An authoritative history of the Russian Revolution and the "violent and disruptive acts" that created the first modern totalitarian regime, portraying the crisis at the heart of the tsarist empire

"A deep and eloquent condemnation of the revolution and its aftermath." --The New York Times

Drawing on archival materials released in Russia, Richard Pipes chronicles the upheaval that began as a conservative revolt but was soon captured by messianic intellectuals intent not merely on reforming Russia but on remaking the world. He provides fresh accounts of the revolution's personalities and policies, crises, and cruelties, from the murder of the royal family through civil war, famine, and state terror.

Brilliantly and persuasively, Pipes shows us why the resulting system owes less to the theories of Marx than it did to the character of Lenin and Russia's long authoritarian tradition. What ensues is a path-clearing work that is indispensable to any understanding of the events of the century.

Author: Richard Pipes
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Vintage
Published: 11/26/1996
Pages: 464
Weight: 1.02lbs
Size: 8.04h x 5.22w x 0.92d
ISBN: 9780679745440


Review Citation(s):
New York Times 01/26/1997 pg. 28
Publishers Weekly 11/11/1996
Library Journal 01/01/2017 pg. 51

About the Author
Richard Pipes was for many years a professor of history at Harvard University. He is the author of numerous books and essays on Russia, past and present, including Russia Under the Bolshevik Regime. In 1981-82 he served as President Reagan's National Security Council adviser on Soviet and East European affairs, and he has twice received a Guggenheim fellowship. He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Marlborough, New Hampshire.