Russian Rebels, 1600-1800 (Norton Library

by Paul Avrich

“Paul Avrich’s latest book is an admirable blend of serious scholarship and appealing writing. His purpose is to tell the story of popular uprisings in Russia in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, with particular emphasis on those led by Bolotnikov, Razin, Bulavin, and Pugachev. To do so, he has made careful and intelligent use of a large body of published materials and from them has woven a lively and engrossing narrative. More than that, drawing on the previous work of Hobsbawm and others, he has offered perceptive explanations of the outbreak, course, and outcome of each revolt. Throughout the work, the author compares the principal revolts and searches, above all, for a general characterization of the tradition of mass revolt in premodern Russia.” ―Robert O. Crummey, Yale University in Journal of Modern History The aim of this book is to unravel the tangled story of the four revolts, to examine their nature, course, and outcome, and to analyze their ultimate historical significance. Who were the rebels? What were their motives, social origins, and modes of behavior? What did they want and what did they achieve? Such are the questions this work will try to answer. Comparisons between the revolts will be made throughout the text, and especially in the concluding section of each chapter, while a final chapter will evaluate the overall significance of the revolts and their impact on the subsequent history of Russia. In particular, an effort will be made to determine the extent to which they foreshadowed the revolutions of 1905 and 1917, which so profoundly affected the course of contemporary history.

Genres: History, Russia, Nonfiction, European History, Russian History

324 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

"He was a noted historian and professor who authored many books on anarchist history, including books on the Haymarket Riot, the Modern School Movement, the Russian Revolution and a collection of oral interviews with American anarchists titled Anarchist Voices. Avrich was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize several times and in 1984 he won the Philip Taft Labor History Award."
From Infoshop News obituary http://news.infoshop.org/article.php?...

Reviews

[Lauren Albert · Rating 4 out of 5]

While not exciting, this history of Russian rebellions before the revolution had its interesting moments. The most interesting thing to me was (and he notes this) the necessity for every rebellion to have a pretender and sometimes not even one that was believed in by some of the rebels. People usually needed to side with the Tsar against all of the "others" who oppressed them. There was a strong need to believe in the goodness of the supreme leader.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

To me, this exciting book was eye-opening, as it described Russian history away from the Tsars and instead towards the folk.

[Feargal McGovern · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely brilliant book, demonstrating the class nature that drove the big peasant revolts, not least the fact that far from creating a stronger movement, alliance with the upper classes (nobility, landowners, etc) led to the betrayal of the revolt the moment they realised their own interests were threatened (à la permanent revolution).

The only problem with the book is the authors conclusion. As an anarchist he makes some really stupid assumptions about marx, thinking he would have ultimately opposed the peasent rebellions seeing their displacement as nessecary for the development of capitalism and eventually communism, when in fact marx has written expressing the opposite.

None the less the conclusion doesnt get in the way of the rest of the book. It is well researched and essential reading for understanding the history of revolt in russia that would eventually lead to the October revolution

[James Varney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super interesting history book about Pugachev and a few other less famous "rebels" who mounted campaigns against the Tsar. None of these movements ever took hold in a national sense or ever seriously threatened the Romanov dynasty, but they did exert a powerful grip over the Russian consciousness. Pugachev is a romantic figure in Pushkin and a kind of representative of Cossack freedom, and the various outbreaks of small-scale rebellions speak to the ember of independence that many Russians have always longed. Engaging read.

[Stuart · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thorough and well-footnoted history of four popular uprisings that spends significant ink comparing and contrasting their appeals, successes and ultimate failures. The section at the end providing both anarchist and marxist analyses of "peasant revolts" from Bakunin and Lenin pushed this book from three stars into four and ensured I will track down more from Mr. Avrich in the future.

[GreyAtlas · Rating 4 out of 5]

thorough, organized, enjoyable. ending paragraph about lenin walking the kremlin, was the cherry on top.

[Eloy Rosales · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this! At times it reads like a textbook and at other times like epic tales of insurrection.

[Vishwanath Saragadam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read it for my course on Russian history. I like the split of "facts" and "conclusions", which was very much like observing someone's life and drawing conclusions. Comparing and contrasting the four rebels was very neatly done as well, showing the slow and painful progression of Russian state to centralization and absorption of Cossacks into the state.

[Rallie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A different perspective on Russian history that gives attention to those living outside and against the state, and how the development of the Russian state was enmeshed in its relationship with the Cossacks living against it.

[Donald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome one. The history of Cossack pirates and how they eventually were integrated into the Russian Empire.

[Linda Fast · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought it was very interesting and well written.