num_pages: 464
description: An authoritative history of the Russian Revolution and the "violent and disruptive acts" that created the first modern totalitarian regime, portraying the crisis at the heart of the tsarist empire"A deep and eloquent condemnation of the revolution and its aftermath." — The New York TimesDrawing on archival materials released in Russia, Richard Pipes chronicles the upheaval that began as a conservative revolt but was soon captured by messianic intellectuals intent not merely on reforming Russia but on remaking the world. He provides fresh accounts of the revolution's personalities and policies, crises, and cruelties, from the murder of the royal family through civil war, famine, and state terror.Brilliantly and persuasively, Pipes shows us why the resulting system owes less to the theories of Marx than it did to the character of Lenin and Russia's long authoritarian tradition. What ensues is a path-clearing work that is indispensable to any understanding of the events of the century.
language: English
title: A Concise History of the Russian Revolution
titlecomplete: A Concise History of the Russian Revolution
characters: Joseph Stalin, Vladimir Lenin, Felix Dzerzhinsky, Fanny Kaplan, Maria Spiridonova, Leon Trotsky, Alexandra Kollontai, Nicholas II of Russia
genres: Russian History, History, Reference, Russia, European History, Russian Literature, Nonfiction, Russian Revolution, Military Fiction, Politics
ratings_count: 639
places: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Brest, Belarus
publisher: Vintage