Black Night, White Snow: Russia's Revolutions, 1905-1917

by Harrison E. Salisbury

The destruction of the Czars which brought about the reign of revolutions from 1905–1917 in Russia looms as the crucial political event of the twentieth century. In little more than a decade the Romanov dynasty was toppled, and its time-honored institutions repudiated. How did it happen? How could Nicholas and Alexandra, the nobility, middle class anarchists—even Lenin himself—not foresee the catastrophic changes that were shaking the empire? Why could nothing be done? And why were the efforts so ineffectual? Black Night, White Snow captures the rich drama of this whole period. With the artistry of a Balzac, Harrison Salisbury exposes the strata of Russian society, with its decedents, prophetic poets, religious fanatics, and newly liberated serfs. From archival sources within the Soviet Union, interviews, and his personal photography collection, he recreates the story as it happened. Hard data on Russia's economy, a first-hand knowledge of the county, and a historian's gift of compression are combined in a fast-paced narrative that reads with the ease of a good novel and the urgency of a newspaper headline.

Genres: History, Russia, Nonfiction, Russian Revolution, Russian History, World History

760 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

Harrison E. Salisbury was a long time reporter and editor at The New York Times. Earlier in his career he had worked for the United Press, which he joined after earning a B.A. at the University of Minnesota in 1930. He began his career in journalism as a part-time reporter for the Minneapolis Journal during 1928-29. Although he served in many different positions and places during his long career at the Times, Mr. Salisbury is perhaps most famous for his work as Moscow correspondent, covering the U.S.S.R. during the early years of the Cold War. After serving as the Times' Moscow Bureau Chief from 1949 to 1954, he returned to the U.S. and wrote a series of articles for which he won a Pulitzer Prize in 1955. He spent a great deal of time concentrating on Asia during his later years at the Times, covering the Vietnam War as well as many different issues and events having to do with China.

Reviews

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

This a truly magnificent book. Salisbury's use of language to paint an incredibly vivid picture of the Russian Revolution is masterful. His images stick with the reader. I have rarely come across a non-fiction writer with such a precise, but yet highly poetic command of the language in their work.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Be warned:This book is over 500 pages in length, and t's very detailed. It is not a quick read. I spent almost four months one summer carrying this book to the beach and getting lost in t's narrative. Salisbury presents a thorough accounting of the events that led to the Russian Revolution in 1917. The author was a reporter who specialized in covering Russia and then the Soviet Union. This is the first narrative, non-fiction book I read way back in the 1980s. The detail provided into the lives of the Tsar's family, as well as the common people, and those vying to change the system is fascinating, and at times, brutal. This book provides an example of what journalism once was, and what it still should be.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mr. Salisbury is a good writer and a thorough researcher, and he covered the subject thoroughly. To say that I liked the book is somewhat of a misnomer, given the bleakness of the subject.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having read books about Czar Nicholas II, notably 'Nicholas and Alexandra', I've been interested in reading more about the Russian Revolution that deposed him and led to his execution. Unfortunately, 'Black Night, White Snow' is not it. Given the nature of the revolution, however, I don't know if there is a definitive cogent account. Because Russia is so vast it would have been impossible for one man or one group to spearhead the revolution. And thereby hangs the problem in telling the story of the Russian Revolution. There were so many factions featuring various grades of Socialism and Communism that problems were mostly fought not with bullets but with words. Even if the words were in English that makes for a very dull revolution. And book. But conventions were routinely held by the different factions where points were argued, loudly, by hundreds of delegates usually until about five in the morning. In contrast, the real activity was taking place with the workers whose strikes began in one industry and were soon joined by thousands of workers in other industries. And of course pogroms against the Jews were common as it was believed that they owned the industries and kept the workers' rights in check. And the cause of all this turmoil was the imbecilic Czar and his unfeeling wife who would be considered tragic if they weren't so obtuse. They truly didn't realize how much sorrow they brought to their people or how much danger they were in until they were facing their executioners in a basement in July 1918. But the big winners of the revolution were the Bolsheviks, led by Lenin who spent most of his time hiding in other countries, who were late to the revolution and didn't realize they had even won it. And revolutionists like Stalin are very minor figures in the revolution. If there is a definitive book that covers the war between the Reds and the Whites from 1917 to 1925 I would like to read it. On second thought though, maybe not. 'Black Night, White Snow' itself made for some pretty tough sledding.

[Kathy Kattenburg · Rating 2 out of 5]

I couldn't get through this book. I quit after reading about half. Too dense, too dry, too depressing, and too long.

[Tyler Schwinn · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you’re looking for a comprehensive history of the revolutions, not the book for you

[Kent · Rating 3 out of 5]

Can't vouch for the scholarship, but utterly readable. Despite the occasional melodramatic flourish, a clear and often suspenseful account of the events, people, and ideas that led to the circumstances under which Lenin was able to usurp the Russian Revolution. The book ends too abruptly, though, with the killing of the Romanovs. It may just be the lack of a satisfying epilogue, but I felt the author gave up toward the end: his narrative of Lenin's clumsy coup is not wholly convincing. Or it may be that it's just difficult to fathom how chance and incompetence could figure so prominently in such a momentous event. As Salisbury writes,

"Few of the participants understood what they were doing: fewer witnesses comprehended the significance of what they were seeing.
"But if error and confusion was the rule of the day the actual record is worth the closest study--not as an exercise in revolutionary tactics but as an illumination of the banality which so often lies at the heart of great moments in history. Seldom has the contrast between legend and reality presented a wider gap."

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked up at the library on the heels of reading his The 900 Days.

Didn't finish this tome, but read the first part about the formative experiences of Stalin, Lenin, and many other equally interesting major/minor characters. I stopped at 1917, b/c it gets the story gets a bit bureaucratic, of course.

[Edited 7-28-2011: Just getting through The Gulag Archipelago for the first time -- definitely should have read that classic first, before trying to read a general history of the Revolution. A.S. gives an insanely vivid picture of the terrible events that started at the end of the revolution, and continued through his arrest in 1944, and decades of imprisonment etc. Gulag, plus Bulgakov's "Master and Margarita" from the 1930's, give an excellent, Russian perspective on the insanity of '20s '30 '40s '50s ... ]

[Derek · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful narrative. A more recent narrative version of this run up to the October revolution is The Empire Must Die.