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Historically Inevitable?: Turning Points of the Russian Revolution
Marx held that the progression of society from capitalism to communism was 'historically inevitable'. In Russia in 1917, it seemed that Marx's theory was being born out in reality. But was the Russian Revolution really inevitable? This collection of fourteen contributions from the world's leading Russian scholars attempts to answer the question by looking back at the key turning points of the revolution. From the Russo-Japanese conflict of 1904-5 through to the appropriation of church property in 1922, and focusing especially on the incredible chain of events in 1917 leading to the October Revolution itself, Historically Inevitable? is a forensic account of Russia's road to revolution.Each contribution gives not only a fast-paced, incisive narrative account of an individual aspect of Revolution but also, for the first time, an intriguing counter-factual analysis of what might have gone differently. Featuring Richard Pipes on the Kornilov affair, Orlando Figes on the October Revolution, Dominic Lieven on foreign intervention and Martin Sixsmith on the attempted assassination of Lenin in 1918, Historically Inevitable? explains how each of these moments, more through blind luck than any historical inevitability, led to the creation of the world's first communist state. Tony Brenton's afterword to the volume draws parallels between the Revolution and the ultimate collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, and places the events of 1917 in the context of more recent events in Russia and the Crimea.Featuring contributions Crawford - Sean McMeekin - Dominic Lieven - Orlando Figes - Richard Sakwa - Douglas Smith - Martin Sixsmith - Simon Dixon - Boris Kolonitsky - Richard Pipes - Edvard Radzinsky - Catriona Kelly - Erik Landis - Evan Mawdsley
385 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 23, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 30, 2017
I expected this book to be a balanced look at the historical moments surrounding the Bolshevik Revolution and the ways in which events could have produced different outcomes. Instead, I ended up reading a series of essays all of which basically amounted to "how we might have stopped communism".
I'm not averse to reading opinions from opposing viewpoints but at one point the lead author actually goes so far as to compare Russian revolutionaries to modern Jihadi extremists. If you happen to love capitalism and want to read a book about why it is clearly the only possible system for society to operate on then you will likely enjoy this book very much.
I'm not averse to reading opinions from opposing viewpoints but at one point the lead author actually goes so far as to compare Russian revolutionaries to modern Jihadi extremists. If you happen to love capitalism and want to read a book about why it is clearly the only possible system for society to operate on then you will likely enjoy this book very much.
June 21, 2017
Tony Brenton, former British Ambassador in Moscow, compiled thought-provoking essays on counterfactual contingencies of the Russian Revolution. If this one important (implausible) event had not happened, how may things have played out differently?
Surprisingly, I know enough about the Russian Revolution to have understood most of the book. I even enjoyed much of it. Accessible to the non-scholar. My husband chose this for me, so I’m out of my comfort zone.
Counterfactual hadn’t made sense to me outside of BSing among friends. I didn’t consider it scholarly. The book convinced me of its merits when in well qualified hands. It is of value for experts to discuss and share what might have been. It’s relevant to our past, present and future. It’s also very depressing when your subject is the sorrowful Russian Revolution….
My favorite contingencies revolve around Imperial German meddling in Russian Revolution, the “Kornilov affair” blunder, not getting rid of Lenin (arrest by Provisional Government, assassination, political means by other socialists) and Menshevik and SR naivete playing right into Lenin’s hands. These and more are covered here.
“The bulk of the Russian governing class then, as now, were much more comfortable obeying orders than giving them.”
“… the events of 1918… hardened he Bolsheviks into a party of autocratic power, uninterested in debate or divergent opinions. Henceforth they would consider themselves a paramilitary fraternity surrounded by an untrustworthy population that must be re-educated to understand the new reality. To achieve their ends, the party’s leaders would steel themselves to be austere, disciplined zealots, untroubled by human emotions. It was the end of all hopes for democracy in Russia; the beginning of seventy years of unbending communist autocracy.”
“It’s hard to think of another example where the events of a few years, concentrated in one country, and mostly in one city, have had such vast historical consequences.”
