Russia in Revolution: An Empire in Crisis, 1890 to 1928 by S. A. Smith (review)

Abstract

REVIEWS 371 Smith, S. A. Russia in Revolution: An Empire in Crisis, 1890 to 1928. Oxford University Press, Oxford and New York, 2017. xi + 455 pp. Maps. Illustrations. Notes. Index. £25.00. S. A. Smith’s book is a history of the Russian Revolution from the perspective of a century since the Bolsheviks took power in 1917. It is a work written mainly for the general reader, though the author hopes that, as a synthesis of recent research by Russian and Western scholars, and as an attempt to question some familiar interpretations, it will have something of interest to say to his academic colleagues. In this, Smith’s hope is entirely justified, because his book not only provides a useful introduction to the subject, but raises important questions of how the revolutionary period in Russia should be interpreted. A salient feature of the book is its extensive time-frame, running from 1890 to 1928. There are seven chapters. The first describes the Russian Empire following the reforms of Alexander II to the 1905 revolution. The second deals with Russian society on the eve of the First World War. The third covers the February and October revolutions of 1917. The fourth is on the Civil War and the fifth on War Communism. The period of NEP is divided between chapters six and seven, the former dealing with ‘Politics and the Economy’, while the latter is on ‘Society and Culture’. As Smith points out, the long time-frame is intended to bring out the continuities which span the divide of 1917. The effect is to place the revolutionary year of 1917 in the context of the wider history of Russia and the Soviet Union, showing what led to the October revolution and what became of the objectives it was meant to achieve, and why it should be that a movement intended to promote democracy and equality should culminate in Stalin’s tyranny. This continuous narrative from the 1880s to the last year of NEP is the outstanding achievement of the book. It is a masterly exposition woven together from a myriad of sources, including some archival materials and a wealth of statistical information. The figures given are often illustrations of trends in society. Although for Smith political events form the backbone of his account of the Russian Revolution, due regard is also paid to economic, social and cultural changes that took place in the period in question. A Eurasian perspective is also attempted by incorporating recent research on Central Asia, the Caucasus, Siberia and the Far East. A very positive feature of this book, and one that lifts it above most other works in the subject area, is its dispassionate approach. The events that Smith describes are often atrocities involving a considerable loss of life. In these cases Smith simply states what took place, providing the casualty figures where these exist, but avoids moralizing about the episodes in question. This is sound methodology, and by following it, Smith has been able to elucidate objectively SEER, 97, 2, APRIL 2019 372 the situations that faced the protagonists in the Revolution and the Civil War, and the means by which they tackled them. In a very instructive conclusion Smith reflects on the reasons that brought down the autocracy and enabled the Bolsheviks to come to power. In his opinion, war played a major part. The strains caused by the First World War brought the Provisional Government to power, but its insistence on continuing hostilities cost it the popularity it had initially enjoyed. In this situation, the Bolsheviks, who promised peace, were able to respond to the popular mood. Smith is of the opinion that although ideology played some part in Bolshevik decision-making, it was not the only factor. He is surely right when he says that the Marxism of the Bolsheviks was a bundle of very diverse ideas and values. Of course the wide scope and time-framework of this book means that in many areas detail has had to be sacrificed. The 1917 revolution, for example, is covered in fifty pages, so that the treatment is on a rather general level. The scale of the narrative also necessarily makes the book heavily...