In terms of both its breadth and its extremity, it is considered by many to be the greatest revolution in history. The Marxist revolutionaries who came to power in October 1917 ruled Soviet Russia until 1991, initiating a Cold War that divided the world into communist and capitalist spheres of influence for most of the 20th century. Domestically the Russian revolution was responsible for the most profound social upheavals to have ever occurred. The traumatic post-revolutionary period witnessed the greatest loss of human life on a single geographic territory in any historical period of world history. Because of the scope of its influence, the Russian revolution has received a great deal of attention from historians.
Few events are as controversial as the Russian Revolution.
Historians, fimmakers, artists, writers and even eye-witnesses are sharply divided over their interpretations of the Revolution. On one extreme, some saw the Revolution as the ultimate manifestation of freedom and salvation, liberation from oppression, and the hope of spiritual rebirth. On the other extreme, the revolution represented the apocalypse, the ascent of the anti-Christ, and the damnation of humanity. By examining different interpretations of the Russian Revolution, this course will introduce students to historical methodology through an in-depth study of the event and its representations. The course will be divided into three parts.