Russia: Revolution and Civil War, 1917–1921

Czar Nicholas II’s abdication in 1917 created a “sudden vacuum of power” that enabled the Bolshevik takeover of Russia, according to this tart history. Beevor (The Battle of Arnhem) takes a critical view of most of the major players, detailing how Aleksandr Kerensky’s Provisional Government struggled to keep Russian troops on the Austro-Hungarian front of WWI while dealing with myriad domestic problems, including grain shortages and rising Ukrainian and Finnish nationalism. Meanwhile, revolutionary leaders Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky were rallying the hungry and war-weary masses with bold promises for peace and land reform. Beevor faults the Bolsheviks for turning the humanist ideals of the Russian intelligentsia into a hard-core ideology that they implemented with a “fanatical determination,” but also blames reactionary monarchists for waging a disorganized and inhumane civil war that resulted in 12 million deaths and Russia’s “utter impoverishment.” Detailed breakdowns of the “see-saw” fighting between the Red and White armies are interwoven with sharp assessments of how White leaders Anton Denikin and Pyotr Wrangel bungled support from foreign units, and other strategic matters. Fine-grained yet fluidly written, this sweeping portrait illuminates the chaos and tragedy of Russian civil war. Agent: Robin Straus, Robin Straus Agency. (Sept.)