June 2017

China Mieville, author of October: The Story of the Russian Revolutionrecalls that in 1917, “Russia was shaken not by one but by two insurrections, two confused and liberating upheavals, two reconfigurations”. October, by China Mieville(Books Back) Mieville’s book is political history and can prove intimidating even to many serious readers,Read More →

Although McMeekin acknowledges that the real villains are the ruthless Bolsheviks, he reserves most of the criticism for hapless liberals. Leaving Kerensky’s motives during the events of July largely unexplained, he only touches on the common justification for Kerensky’s refusal to prosecute the Bolsheviks: deeply unpopular among liberals, he neededRead More →

Like a beautiful month of August brings a bag of plums, the centenary of the Russian Revolution has produced a bumper crop of books. A similar harvest accompanied the anniversary of the First World War; each looming deadline has seen an army of historians crunch through forests of notes. ButRead More →

The Russian Revolution of 1917 was one of the defining events of the 20th century. Yet, when compared to some of the equally important developments of the century, such as the outbreaks of the First and Second World Wars, the birth of the nuclear age in 1945 and even theRead More →