Rex A. Wade - The Russian Revolution, 1917

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The Russian Revolution, 1917

Third Edition

Rex A. Wade

George Mason University, Virginia

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First published 2017

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The Russian Revolution remains without doubt one of the most important events of modern history. It has been central to the shaping of twentieth-century world history and its legacy continues to be influential to the present. The collapse of the Soviet Union made it easier to put the Russian Revolution into better historical perspective since writing about it no longer involves an implied judgment on an existing government and system, as it often did during the era of the Soviet Union's existence. At the same time, however, the renewed struggle over democracy and political forms, class and social-economic issues, the autonomy or independence of the non-Russian peoples, Russia's great-power status and other issues that have wracked the region since 1991 reaffirm the importance of the Russian Revolution of 1917, when these very issues were first fought out. The outcome was then, as it is now, important to the world as well as to Russia and its neighbors.

Despite its importance and the tremendous amount written about the revolution, reliable general histories, especially relatively brief ones, have been rare. This book attempts to provide such a history in a new account of the Russian Revolution that also reflects recent scholarship. It brings together both my own long study of the revolution and the fruit of the many recent specialized studies. While writing, both the original edition and the changes for this revision, I found myself rethinking our narrative and interpretation of several major features of the revolution. The result, I hope, is a book accessible and interesting to general readers while also introducing new perspectives that my colleagues in the field of Russian studies will find stimulating.

The approaching centenary of the Russian Revolution of 1917 seemed an appropriate time to step back and review the earlier editions of this book and the body of scholarship published since then. That plus encouragement from colleagues have resulted in the decision to do a third edition. The original book drew such favorable reviews that it seemed best to retain the basic structure and content, working new materials and understandings into the text as it goes along. Importantly, the Further Reading section has been augmented by recent publications. At the same time, those who have read earlier editions and professors who have used it in classes or recommended it will find the basic features still there.

Within an overall narrative that seeks to provide a clear account of the revolution, several new approaches and interpretations are introduced. For one, this book recasts the political history of the revolution. It emphasizes the importance of the political realignments that accompanied the revolution and the significance of the new political blocs that were, in many ways, more important during the revolution than traditional party labels. This allows proper focus on the role of the Revolutionary Defensist, moderate socialist bloc in the leadership of the revolution during the early months. It similarly allows proper recognition of the importance of the radical left bloc not just Bolsheviks during the period of the October Revolution. This study also stresses the importance of the slogan All Power to the Soviets and the idea of Soviet power in paving the way for the October Revolution. It emphasizes the complexity of the October Revolution and the degree to which it was part of a genuinely popular struggle for All Power to the Soviets and only later a Bolshevik revolution. This allows the clearing away of many myths and misconceptions that have long clouded that important upheaval. It was neither a simple manipulation by cynical Bolsheviks of ignorant masses nor the carefully planned and executed seizure of power under Lenin's omniscient direction that the traditional myth of October has so often portrayed. This new edition strengthens the discussions of political developments on the eves of the February and October Revolutions, and augments the sections on the role of the Constituent Assembly, cross-party political co-operation, and Lenin.