Mastering Twentieth Century Russian History

by Lowe, Norman

• ISBN13: 9780333963074
• ISBN10: 0333963075
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-09-06
• Publisher: Red Globe Pr

Summary

This book is a detailed yet clear introduction to the Russian Revolutions and the rise and fall of the Soviet Union. The author makes full use of the recent research since Gorbachev's Glasnost, and surveys the different interpretations of Russian history. Each chapter begins with a brief summary of events and a list of the main points of debate among historians, and ends with a recommended reading list.

Author Biography

Norman Lowe is former Head of History, Nelson and Colne Tertiary College in Lancashire

Table of Contents

List of maps	x
List of illustrations	xi
Preface	xii
Acknowledgements	xiii
Glossary	xiv
Note on dates	xvii
Chronology of main events	xviii
Introduction: Russia in the twentieth century	1	(9)
An overview of Russian history in the twentieth century	1	(3)
The writing of Russian history	4	(6)
Notes	9	(1)
Russia before the First World War	10	(52)
Summary of events	10	(1)
Russian government and society before 1905	11	(13)
Revolutionary ideas and parties	24	(8)
The revolution of 1905	32	(5)
Russian agriculture in 1914 - how backward was it?	37	(4)
Russian industry in 1914 - how `modern' was it?	41	(3)
The political system after 1905 - the Duma experiment	44	(5)
Was the collapse of Tsarism inevitable by 1914?	49	(13)
Documents	55	(6)
Notes	61	(1)
The First World War and the collapse of Tsarism, 1914-17	62	(30)
Summary of events	62	(3)
Russia's foreign relations and the approach of war	65	(10)
The war and its impact on the Tsarist system	75	(17)
Documents	86	(4)
Notes	90	(2)
The failure of the Provisional Government and the Bolshevik seizure of power, February-October 1917	92	(27)
Summary of events	92	(2)
The failure of the Provisional Government	94	(11)
The Bolshevik seizure of power - October 1917	105	(3)
Coup or mass insurrection?	108	(11)
Documents	114	(4)
Notes	118	(1)
Lenin and the Bolsheviks in power, 1917-24	119	(74)
Summary of events	119	(5)
The political situation - the Constituent Assembly	124	(4)
Land and economic problems	128	(4)
Russia withdraws from the First World War	132	(4)
The drift towards violence	136	(5)
The Civil War	141	(13)
The New Economic Policy (NEP)	154	(10)
Foreign affairs and the Communist International	164	(2)
Russia, government, nationalities and the 1922 constitution	166	(8)
Education, culture, the arts and religion under the Bolsheviks	174	(6)
Assessments of Lenin	180	(13)
Documents	186	(5)
Notes	191	(2)
Stalin in control - Russia transformed	193	(74)
Summary of events	193	(2)
Trotsky or Stalin? The struggle for power after Lenin's death	195	(8)
The end of the New Economic Policy: why was it abandoned?	203	(4)
The collectivization of agriculture	207	(11)
Industry and the Five-Year Plans	218	(12)
Politics and the Purges	230	(14)
Everyday life and culture under Stalin	244	(23)
Documents	258	(5)
Notes	263	(4)
The Great Patriotic War and Stalin's Last Years, 1941-53	267	(75)
Summary of events	267	(2)
Foreign relations and the background to war	269	(13)
The USSR at war, 1941-45	282	(28)
The aftermath of the war and Stalin's final years, 1945-53	310	(6)
The beginnings of the Cold War	316	(13)
Assessments of Stalin	329	(13)
Documents	334	(6)
Notes	340	(2)
The Khrushchev era and de-Stalinization, 1953-64	342	(35)
Summary of events	342	(1)
The rise of Khrushchev and the attack on Stalin, 1953-57	343	(9)
Problems and new policies	352	(9)
Foreign affairs: co-existence and the Cold War	361	(8)
Downfall and assessment of Khrushchev	369	(8)
Documents	373	(2)
Notes	375	(2)
The Brezhnev years - the USSR stagnates, 1964-85	377	(24)
Summary of events	377	(1)
Personnel and policies	378	(5)
Everyday life, dissent and opposition	383	(4)
Brezhnev and eastern Europe	387	(2)
Foreign affairs and detente	389	(3)
The end of an era	392	(9)
Documents	396	(3)
Notes	399	(2)
Gorbachev and the end of the Soviet Union, 1985-91	401	(52)
Summary of events	401	(2)
The struggle for reform	403	(6)
Foreign affairs - the end of the Cold War	409	(3)
The end of communism in eastern Europe	412	(5)
Gorbachev runs into problems	417	(7)
The USSR disintegrates	424	(14)
Assessments of Gorbachev	438	(15)
Documents	446	(5)
Notes	451	(2)
Russia under Yeltsin, 1991-99	453	(26)
Summary of events	453	(1)
Economic catastrophe and political crisis, 1992-93	454	(9)
The end of 'market romanticism'	463	(5)
Yeltsin's second term, 1996-99	468	(11)
Documents	474	(3)
Notes	477	(2)
Suggestions for further reading	479	(6)
Index	485

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