A Peoples History of the Russian Revolution

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The Russian Revolution may be the most misunderstood and misrepresented event in modern history, its history told in a mix of legends and anecdotes In A People s History of the Russian Revolution, Neil Faulkner sets out to debunk the myths and pry fact from fiction, putting at the heart of the story the Russian people who are the true heroes of this tumultuous tale In this fast paced introduction, Faulkner tells the powerful narrative of how millions of people came together in a mass movement, organized democratic assemblies, mobilized for militant action, and overturned a vast regime of landlords, profiteers, and warmongers Faulkner rejects caricatures of Lenin and the Bolsheviks as authoritarian conspirators or the progenitors of Stalinist dictatorship, and forcefully argues that the Russian Revolution was an explosion of democracy and creativity and that it was crushed by bloody counter revolution and replaced with a form of bureaucratic state capitalism Grounded by powerful first hand testimony, this history marks the centenary of the Revolution by restoring the democratic essence of the revolution, offering a perfect primer for the modern reader. Read A Peoples History of the Russian Revolution by Neil Faulkner – kino-fada.fr Things I learned from Faulkner People only means urban industrial workers Screw everyone else, especially farmers They don t count as people The massacre of the Kulaks Not worth mentioning In fact, no massacre or mass deaths had anything to do with the Revolution Except maybe at the beginning Otherwise, it was all outsiders meddlingsomehow Capitalism is every system that doesn t agree with Faulkner s personal interpretation of Communism Even the systems that are Communist Things I learned from Faulkner People only means urban industrial workers Screw everyone else, especially farmers They don t count as people The massacre of the Kulaks Not worth mentioning In fact, no massacre or mass deaths had anything to do with the Revolution Except maybe at the beginning Otherwise, it was all outsiders meddlingsomehow Capitalism is every system that doesn t agree with Faulkner s personal interpret...Not exactly the people s history one might expect While there are glimpses of descriptive insight into the mundane and commonplace, China Mielville s October provides a farcompelling view from below In some respects the two books make interesting companions Faulkner s intentions seem faroriented towards recuperating a Trotskyist perspective on the revolution This, as others have noted, leads to several assertions with regards to the accidental and complex nature of rebellion re Not exactly the people s history one might expect While there are glimpses of descriptive insight into the mundane and commonplace, China Mielville s October provides a farcompelling view from below In some respects the two books make interesting companions Faulkner s intentions seem faroriented towards recuperating a Trotskyist perspective on the revolution This, as others have noted, leads to several assertions with regards to the accidental and complex nature of rebellion revolution and the role of genius leadership There is also the constant insertion of Trotskyist chestnuts into the historical account That said, as a brisk account of the revolution, the book would serve well anyone who wants to access a readable history It just isn t the people s history s...This book harbors a profound paradox On the one hand, at early chapters, it criticizes Mensheviks as reformers and counter revolutionaries On the other hand, the analysis made in the last two chapters shows that the degeneration of the Russian Revolution was due to the failure of revolutions in Europe during the 1920s, and the impossibility of the socialism in a single country Thereby, the Soviet government should either render to a bourgeois democratic state or a state capitalist state This This book harbors a profound paradox On the one hand, at early chapters, it criticizes Mensheviks as reformers and counter revolutionaries On the other hand, the analysis made in the last two chapters shows that the degeneration of the Russian Revolution was due to the failure of revolutions in Europe during the 1920s, and the impossibility of the socialism in a single country Thereby, t...Whistle stop tour of the Bolshevik revolution and it s eventual degeneration marred by an almost obsessive compulsion to down play the role of the party.Who knew you could find a Trotskyist in the 21st Century Cuz that s what we have here in the form of Neil Faulkner, a Trotskyist historian bent on proving that the Russian revolution was an exercise in participatory democracy, not a coup emanating from a small group of revolutionary cadres And, like Trotsky, he makes an eloquent case in defense of his assertion.Faulkner quotes Trotsky often, heaps praise on him, names him as one of the two geniuses of the revolution At the same time, howeve Who knew you could find a Trotskyist in the 21st Century Cuz that s what we have here in the form of Neil Faulkner, a Trotskyist historian bent on proving that the Russian revolution was an exercise in participatory democracy, not a coup emanating from a small group of revolutionary cadres And, like Trotsky, he makes an eloquent case in defense of his assertion.Faulkner quotes Trotsky often, heaps praise on him, names him as one of the two geniuses of the revolution At the same time, however, he s claiming that, despite this leadership, the revolution was indeed one that originated from below It was the working c...I was very excited about this book I have repeatedly seen Faulkner s book A Radical History of the World on shelves, and I have been meaning to dive into it for some time now Because of the short length of this book, I thought I would give it a try first to see what it might foreshadow My feelings are mixed, to say the least Without a doubt, I want to be straightforward with two facts here at the beginning of this review The first is that I am most certainly a People s historian Howard Z I was very excited about this book I have repeatedly seen Faulkner s book