A history of twentieth-century Russia

by Robert Service

The first book to use the mass of materials made available since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, A History of Twentieth-Century Russia is an extraordinarily lucid, masterful account of the most complex and turbulent period in Russia's long history. 7 illustrations. 5 maps. Includes bibliographical references and index. Russia has had an extraordinary history in the twentieth century. As the first Communist society, the USSR was both an admired model and an object of fear and hatred to the rest of the world. How are we to make sense of this history? A History of Twentieth-Century Russia treats the years from 1917 to 1991 as a single period and analyzes the peculiar mixture of political, economic, and social ingredients that made up the Soviet formula. Under a succession of leaders from Lenin to Gorbachev, various methods were used to conserve and strengthen this compound. At times the emphasis was upon shaking up the ingredients, at others upon stabilization. All this occurred agai