The Russian Revolution, 1917

372 Pages·2017·8.689 MB·English

by  Rex A. Wade

The Russian Revolution, 1917
RexA.Wadepresentshereanewaccountofoneofthepivotalevents
ofmodernhistory,combininghisownlongstudyoftherevolutionwith
the bestofcontemporaryscholarship.Withinan overall narrative that
providesacleardescriptionofthe1917revolution,heintroducesseveral
new approaches to its political history and clears away many of the
mythsandmisconceptionsthathavecloudedstudiesoftheperiod.He
alsogivessignificantspacetothesocial,economic,andculturalhistory
oftherevolutionandincorporatespeopleandplacestoooftenleftoutof
thestory,includingwomen,nationalminoritypeoples,peasantry,and
frontsoldiers,enablingaricherandmorecompletehistorytoemerge.
Now appearing in a third edition, this highly readable book has been
thoroughly revised and expanded. It will prove invaluable reading to
anyoneinterestedinRussianhistory.
rex a. wade isProfessorofRussianHistoryatGeorgeMasonUni-
versity. He is the author of numerous books and articles on Russian
history.
new approaches to european history
SeriesEditors
william beik EmoryUniversity
t. c. w. blanning SidneySussexCollege,Cambridge
New Approaches to European History is an important textbook series,
which providesconcise butauthoritativesurveysofmajor themes and
problemsinEuropeanhistorysincetheRenaissance.Writtenatalevel
andlengthaccessibletoadvancedschoolstudentsandundergraduates,
each book in the series addresses topics or themes that students of
European history encounter daily: the series embraces both some of
themore“traditional”subjectsofstudy,andthoseculturalandsocial
issues to which increasing numbers of school and college courses are
devoted.Aparticulareffortismadetoconsiderthewiderinternational
implicationsofthesubjectunderscrutiny.
Toaidthestudentreaderscholarlyapparatusandannotationislight,
but each work has full supplementary bibliographies and notes for
furtherreading:whereappropriatechronologies,maps,diagrams,and
otherillustrativematerialarealsoprovided.
Foralistoftitlespublishedintheseries,pleaseseeendofbook.
The Russian Revolution, 1917
Third Edition
Rex A. Wade
GeorgeMasonUniversity,Virginia
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Firstpublished2017
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AcatalogrecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Names:Wade,RexA.,author.
Title:TheRussianRevolution,1917/RexA.Wade,GeorgeMasonUniversity,
Virginia.
Description:Thirdedition.|Cambridge;NewYork,NY:CambridgeUniversity
Press,2016.|Series:NewapproachestoEuropeanhistory;53|Includes
bibliographicalreferencesandindex.
Identifiers:LCCN2016036249|ISBN9781107130326(hbk.:alk.paper)|
ISBN9781107571259(pbk.:alk.paper)
Subjects:LCSH:SovietUnion–History–Revolution,1917–1921.
Classification:LCCDK265.W242016|DDC947.084–dc23
LCrecordavailableathttps://lccn.loc.gov/2016036249
ISBN978-1-107-13032-6Hardback
ISBN978-1-107-57125-9Paperback
CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceoraccuracy
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Contents
Listofplates pagevi
Listofmaps viii
Preface ix
Chronology xiv
1 Thecomingoftherevolution 1
2 TheFebruaryRevolution 28
3 Politicalrealignmentandthenewpoliticalsystem 52
4 TheaspirationsofRussiansociety 86
5 Thepeasantsandthepurposesofrevolution 127
6 Thenationalities:identityandopportunity 144
7 Thesummerofdiscontents 170
8 “AllPowertotheSoviets” 205
9 TheBolshevikstakepower 232
10 TheConstituentAssemblyandthepurposesofpower 254
11 Conclusions 282
Notes 302
Furtherreading 320
Index 339
v
Plates
1 StreetbarricadeduringtheFebruaryRevolution.Prints
andPhotographsDivision,LibraryofCongress. page37
2 CrowdburningtheRomanovroyalinsignia.Printsand
PhotographsDivision,LibraryofCongress. 40
3 Avoluntarymilitia.TheHooverInstitution. 40
4 “TheProvisionalGovernmentatWork.”Printsand
PhotographsDivision,LibraryofCongress. 54
5 PrinceG.E.Lvov.PrintsandPhotographsDivision,Library
ofCongress. 61
6 AlexanderKerensky.PrintsandPhotographsDivision,
LibraryofCongress. 62
7 AmeetingoftheSoldiers’SectionofthePetrogradSoviet.
PrintsandPhotographsDivision,LibraryofCongress. 64
8 IrakliTsereteli.12,14i15avgustavMoskve;Risunkilu.K.
ArtsybushevanazasedaniiakhGosudarstvennagosoveshchaniia
(1917)(Moscow,1917). 67
9 VladimirLenin.PrintsandPhotographsDivision,Libraryof
Congress. 68
10 Workers’demonstrationheadedbyarmedRedGuards.
Proletarskaiarevoliutsiiavobrazakhikartinakh(Leningrad,
1926). 93
11 Soldiersparadingwiththeslogan,“NicholastheBloodyinto
thePeter-PaulFortress.”CourtesyofJonathanSanders. 104
12 Meetingatthefront.NationalArchivesandRecords
Administration. 107
13 Partofademonstrationforwomen’srights.Courtesyof
JonathanSanders. 116
14 Soldiers’wives’demonstration.PrintsandPhotographs
Division,LibraryofCongress. 121
15 Estoniansoldiersdemandingtheformationofseparate
Estonianmilitaryunits.EestiVabadussoda,1918–1920
(Tallinn,1937). 159
vi
Plates vii
16 Kerenskyaddressingtroopsatthefront.Courtesyof
ColumbiaUniversityLibraryBakhmeteffArchive. 175
17 AbulletholeinaPetrogradtobaccostorewindowafter
shootingduringtheJulyDays.PrintsandPhotographs
Division,LibraryofCongress. 185
18 GeneralKornilovbeingcarriedaloftfromthetrainstation
onhisarrivalfortheMoscowStateConference.GeneralA.
I.Denikin,OcherkiRusskoismuty(Paris,1921). 201
19 Afoodline.CourtesyofJonathanSanders. 217
20 ARedGuarddetachmentonguarddutyattheSmolny
Institute.Proletarskaiarevoliutsiiavobrazakhikartinakh
(Leningrad,1926). 236
21 DamagetotheKremlinfromthefightingduringtheOctober
RevolutioninMoscow.NationalArchivesandRecords
Administration. 252
22 ReadingcampaignpostersfortheConstituentAssembly
elections.CourtesyofJonathanSanders. 277
Maps
1 Petrograd,1917. 30
2 EuropeanRussia,1917. 50
3 EuropeanRussia:majornationalities. 146
4 Russia,May1917:militaryfrontsagainstGermanyand
Austria-Hungary. 176
viii