By reading his diary entries one can delve into the atmosphere of those years as seen by the russian upper class. I read all the reference books on the anastasia pretenders, and found them confusing enough. Books exploring the russian revolution provo city library. Discover librarianselected research resources on russian revolution from the questia online library, including fulltext online books, academic journals, magazines, newspapers and more. The best books to read on the russian revolution, a. Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon kindle store best sellers. About 900 pages long, this book is an imposing firsthand account of the russian revolution, remarkable for having been composed by one of its chief protagonistsproof, if need be, that leon trotsky was a formidable writer amongst other things.
My is a dystopian novel by russian writer yevgeny zamyatin, written 19201921. It is simply the story of an eyewitness, who accidentally found himself in the center of events marking the turning point in the history of the biggest nation on the european continent. A hundred years after the russian revolution, history, according to most. Books exploring the russian revolution provo library. This book takes the russian revolution and gives it a fantasy twist by. The novel was first published as an english translation by gregory zilboorg in 1924 by e.
Also on display for the first time, from the british librarys own archive. Its as if mieville has sat in a library and forensically pieced together a timeline. I chose this book because its a work of fiction, and fiction is sometimes better at. The best books on the russian revolution five books expert.
Given its length and complexity, however, its difficult not to give up on it. It is divided in three parts and only the first one is set at the time of the russian revolution, so i can recommend you only 33% of the book. China mievilles literary retellingmade to feel like a novel, but scrupulously. Russian historical fiction new york public library. The russian revolution a new history by sean mcmeekin basic books. A nice narrative history of the russian revolution in 1917. In this study, historian richard stites offers a vivid portrayal of. The revolutionary ideals of equality, communal living, proletarian morality, and technology worship, rooted in russian utopianism, generated a range of social experiments which found expression, in the first decade of the russian revolution, in festival, symbol, science fiction, city planning, and the arts. This dream was the backdrop to my novel fear of mirrors, which i. The book is both a testament to the popularity of the revolution and the hard necessities imposed on. Author, title, publication info, page count, time and place setting, and summary for about 50 historical fiction titles, from lois battles storyville to barbara woods the dreaming. The civil war in france was the official analysis of the defeated paris commune by the general council of the first international. Edgar saltus tells of the intrigue and glamour of the russian court at the height of its decadence. Outside russia, the dominant view of the october revolution is also negative.
Nevertheless, there are plenty of texts on the subject. Katya rogatchevskaia is lead curator, east european collections at the british library, lead curator of russian revolution, and editor of the accompanying book. Earlier this year i read a young adult novel called the boy on the. I read broadly on the early 20th century, particularly focusing on the russian revolution. The russian revolution had a decisive impact on the history of the twentieth century. Novels set during this tense, violent, chaotic period continue to fascinate for their depictions of a countrys history, upclose and wrenchingly personal, during a time of great change. She is also chair of the council for slavonic and east european library and information services. This book, by design, is meant to be a nonintimidating book of narrative history. In it karl marx examined the experiences of the insurgents in seizing power in the face of bourgeois collapse, in establishing. My enjoyment of novels set in russia has never left me. Open library is an initiative of the internet archive, a 501c3 nonprofit, building a digital library of internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form.
The subject of this book is an historical episode but the book itself is not history. Simon sebag montefiores recommended reading on russia and. A century after the bolsheviks captured the winter palace, we round up the most illuminating new releases tackling the. How lenins love of literature shaped the russian revolution. In this classic work, the author incorporates data from archives thatwere previously inaccessible not only to western but also to soviet historians, as well as. Another suggestion is a fiction book, the white guard by mikhail bulgakov. The best and first book on the russian revolution of 1917 was written in 1871. This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and if not signed in for advertising. Katie mcelvanney explores how events of the russian revolution and civil wars were reported. The book is both a testament to the popularity of the revolution and the hard necessities imposed on red petrograd confronted with the white. The russian revolution s of 1917 may be the most important and worldaltering event of the twentieth century, but restrictions on documents and official communist histories have often affected the efforts of historians. My five best and the five worst books on the russian. Amor towles skillfully transports us to the metropol, the famed moscow hotel where movie stars and russian royalty hobnob, where bolsheviks plot revolutions and intellectuals discuss the merits of contemporary russian writers, where spies spy, thieves. It doesnt have a lot of detail on daytoday life, but it explicit discusses the working class and peasantry as political subjects in their own right rather than as the mere constituencies of thisorthat party, so its a good text for situating whatever you read about daily life in the broader political context.
The egg was imbued with magic by rasputin of course, and it has the power to protect the. This year tomorrow, to be exact marks a century since the execution of russias tsar, nicholas ii, and his family in 1918, following the russian revolution. Trotskys history of the russian revolution is a demanding book, one that merits careful study. This selection of russian revolution books has been recommended by alpha history authors.
