A useful introduction into one of the most chaotic and transformative periods of the 20th Century.
The mixture of historical narrative combined with the stories of those who experienced the events (or those shortly following) helps ground the reader. Whilst the great political events are undoubtedly important and interesting, the reader is reminded that for those who lived to see them they were quite different - and each day was no more than a mundane fight to survive.
What is striking is that, despite the regime’s love of order and discipline, later reaching an apex under Stalin, its origins were chaotic and farcical. The key players (Lenin, Stalin, Trotsky) scrambling to get back to Petrograd as the revolution explodes without them, Lenin’s laughable disguises and the first treasury of the Soviet state being no more than sacks of robbed cash stuffed in a wardrobe - it hardly strikes one as the foundations of an autocratic, mechanical regime.
The mixture of historical narrative combined with the stories of those who experienced the events (or those shortly following) helps ground the reader. Whilst the great political events are undoubtedly important and interesting, the reader is reminded that for those who lived to see them they were quite different - and each day was no more than a mundane fight to survive.
What is striking is that, despite the regime’s love of order and discipline, later reaching an apex under Stalin, its origins were chaotic and farcical. The key players (Lenin, Stalin, Trotsky) scrambling to get back to Petrograd as the revolution explodes without them, Lenin’s laughable disguises and the first treasury of the Soviet state being no more than sacks of robbed cash stuffed in a wardrobe - it hardly strikes one as the foundations of an autocratic, mechanical regime.
December 29, 2017
It's an intriguing concept -- getting oral histories from a variety of Russians with some connection to Russia's year of revolution. Unfortunately, since the interviews were conducted in the 1990s and early 2000s, the interview subjects delivered their testimonies second-hand. The stories came from people who were children, and the memories usually came via their parents.
Bainton's sympathies are clear early on (as I suppose they should be). The Russian people set themselves free in February 1917, but were betrayed in the Bolshevik "coup" of October. Alexander Kerensky should have been a hero, but he was cast aside after appointing General Kornilov head of the army.
The book is easy to read, and the stories are interesting, but this isn't the first book you should read about the Russian Revolutions of 1917.
Bainton's sympathies are clear early on (as I suppose they should be). The Russian people set themselves free in February 1917, but were betrayed in the Bolshevik "coup" of October. Alexander Kerensky should have been a hero, but he was cast aside after appointing General Kornilov head of the army.
The book is easy to read, and the stories are interesting, but this isn't the first book you should read about the Russian Revolutions of 1917.
May 29, 2020
Roy Bainton has written of this landmark year in Russian history from the perspective of the history as well as the recollections of people who were alive at the time.
I found it interesting to read how these recollections were similar to the fictionalized version in a novel entitled “City of Thieves” by Daniel Benioff although Benioff’s work includes details not mentioned in Bainton’s journalist approach.
It provides another perspective on how the events of 1917 forged the “new” Russia? and how the lives of its citizens were impacted on a practical level.
I found it interesting to read how these recollections were similar to the fictionalized version in a novel entitled “City of Thieves” by Daniel Benioff although Benioff’s work includes details not mentioned in Bainton’s journalist approach.
It provides another perspective on how the events of 1917 forged the “new” Russia? and how the lives of its citizens were impacted on a practical level.
August 4, 2022
The author admits to never having written before; and it does show. This is a satisfactory popular history; written because of the interviews the author was able to secure. It would be interesting to hear the views of the Russian people 18 years on from the date of the original interviews with Glasnost and Perestroika in the past and the "defensive special operations" in Ukraine in progress. I imagine the brief window of candour that the interviewees were able to express in 2004 would, by now, have closed again.
July 25, 2019
I find myself unable to finish the last couple of chapters. Bainton has perhaps the most unengaging writing style I have ever encountered. The history is on point, but his presentation is boring and uninspired.
The cover and the back claim the book is about history from the eyes of people living in Petrograd; this couldn't be further from the truth. Every now and then he sprinkles in a story from a Russian citizen that has next to nothing to do with whatever topic is being discussed.
The cover and the back claim the book is about history from the eyes of people living in Petrograd; this couldn't be further from the truth. Every now and then he sprinkles in a story from a Russian citizen that has next to nothing to do with whatever topic is being discussed.
April 20, 2023
A decent overview. The Russian Revolution isn't a major interest for me but I did find myself become more engaged with the subject through this. However, I do think the book would have benefitted from including more of what it claims to contain - that is, interviews from actual Russian people who witnessed the events or had family members who did. These were the most interesting portions. That isn't to say that the more typical historical information wasn't interesting, but just that it can be found in many places and doesn't really set the book apart.
March 28, 2020
Well researched and with plenty of eye-witness accounts of Petrograd (St Petersbourg) citizens, thereby bringing something new to the table. A good place to start if you're looking to read about the Russian Revolution.
November 10, 2020
If you want a short book about Russia's most vital year during the 20th century, then this book might be for you. A little bit to simple for my taste, but some might like that. The stories are okay, but not really interested as they've usually retelling them from their parents experiences.
January 17, 2019
For those who wanted to grasp the history of 'October' Revolution. This book should make the list. It tells the story of Russian Revolution from the eyes of ordinary citizens.
