 |
 1917
Click to go to the extensive links on this casahistoria page
for the events that brought Lenin & the Bolsheviks to power. |
The web has numerous sites to Lenin and Trotsky, however most are
either over sycophantic or of limited academic interest. Those
offered below are of greater value. What is missing are sites with
critical analysis.
Biographies
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VI Lenin from the Time 100 series. By David Remnick
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Lenin brief bio from the BBC
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 Vladimir Lenin Interesting modern Russian bio from the
Russian international TV news channel RT Russia, of the founder
and the guiding spirit of the Soviet Republics - a communist
philosopher, ardent disciple of Karl Marx, leader of the
Bolshevik Party and the mastermind of the 1917 October
Revolution.
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A chronology of Lenin Neat and useful from the Lenin
Internet Archive but the red background makes use difficult!
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Early Life: Lenin Web. § Many
articles of its own on specific periods of Lenin's life before
1917 especially. These links are courtesy of the archived
Wayback Machine as the original site is now defunct. Essays
have a left wing bias and authors not provided with provenance,
but useful for basic events:
- Ulyanov's family and youth:
- St. Petersburg - the beginning of revolutionary activity
- Arrest, exile, revolutionary activity
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Vladimir Lenin By Henry M. Christman from Essential Works of
Lenin. detailed bio §
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Biography of Lenin (written by Lunacharsky in 1918)
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N. K. Krupskaya's Reminiscences of Lenin written by
Lenin's wife in 1933 and published in 1970. Very full. This is
all the book: use the chapters for guidance
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Photographs of Lenin Well set out. Visual biography...
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Examples of Socialist Realism: Lenin painted Lenins
..... §
 Lenin's women
2. Lenin: Ideas
- The crucial Lenin works in full and online:
General Lenin sites
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Lenin Internet Archive Stylish with bios, documents and
photos. A Useful section is that of
Biographical Portraits written by Lenin contemporaries. One
of the few Lenin sites being regularly maintained now.
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 Vladimir
Illyich Lenin Homepage Chronological layout of source
materials, but takes time to find what you need. Best if you are
looking for some specific source. §
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Lenin Social Nerve: Unfortunately this is no longer
maintained. The link here is to the excellent
Wayback Machine copy. Unfortunately this is missing many
images and aspects from the site. it is still worth using.
§ As I wrote originally: The site
modestly claims: "contains the most information offered on-line
about the life and work of Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. The site
includes over 500 photographs of Lenin, the Russian Revolutions
of 1905 and 1917. The site includes photographs and
biographies of the prominent revolutionaries of the time, like
Leon Trotsky. The Biographical section on Lenin contains
information gathered to suite the intellectual mind on the
controversies and legends of Lenin." The site is very
good though... The pick of the general Lenin sites. in case it
returns. here is the original site URL:
www.socialnerve.org/lenin/index.html
3. Trotsky
Biographies
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Leon Trotsky Brief bio from BBC
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Leon Trotsky Bio from the Russian international TV news
channel RT Russia of one of the leaders of Russia’s October
Revolution in 1917 and later the founder and commander of the
Red Army.
-
 Leon
Trotsky Simple, but well illustrated biography
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My Life By the man himself. Originally published in 1930 by
Charles Schribner’s Sons, NY. This is the full version online
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Trotsky Internet Archive Photo Gallery Extensive.
- Many sites now on Frida Kahlo as well as Lenin, Trotsky.
Most of dubious value too... Here are a better pair:
Ideas and writings
General sites
4. Domestic Policy, 1917-24
|
|
 For
links to the deaths of the Romanovs, click on the
1917
casahistoria page |
Politics
-
A Guide to Electoral Behaviour in Revolutionary Russia This
site gives the result of various elections held in Russian
during 1917/19, in several forms of statistical chart (pie, bar
graph etc.). Although the information is certainly specialist,
and there is no explanation as to what each party stands for,
you can draw some interesting conclusions about Bolshevik
support.
-
Constitution of the Soviet Union, 1918 Undergraduate support
article by Professor O'Brien, Dept of History, John Jay College
of Criminal Justice, New York
-
  'Institution
building in Soviet Russia; the case of 'State Kontrol'' by T.F.
Remington. Looks at the Bolshevik efforts to establish
institutions after the October Revolution. From Slavic Review,
1982.
- 'Russian
labor and Bolshevik power after October' by William G Rosenberg
(smaller version) Looks at the relationship between the
Bolsheviks and organsed labour after October 1917. From Slavic
Review (1985). See also:
Reply to Rosenberg by Lewin ¦
Reply to Rosenberg by Brovkin ¦
Response by Rosenberg
- 'The
Mensheviks' political comeback: elections to the provincial
soviets in the spring 1918' by Vladimir Brovkin Looks at the
Menshevik recovery in the breathing space (peredyshka) between
Brest-Litovsk and the outbreak of Civil War. From Russian
review, 1983.
- 'The
commune state in Moscow in 1918' by Richard Sakwa The aricle
focuses on the problems the Bolshevik leadership faced in
matching ideology to practical need in the early months of the
Bolshevik state. From Slavic Review, 1987.
Opposition To Lenin & Terror
Kronstadt
5. The
Civil War and Intervention
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Civil War: Whites v Reds and
Allied intervention two introductory pages from BBC history.
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The Russian Civil War This two-page account of the Russian
Civil War concentrates on broad trends rather than specific
events. Examining the strengths and weaknesses of both main
sides, and including information on regional differences and
international involvement, this would be an ideal accompaniment
to a timeline or narrative. Oddly, it neglects to mention the
importance of the railways to the Red Army.