A Radical History of the World on shelves, and I have been meaning to dive into it for some time now Because of the short length of this book, I thought I would give it a try first to see what it might foreshadow My feelings are mixed, to say the least Without a doubt, I want to be straightforward with two facts here at the beginning of this review The first is that I am most certainly a People s historian Howard Zinn is not only one of my heroes, but I thoroughly enjoy the simple idea that he created With that being said, I also acknowledge that his history was not perfect, nor was it meant to be however, the mission behind it was simple and important for working people and traditionally underrepresented groups throughout the US In the same vein, Faulkner gives it a go here Secondly, I am a teacher in the social sciences and humanities, mostly focusing on World History Because of...This avowed Trotskyist treatment of the Russian Revolution states in its introduction that the subject has rarely been handled well due to great ideological biases both of Western capitalists and Russian Stalinists as well as the mass censoring and destruction of information by Stalin and the later USSR With the 1990s and the fall of the USSR, information has becomeaccessible Faulkner seeks to give aaccurate portrayal of this tumultuous time than either predominant perspective, a This avowed Trotskyist treatment of the Russian Revolution states in its introduction that the subject has rarely been handled well due to great ideological biases both of Western capitalists and Russian Stalinists as well as the mass censoring and destruction of information by Stalin and the later USSR With the 1990s and the fall of the USSR, information has becomeaccessible Faulkner seeks to give aaccurate portrayal of this tumultuous time than either predominant perspective, and from the onset is honest with his own ideological goals He is a Marxist, he implores the reader to continue their reading with Trotsky s own history of the r...This story of the inspiration and ideas of people like Trotsky and the mass collective action which led to the events of 1917 not only informs and debunks myths but also admirably attempts to be a manifesto for future revolution That the revolution was a kind of creative socialist democracy which may have worked had it not been defeated by a capitalist counter revolution led by greed and a hunger for power , gives us hope for another counter revolution The book sadly does not go into depth on This story of the inspiration and ideas of people like Trotsky and the mass collective action which led to the events of 1917 not only informs and debunks myths but also admirably attempts to be a manifesto for future revolution That the revolution was a kind of creative socialist democracy which may have worked had it not been defeated by a capitalist counter revolution led by greed and a hunger for power , gives us hope for another counter revolution The book sadly does not go into depth on the possibilities of future revolution but does prompt thinking on how we might make the world a better...For the past few months I have been obsessed with Russian history, and have watched a few documentary series, lectures, and courses on the topic, most of which were openly critical of the Bolshevik revolution, and while their reasons were clear, I have long wanted to hear the opposing perspective I expected Faulkners book to be such a reading It turned out to be two books in one, the first a somewhat confusing voyage through the prehistory of the events that led to 1917 with only half of the b For the past few months I have been obsessed with Russian history, and have watched a few documentary series, lectures, and courses on the topic, most of which were openly critical of the Bolshevik revolution, and while their reasons were clear, I have long wanted to hear the opposing perspective I expected Faulkners book to be such a reading It turned out to be two books in one, the first a somewhat confusing voyage through the prehistory of the events that led to 1917 with only half of the book mentioning the actual revolution I understand the need to set up of the historical context, but in this case, it was too much The second told the story of the revolution from the perspective of Trotsky One key point Faulkners tries to drive home again and again is that unlike common narratives of historical events, wher...An engaging, narratively written history of the Russian Revolution that clearly actively tries to link itself in rhetoric to the language of our contemporary social justice movements This is a great introduction to the revolution that concentrates on the lead up to the October Revolution, starting with various abortive revolts throughout the 19th century It s very disappointing how little I know about Russian history this revolution which astonishingly ended centuries of brutally repressive, An engaging, narratively written history of the Russian Revolution that clearly actively tries to link itself in rhetoric to the language of our contemporary social justice movements This is a great introduction to the revolution that concentrates on the lead up to the October Revolution, starting with vari...Living in a country which constantly goes back to it s past sometimes to 1991, sometimes to 1941 it is essential to get your information about big events in world history from other sources, at least from time to time It would be 5 stars if some of the key protagonists and their polit...A very interesting look on the Russian revolution with an upfront comparisons to today s political situation This is not a comprehensive history of the revolution, but an angel on how the events preceding it link together.A quick run through the events of 1917, in time for the centenary The prose is functional and from a particular perspective, which the writer acknowledges The events however are spectacular, surreal, sad, heartening and depressing to varying degrees, whatever lens they are viewed through.

A Peoples History of the Russian Revolution
  • 05 June 2017
  • Hardcover
  • 208 pages
  • 0745399045
  • Neil Faulkner
  • A Peoples History of the Russian Revolution