May 9, 2020
Sloppy editing and repetition affect an otherwise acceptable primer
July 26, 2020
If you dont know much about the Russian Revolution, this is a good start. It gives a snapshot and hits the highlights.
January 2, 2022
Interesting if you like history. The accounts of survivors was particularly interesting.
January 7, 2017
A good, succinct introduction to the main elements and events that caused the February revolution and the bloody October coup d'état. Bainton incorporates personal histories to make his recollection of 1917 more engaging and humanistic. A good book for anyone who is somewhat familiar with the revolution but wants to gather some more understanding.
October 30, 2011
This book is about 1917, when Russia was in chaos due to the Great war, and where the Bolsheviks grow tired of the weak rule of Tsar Nicholas and rebel against his rule. The Russian nobles live in luxury while the Russian majority are serfs working for the rich minority, starving to death. Then Lenin, Trotsky and Kerensky come along, build up a rebel army and overthrow the Tsar, and start the Soviet Union.
I picked this book up when I saw it on sale in Chapters, and thought that I might be interested to learn more about how the Bolsheviks rose to power. I finished this book because the events just rose higher and higher and I just had to continue because of the growing events. I think that people that like history would like this book unless they hate long books, because this is like being there at St.Petersburg or wherever this is, and a never seen before inside look at the events, with detail, so I would also recommend this to anyone who is hungry for detail. I don't know why they call this the "brief history" because I have not yet found a book on this subject(for my literacy level) with this much detail. I am currently reading another book in this series.
I picked this book up when I saw it on sale in Chapters, and thought that I might be interested to learn more about how the Bolsheviks rose to power. I finished this book because the events just rose higher and higher and I just had to continue because of the growing events. I think that people that like history would like this book unless they hate long books, because this is like being there at St.Petersburg or wherever this is, and a never seen before inside look at the events, with detail, so I would also recommend this to anyone who is hungry for detail. I don't know why they call this the "brief history" because I have not yet found a book on this subject(for my literacy level) with this much detail. I am currently reading another book in this series.
December 31, 2020
"1917-Russian's year of revolution" Os testemunhos de quem viveu a revolução. Não sendo uma análise exaustiva pode constituir uma boa introdução a quem queira estudar o período. O livro apenas peca porque as memórias recolhidas acabam por ser difusas, os entrevistados ora eram muito novos e do momento guardam poucas recordações, ora já nasceram posteriormente à data, guardando a memória de terceiros e portanto vagamente precisas, ainda assim um livro interessante.
______
The testimonies of those who lived the revolution. Not being an exhaustive analysis, it can be a good introduction to anyone who wants to study the period. The book only sins because the memories collected turn out to be diffuse, the interviewees were sometimes very young and have few memories at the time, sometimes they were born after the date, keeping the memory of others and therefore vaguely accurate, yet an interesting book.
______
The testimonies of those who lived the revolution. Not being an exhaustive analysis, it can be a good introduction to anyone who wants to study the period. The book only sins because the memories collected turn out to be diffuse, the interviewees were sometimes very young and have few memories at the time, sometimes they were born after the date, keeping the memory of others and therefore vaguely accurate, yet an interesting book.
September 8, 2021
Pretty interesting book. A bit slow due to the textbook style of writing but I drew many insights into the Russian Communist Revolution. I always just thought the revolutionaries were the Bolsheviks and tossed out the Czar and replaced it with Lenin's Bolshevik/Communist Party. In fact after the ousting of the Czar, a lot of back and forth went on between the differing factions desiring change , ranging from a freemarket capitalist Republic, The moderate socialists "Mensheviks" to the radical socialist Bolsheviks. Very minor events affected the final resulting Communist rule. Also I did not know that Leon Trotsky, the founder of the Red Army was interned on a POW camp in Nova Scotia prior to his return to Russia.
Read
August 29, 2016A brief history of 1917 Russia's year of revolution is a book that express the truth through the masses rather than politics or historians it express's the true nature of 1917 through the setting rather than resources on a map. It shows us that Lenin in the eyes of the people was not first their savior but out of the picture most would say history is not changed by people but by their leaders well in this case the people believed at first that they created their own government by their own will rather than pawns. I believe this is a great read for young readers such as my self even though it may be complex it protrayes that history is not all ways truth and that it may be debated showing young people that history is on the same fine line between fact and fiction as philosophy.
July 3, 2015
Roy Baimon offers a unique perspective on the Bolshevik Revolution. Informed by interviews with people who were witness to the events in 1917, this book allows you to completely do away with the "first-world" view of the USSR and the Communist state. This is a very dense, powerful read but the insights it offers are priceless. I definitely recommend this book to anyone with an interest in Russian history, WWI, socialist history, or world history in a broader sense. Enter with an open mind and you will no doubt find this book to be a useful tool in deciphering our reality.
October 5, 2019
I couldn’t finish the book. It was too boring, felt a bit messy and out of sequence. I don’t know much about the history of Russia so I was hoping to learn but the names were sort of just thrown in there without any explanation, maybe more suitable for those who have a basic knowledge of the history, which I don’t.
February 10, 2011
A nice, easy to read, easy to follow introduction to the Russian Revolution, focusing on 1917. The author does a great job of putting together the historical narrative with his own interviews of people who remember that time and were in their 90s when he interviewed them.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews