Revolutionary Russia: Documents and Materials

Revolutionary Russia: Documents and Materials provides students with a collection of resources that explain the birth, adolescence, and maturity of the Russian revolution from its intellectual origins in Marxian philosophy to the death of the founder of Bolshevism, Vladimir Illich Ulyanov. The opening chapter discusses the theory and necessity for revolution in Europe generally and especially in Tsarist Russia. Additional chapters examine the challenges of the late Tsarist regime and the reign of Nicholas II, the split in the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party after the Congress in 1903, and Lenin and Bolshevism. Students read documents about the upheaval of 1905, the impact of World War I on the proletarian revolution, how the brutal civil war and allied intervention attempted to destroy the Bolshevik experiment, and the challenges of governing what was left of the Russian empire after the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. The final chapter covers Lenin's final years. Designed to help students better understand current events and contemporary issues in Russia and the rest of the world, Revolutionary Russia is an exemplary textbook for courses and programs in world history and Russian history.