The revolution of 1905 the russian revolution of 1905 began in st. The best books on the russian revolution, as recommended by author roland. Thanks for the link to the lawhon novel in particular hels. Now, following the collapse of the soviet regime and the opening of its archives, it is possible to step back and see the full picture. Top 10 books about the russian revolution books the. Top ten books about the russian revolution historia magazine.
At queens university belfast, i read russian studies and english for my first degree. Discover the best historical russian fiction in best sellers. What are the best nonfiction books on russian revolution. This was a complex time, where there wasnt just 2 sides and describing it as clusterfuck is a serious understatement. I actually disagree with removing the fiction books. Uniting the political and the personal, explore the russian revolutions central characters, most notably lenin and trotsky, alongside the tales of ordinary people living through extraordinary times.
The story of the russian revolution by china mieville. They have selected these books for their content, accessibility and affordability. Lenins electoral strategy focuses on lenins approach to electoral politics and what he and other marxists terms the institutions of bourgeois democracy, drawing on bolshevik debates and marx and engels own writings to show this to be a central feature of their revolutionary strategy. Browse through our ebooks while discovering great authors and exciting books in russian. Simon sebag montefiores recommended reading on russia and its revolutions posted on 3rd february 2017 by sally campbell our nonfiction book of the month for february, the romanovs 161918 by simon sebag montefiore, is an exceptional example of this years reflections on the 100 years that have passed since the climactic russian. Many of those books actually have a lot to do with russian history. The best books on the russian revolution five books. The author shows the revolution and the civil war as seen by russian imperial officers the whites, as opposed to bolsheviks, the reds in kiev. I chose this book because almost everything that people read about the russian revolution is written by westerners, partly because the official histories written under stalin were incredibly boring and predictable.
Three whys of the russian revolution the russian words worth. The novel describes a world of harmony and conformity within a united totalitarian state. The best books on the russian revolution pan macmillan. Thats the perfect segue to your final book choice, trotskys history of the russian revolution. Russian revolution books tagged russian revolution. From the fall of russias last tsar to the rise of the first communist state, discover how the seismic revolution of 1917 changed both a country and a world through expert articles and collection items. This book takes the russian revolution and gives it a fantasy twist by incorporating a faberge egg with magical powers. In the expert hands of translators pevear and volokhonsky, this bulgakov classic shines. Non russian nationalities in the empire were repressed. Some of those books describe serfdom and the russian culture better than many history books can.
On the hundredth anniversary of the revolutions of 1917, weve collected together the very best books on revolutionary russia. A new history recalibrates the villains of the russian. What are the best fiction books to learn about the russian. I read both trotskys book and reeds around the same time in college, and i couldnt help but remark how similar they seemed. Open library is an open, editable library catalog, building towards a web page for every book ever published. Top 10 books about the russian revolution books the guardian. Regardless of the readers view of the authors politics, there is no doubt that his analysis of the conditions leading up to the. They are available for purchase through our affiliate partner, the book depository, at low prices all of which include worldwide shipping. An epic journey of love and discovery from the national bestselling author of the russian. The story of the russian revolution mieville, china on. Written a few short years after the russian revolution, the book quickly became a window into a lost world wiped out and lost forever. The first part narrates how a rich schoolgirl, sashenka, joins the communist party just before the russian revolution. But i wonder if novels confuse a tricky period of history, rather than clarifying it. Nevertheless, sticking it out until the end proves worth the effort.
Notes from underground by fyodor dostoevsky duallanguage book. For twentyfive years ive been speaking and writing in defense of your right to happiness in this world, condemning your inability to take what is your due, to secure what you won in bloody battles on the barricades of paris and vienna, in the american civil war, in the russian revolution. Russian historical fiction by andrea lipinski, senior young adult librarian, kingsbridge library august 4, 2014. This bloody sunday was followed in succeeding months by a series of strikes, riots, assassinations. I really dont understand why would you want to learn of russian revolution and civil war from a fiction book. List of books and articles about russian revolution. Pages in category novels set in the russian revolution the following 15 pages are in this category, out of 15 total. Historical fiction aart, rolling meadows library, il.
The centenary of the russian revolution is an opportunity for me to revisit books that are set just before, during and in the immediate aftermath of the revolution. My goodness, some of these books helped propel the russian revolution. In this lesser known masterpiece of russian fiction, alexander pushkin combines an engrossing love story, an encyclopedia of early nineteenthcentury russian life, and one of the wittiest social satires ever penned. On the afternoon of july 4, 1917, thousands of soldiers, sailors and workers converged on a former. A humorous and informative guide to russian language culture and translation new russian writing russian classics in russian and english.
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