Surprisingly, I know enough about the Russian Revolution to have understood most of the book. I even enjoyed much of it. Accessible to the non-scholar. My husband chose this for me, so I’m out of my comfort zone.
Counterfactual hadn’t made sense to me outside of BSing among friends. I didn’t consider it scholarly. The book convinced me of its merits when in well qualified hands. It is of value for experts to discuss and share what might have been. It’s relevant to our past, present and future. It’s also very depressing when your subject is the sorrowful Russian Revolution….
My favorite contingencies revolve around Imperial German meddling in Russian Revolution, the “Kornilov affair” blunder, not getting rid of Lenin (arrest by Provisional Government, assassination, political means by other socialists) and Menshevik and SR naivete playing right into Lenin’s hands. These and more are covered here.
“The bulk of the Russian governing class then, as now, were much more comfortable obeying orders than giving them.”
“… the events of 1918… hardened he Bolsheviks into a party of autocratic power, uninterested in debate or divergent opinions. Henceforth they would consider themselves a paramilitary fraternity surrounded by an untrustworthy population that must be re-educated to understand the new reality. To achieve their ends, the party’s leaders would steel themselves to be austere, disciplined zealots, untroubled by human emotions. It was the end of all hopes for democracy in Russia; the beginning of seventy years of unbending communist autocracy.”
“It’s hard to think of another example where the events of a few years, concentrated in one country, and mostly in one city, have had such vast historical consequences.”
May 10, 2022
Historically Inevitable?
This book is a series of papers, that examines the turning points of the Russian Revolution. It looks at the occasions when things could have taken a different direction. Some of them are more counterfactual than others, which are more of a bland description of what happened and why.
Whilst a few are very good, the odd one or two were actually pretty boring to read. You come away from this book having learnt more about historical processes and the factors that drive things. You also see just how significant Lenin was in driving events. His death or him making different decisions would have changed history. However, once events were set in motion, the end result in many cases would have most probably been just the same.
This isn't a bad book and it's worth a read if you're interested in, or studying the period. However, due to its episodic nature, it was not a book I ever felt that enthusiastic about picking up.
This book is a series of papers, that examines the turning points of the Russian Revolution. It looks at the occasions when things could have taken a different direction. Some of them are more counterfactual than others, which are more of a bland description of what happened and why.
Whilst a few are very good, the odd one or two were actually pretty boring to read. You come away from this book having learnt more about historical processes and the factors that drive things. You also see just how significant Lenin was in driving events. His death or him making different decisions would have changed history. However, once events were set in motion, the end result in many cases would have most probably been just the same.
This isn't a bad book and it's worth a read if you're interested in, or studying the period. However, due to its episodic nature, it was not a book I ever felt that enthusiastic about picking up.
July 30, 2020
Got halfway through but could not finish it for the life of me. I found it too descriptive and a bit of an intellectual cop-out that embarked on a range of separate accounts and 'could-have-beens' of the revolution without offering a clear, decisive argument. Moments that would help me feel like I had grasped something essential about the forces at play were few and far between.
That said, I did like chapter 8 on the Duma.
That said, I did like chapter 8 on the Duma.
April 22, 2022
The book is a collection of essays by noted authors. Each essay is speculation on how history could have been different if an event or series of events had been different. Two examples are what would have happened if Lenin had been arrested when he was trying to flee to Finland and what would have happened if Fanny Kaplan had successfully assassinated Lenin.
Some essays are very convoluted and very unlikely such as what would have been the outcome if the relationship between the Bolsheviks and the Orthodox Church had been different. (Very unlikely as Stalin would have shot all the priests.)
Nevertheless, for those readers who are familiar with Russian history, I recommend the book. I enjoyed reading it.
Some essays are very convoluted and very unlikely such as what would have been the outcome if the relationship between the Bolsheviks and the Orthodox Church had been different. (Very unlikely as Stalin would have shot all the priests.)
Nevertheless, for those readers who are familiar with Russian history, I recommend the book. I enjoyed reading it.
August 5, 2019
Чушь какая-то. Очень претенциозно написанные банальности.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews