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The Russian Revolution 1917

Broznitsky

By Broznitsky
in Books and Book Reviews

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Broznitsky Lieutenant-Colonel

Broznitsky

Posted
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Can somebody suggest a couple of good books about the 1917 Revolutionary period?

Somewhere in between a dry academic tome with thousands of footnotes, and the "For Dummies" series?

Something that does not dwell too much on the years before 1917?

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Dust Jacket Collector Brigadier General

Dust Jacket Collector

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The new Anthony Beevor, ‘Russia : Revolution & Civil War 1917-1921’ is absolutely first rate.

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Mikhail Second Lieutenant

Mikhail

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"History of the Russian Revolution" by Leon Trotsky, quite an in-depth study from one of the fathers of the revolution...

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Steven Broomfield General

Steven Broomfield

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On 07/06/2022 at 16:08, Dust Jacket Collector said:

The new Anthony Beevor, ‘Russia : Revolution & Civil War 1917-1921’ is absolutely first rate.

I've just bought a copy, and it looks superb. Can't wait to start reading it.

On 10/06/2022 at 11:11, Mikhail said:

"History of the Russian Revolution" by Leon Trotsky, quite an in-depth study from one of the fathers of the revolution...

Objective?

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Broznitsky Lieutenant-Colonel

Broznitsky

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Thanks for the suggestions so far!

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Mikhail Second Lieutenant

Mikhail

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On 12/06/2022 at 09:12, Steven Broomfield said:

Objective?

of course, such a book cannot be called 100% objective by definition, but it is worth reading. This is firsthand evidence.

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FROGSMILE Field Marshal

FROGSMILE

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1 hour ago, Mikhail said:

of course, such a book cannot be called 100% objective by definition, but it is worth reading. This is firsthand evidence.

I agree.  It’s very important to read some primary sources, ideally from a range of perspectives, if a historical situation is to be meaningfully assessed.  Confining ourselves to the views of more modern historians must surely restrict us to a less comprehensive overview.  As regards contemporary publications I support the above recommendations regarding Antony Beevor, who I find very readable.

Edited by FROGSMILE
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James A Pratt III Lieutenant-Colonel

James A Pratt III

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The February Revolution Petrograd 1917 Tsuyoshi Hasegawa a hour by hour  ect account almost

on archive.org is With the Russian Army 1914-1917 Alfred Knox

Between War and Revolution the Russian General Staff February-July 1917 Robert S Feldman

The End of the Russian Imperial Army A Wildman

The Russian Revolution and the Baltic Fleet

Russian Democracy's fatal Blunder

Histories Greatest heist

The Cheka : Lenin's Political Police. George Legget

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JWK Lieutenant-Colonel

JWK

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Elsa Brändström - Unter kriegsgefangenen in Russland und Siberien 1914-1920  (published in 1922)

Elsa was a Swedish Red Cross nurse, and the book mainly focuses on German/Austria-Hungarian POW's.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elsa_Brändström

 

This 1922 version of the book is in German. Revolution from page 108, including the Czech uprising.

https://denstorekrig1914-1918.dk/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Elsa-Brändström-1914-1920.pdf

 

English translation of the book: "Among POW's in Russia and Siberia 1914-1920", Hutchinson, London, 1929 (maybe there's a PDF download of that version floating around somewhere on them Interthingy?)

 

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James A Pratt III Lieutenant-Colonel

James A Pratt III

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There is mostly defunct site alexanderpalace.org that has a number of books mostly memoirs online from this period.

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The Scorer Lieutenant-Colonel

The Scorer

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On 07/06/2022 at 16:08, Dust Jacket Collector said:

The new Anthony Beevor, ‘Russia : Revolution & Civil War 1917-1921’ is absolutely first rate.

On 12/06/2022 at 07:12, Steven Broomfield said:

I've just bought a copy, and it looks superb. Can't wait to start reading it.

Objective?

I'm currently reading this, and so far it's pretty good. I'm not very knowledgeable about the subject, so I can't really answer the question about it's objectivity, but it looks okay to me.  

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The Scorer Lieutenant-Colonel

The Scorer

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I've finally finished this, although it took me some time!

This was partly due to the complexity of the subject and partly due to my not always understanding who was fighting who as some of the parties involved seemed to change sides on a regular basis! However, I persisted, and I'm glad that I did, because I learnt a lot about the subject - all I have to do now is remember it, which is a different problem! 

I was struck by a number of things, though:

  • The sheer size of the area covered by the conflict, covering hundreds of thousands of miles
  • The incredible number of people involved, both military and civilian 
  • The amount of killing done by all sides, much of it in terrible ways
  • The amount of alcohol and drugs consumed by many of the leading characters, many of whom seemed to be permanently drunk or drugged up - sometimes both at the same time! I really didn't know that there had been such a big cocaine "habit" in Russia at that time.

Finally, one question - what happened to all the gold? I remember reading a book ("Kolchak's Gold" by Brian Garfield) which told the story of some of it, but I've forgotten what the result was - I must try to get a copy and see what happened.     

 

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ianjonesncl Major-General

ianjonesncl

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On 07/06/2022 at 16:08, Dust Jacket Collector said:

The new Anthony Beevor, ‘Russia : Revolution & Civil War 1917-1921’ is absolutely first rate.

A very informative and well written account.

I feel it provides an important insight into todays tensions within Russian and its environs.

 

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alf mcm Major-General

alf mcm

Posted
Posted
On 07/06/2022 at 16:10, kenf48 said:

Not read it but Anthony Beevor's latest has jus been published in the UK to positive reviews

e.g.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/jun/05/russia-revolution-and-civil-war-1917-1921-antony-beevor-review

DJC we crossed!

Anthony Beevor's book is available on Kindle today for a bargain 99p!  https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09P12H848/ref=s9_acsd_hps_bw_c2_x_2_i?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-2&pf_rd_r=0H0GS39SM3JGFQRXHK9R&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=0236b327-d2ec-4267-b79b-96e12bb7b9be&pf_rd_i=5400977031

Regards,

Alf McM

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The Scorer Lieutenant-Colonel

The Scorer

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Posted
On 11/07/2022 at 06:52, The Scorer said:

Finally, one question - what happened to all the gold? I remember reading a book ("Kolchak's Gold" by Brian Garfield) which told the story of some of it, but I've forgotten what the result was - I must try to get a copy and see what happened.     

 

I've now bought a copy of "Kolchak's Gold" by Brian Garfield ... it's on the pile of books to be read, so I'll get around to it shortly!

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