The Bolsheviks Come to Power: The Revolution of 1917 in Petrograd

Description

“The Bolsheviks Come to Powerremainsthe best book on the 1917 Russian revolution- a seminal study of events that shaped history for decades and continues to do so even today. Both political and social history, it greatly expands on our detailed knowledge of the turbulent events of that year, while deepening and revising our understanding of the Bolshevik Party and the social factors that brought it to power.” -Stephen F. Cohen,New York University

During the months following the collapse of the tsarist regime in war-torn Russia, the Bolshevik Party emerged from obscurity to overthrow the Provisional Government and establish the world’s first communist government. In this absorbing narrative, Alexander Rabinowitch refutes the Soviet myth that the party’s triumph in the October Revolution was inevitable, as well as the long-held view of many Western historians that the Bolsheviks won primarily because of their unity, discipline, and responsiveness to Lenin’s revolutionary leadership. Exploring the changing situation and aspirations of workers, soldiers, and Baltic fleet sailors in Petrograd, Rabinowitch’s classic account reveals the critical link between the party’s revolutionary tactics and the Petrograd masses.

Alexander Rabinowitchis Professor Emeritus of Russian history at Indiana University, author ofPrelude to Revolution: The Petrograd Bolsheviks and the July 1917 Uprising, and coeditor ofRussia in the Era of NEP. His many seminal essays on the history of the revolutionary period have appeared in the United States, Russia and Europe.