Captives of Revolution: The Socialist Revolutionaries and the Bolshevik Dictatorship, 1918–1923 (Pitt Russian East European)
“Lucid and persuasive,Captives of Revolutionexplains brilliantly the weakness of the anti-Bolshevik opposition and the resultant Bolshevik victory in the Civil War.”—Jonathan Daly, University of Illinois at Chicago“A carefully researched and nuanced portrait of the complex and dynamic political environment of revolution and civil war in Russia, one that is exceptionally well-written and insightful for students and specialists alike.”—Erik Landis, Oxford Brookes University“A convincing new account of the Russian Civil War, placing the Socialist Revolutionaries at the center of political and military developments, and effectively conveying the complexity of the dilemmas they faced in trying to defend the revolution from Bolshevik usurpation. In this perceptive historical analysis, Smith reveals the idealistic but doomed efforts of the Socialist Revolutionaries to expose the fantastic fictions at the heart of Bolshevik revolutionary discourse.”—Cathy A. Frierson, University of New Hampshire“Impressive. . . This is the first detailed and archival-based study to focus on the struggle between the Bolsheviks and the other leftist groups during the civil war years. This new focus leads to some striking, important conclusions. Highly recommended.”—Choice“Smith guides the reader skillfully through the tortuous politics of the Eastern Front, with its unlikely and shifting coalitions of SRs, liberals, Czechoslovak troops, Cossacks, officers, national minorities, and Siberian regionalists. . .  An impressive and persuasive work. Smith’s insights on discourse are intriguing and highly suggestive, but, most importantly, they rest on a solid foundation of top-quality historical research and exposition. ”—The Russian Review“A really informative study in all sorts of ways and must be read by those interested in the history of the Russian Civil War.”—Revolutionary Russia“Well-written, organized, and thought out and will immediately occupy a prominent place in the historiography of the SRs and of the earliest revolutionary era.”—Slavic Review“An extremely valuable and dispassionate analysis . . . essential reading for historians of the civil war period.”—European History Quarterly