The Russian Revolution

Posted on 18 January 2018 by Sean McMeekin

In The Russian Revolution, historian Sean McMeekin traces the origins and events of the Russian Revolution, which ended Romanov rule, ushered the Bolsheviks into power, and changed the course of world history Between 1900 and 1920, Russia underwent a complete and irreversible transformation by the end of these two decades, a new regime was in place, the economy had collapsed, and over 20 million Russians had died during the revolution and what followed Still, Bolshevik power remained intact due to a remarkable combination of military prowess, violent terror tactics, and the failures of their opposition And as McMeekin shows, Russia s revolutionaries were aided at nearly every step by countries like Germany and Sweden who sought to benefit politically and economically from the chaotic changes overtaking the country.The first comprehensive history of these momentous events in a decade, The Russian Revolution combines cutting edge scholarship and a fast paced narrative to shed new light on a great turning point of the twentieth century. New Read Kindle ePUB The Russian Revolution Author Sean McMeekin – kino-fada.fr Power is not a means it is an end One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship The object of power is power George Orwell, 1984Russian history is a vast subject, and there have been written many vast books that attempt to capture the enormity of Russia s oft convulsive drama Accordingly, the first thing that struck me about Sean McMeekin s The Russian Revolution is its relative brevity At 352 pag Power is not a means it is an end One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship The object of power is power George Orwell, 1984Russian history is a vas...shorter than I expected there are 150 pages of notes, references etc but captivating like a page turner novel the main thrust argued well is how preparing for 1917, Russia was actually very well positioned to defeat the Central powers who were the ones on the verge of meltdown, but a weak Tsar with no inner circle worth mentioning and reeling from Rasputin s assassination in December 1916, talkative but ineffective politicians, able to stir trouble but ultimately not to control it, and gene shorter than I expected there are 150 pages of notes, references etc but captivating like a page turner novel the main thrust argued well is how preparing for 1917, Russia was actually very well positioned to defeat the Central powers who were the ones on the verge of meltdown, but a weak Tsar with ...Although at times a little dry and challenging given the sheer cast of players and military units this is a well structured and informative overview of the revolution It is perhaps a shorter book than one might expect for such a period of change and impact, but with substantial sources and references the author is able to wave his view of events and how these took a country from a regime of monarchical superiority to one of non monarchical self elected superiority.Of interest to me was not only Although at times a little dry and challenging given the sheer cast of players and military units this is a well structured and informative overview of the revolution It is perhaps a short...The author, Bard College professor Sean McMeekin, is certainly an authority on the Russian Revolution surrounding World War I I was not able to fully absorb the abundance of facts and material, which I found overwhelming and a bit dry at times, but I did comprehend an overview The revolution had several factions and it appears that the one best at propaganda, as well as plundering gold and treasures, achieved control and authority I m most thankful that my reading was for pleasure and not a m The author, Bard College professor Sean McMeekin, is certainly an authority on the Russian Revolution surrounding World War I I was not able to fully absorb the abundance of facts and material, which I found overwhelming and a bit dry at times, but I did comprehend an overview The revolution had several factions and it appears that the one best at propaganda, as well as plundering gold and treasure...I am currently very focused on the ascent to power of Communism in Russia, not because it had anything to recommend it, but for the lessons it can teach us Some of those lessons are ones the author of this book, Sean McMeekin, wants to impart the dangers of left wing ideology, primarily Those are valuable lessons, certainly, but if we haven t learned them after many decades of left wing horror shows, we re not going to learn them from this book The lessons I am seeking, therefore, aredy I am currently very focused on the ascent to power of Communism in Russia, not because it had anything to recommend it, but for the lessons it can teach us Some of...Sean McMeekin is a wonderful historian His recent books on the run up to WW1 and the end of the Ottoman Empire are really well done In his most recent book, he presents a new history of the Russian Revolution to take advantage of the opening up of state archives following 1990 His intent is to relay what happened and try to avoid the meshing of history and ideology that has happened in either Soviet accounts of the events or in extraordinarily critical Western accounts Pipes and others T Sean McMeekin is a wonderful historian His recent books on the run up to WW1 and the end of the Ottoman Empire are really well done In his most recent book, he presents a new history of the Russian Revolution to take advantage of the opening up of state archives following 1990 His intent is to relay what happened and try to avoid the meshing of history and ideology that has happened in either Soviet accounts of the events or in extraordinarily critical Western accounts Pipes and others The result is a revealing book that shows just how contingent the events of 1917 1918 were, raising issues of how the world might have developed differently has the reign of Nicholas taken different turns with Rasputin among others or had the socialists of the February revolution, especially Kerensky, made different c...I can not recommend this book to the general reader I seems that McMeekin has decided to go against the prevailing views about the Russian Revolution and conjure up his own interpretation of the events and their significance His major theme is that the Bolsheviks won the revolution because they received the financial support of the Germans The theory of German Gold goes back to the Right Wing Newspapers during the time of the revolution He seems to have concentrated his study on the moveme I can not recommend this book to the general reader I seems that McMeekin has decided to go against the prevailing views about the Russian R...Although I am not an expert on the subject, I don t think the book portrays Lenin s role objectively It does provide a good summary of events that led to and followed the October revolution but seems to have b...I really liked this account of the Russian Revolution.This book by Sean McMeekin is the first one on the topic of the Russian Revolution which I have read I have previously readthan the average non Russian person about Russian history, but I am in no way an expert on the subject The Russian Revolution A New History portrays the Bolsheviks as ruthless semi gangsters, who are mainly driven by a will to power They disguise this power hunger with a veneer of political jargon anI really liked this account of the Russian Revolution.This book by Sean McMeekin is the first one on the topic of the Russian Revolution which I have read I have previously readthan the average non Russian person about Russian history, but I am in no way an expert on the subject The Russian Revolution A...A little dry, but very informative The author does not try to minimize or justify the atrocities committed during this bloody revolution.From the epilogue If the last hundred years teaches us anything, it is that we should stiffen our defenses and resist armed prophets promising social perfection The Russians who followed Lenin in 1917 had good grounds for resenting the tsarist government that had plunged them into a terrible war for which they were unprepared, and they had little reason to A little dry, but very informative The author does not try to minimize or justify the atrocities committed durin...

18 January 2018

Sean McMeekin