-
 Russian
Civil War ,
White Army &
Red
Army Thorough accounts and documents from the Spartacus
site.
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The Civil War Competent account of war and outcome. Prof
Rempel lecture based on Donald W. Treadgold, Twentieth Century
Russia, (Westview Press, 1987).
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Lenin and the First Communist Revolutions, Civil War section
From the Museum of Communism. Detailed, with maps.
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Trotsky on the Russian Civil War Well linked page §
- Red
Army Sound initial outline of the origins of the Red Army
from Firstworldwar.com
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Anton Denikin Bio from the Russian international TV news
channel RT Russia of one of the most successful leaders of the
White movement. A Russian general, he nearly succeeded in
defeating the Bolshevik forces in 1919 during the Civil War.
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Aleksandr Kolchak Bio from the Russian international TV news
channel RT Russia of the Russian naval commander, polar explorer
and a leader of the anti-Bolshevik fight during the Russian
Civil War
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White Falcons: the White Air Forces 1918-1920 Interesting,
if slightly offbeat article on the airforces (especially
Finnish)
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White Songs and Poetry The following are several examples
from soldiers' songs and poetry from the Russian Civil War.
While some of the authors are known, the names of many have been
lost or never recorded. This small sample is drawn from research
into the White movement in South Russia, in particular General
Wrangel and his Crimean government, and it is composed of
examples found in the memoir literature of White emigres. But
the purple background is .....too purple..... §
-
'Russian
anarchists and the civil war' by Paul Avrich Interesting
article looking at how The Bolsheviks attempted to enlist
anarchist support. From Russian Review, 1968
Allied Intervention
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Allied Intervention in the Russian Civil War, 1918-1920 -
includes overview, chronology, and links to sites about
American, Australian, British, and Canadian participation. Good
detail for the military details and specifics, from
Regiments.org. §
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America's Secret War American intervention in the Russian
Civil War, 1918-1920, with links to documents.
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Prelude to Intervention: The Decision of the United States and
Japan to Intervene In Siberia, 1917-1918 Article by Daniel
A. Leifheit from the America's secret war site.
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Bloody Battle On Peace Day On November 11, 1918, World War I
officially ended, but for American troops in the Russian town of
Toulgas, the war was just beginning. Vincent Cortright explains
in this, often griping, article. §
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North Russian Expeditionary Force 1918-1919 - scrapbook of
newspaper clippings, photographs, and notes compiled by P.O.
George William Smith onboard the HMS Borodino.
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Much Ado about Nothing: Allied Intervention in the Russian Civil
War - Brief article from George Mason University, VA,
assesses the significance of Allied involvement in the Russian
Civil War.
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Maj. Gen. William S. Graves, U.S. Army – Truly a Soldier of the
Old School Valuable bio of the Commander, American
Expeditionary Force, Siberia By Russell Evans of the Americanism
Educational League.
6. Economics
War Communism
New Economic Policy
7. Foreign Policy
The Allied Intervention
See Section 5 above
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Comintern Founded and
To Neoisolationism Introductory articles by Professor
Gerhard Rempel
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Comintern Introductory account and documents from the
Spartacus site.
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The Comintern Section from the useful 1985 book by Marxist
writer Duncan Hallas. This links to the 1923 Russian chapter.
For the full index click
here.
8.
Witness Accounts and Evaluations
The following are complete books. All are by
writers sympathetic at the time to the general need for change,
although it is clear from several that their ideas were changing in
the years following the revolution.
-
A Great Beginning, Vladimir Lenin June 19, 1919: In this
account Lenin describes the tasks being made throughout the
country to rebuild itself during the wrenching famine and Civil
War. Lenin describes the "Communist Subbotniks" who are
rebuilding the nation in peace, while he also describes the
heroic efforts of the workers in the rear, those workers and
peasants living under the domination of the white armies.
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Russia in 1919 by
Arthur Ransome online editions of the books written by
"Swallows and Amazons" author who befriended Lenin, Trotsky and
other revolutionary leaders. This book describes the economic,
social and political situation he saw during his visit to Russia
in February and March of 1919. In this work Ransome interviews
several prominent members of the Soviet government as well as
ordinary citizens of Soviet Russia. While support of the Soviet
society is evident in this critical but encouraging look at this
new government struggling through a civil war, what is not
evident is that Arthur Ransome was a British Secret agent
working with MI6. (But was Ransome also a spy? See here for the
latest archive info:
Still an enigma ...)
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The
Crisis in Russia a second book by Ransome, written Summer of
1920
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How the Soviets Work, H. N. Brailsford 1920,1927: A critical
description of the positives and negatives of the grass-roots
councils empowered by the revolution. Much of this material is
drawn from 1920 and qualified by his visit in 1927.
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My Disillusionment in Russia, Emma Goldman 1921-22: American
anarchist Emma Goldman travels to Russia for the first time in
30 years. She provides a revealing picture on the rampant
opportunism throughout the Soviet government and its steady
roots throughout the bureaucracy. Goldman explains life in
Soviet Russia from the viewpoint of Russian anarchists who
wanted to abolish all government right away, and she charts the
undemocratic injustices that occur to them as a result.
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The First Time in History, Anna Louise Strong, August 1921
to December, 1923
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Children of Revolution, Anna Louise Strong 1925: Story of
the John Reed Children's Colony on the Volga, which is as well a
story of the whole great structure of Russia
- Left
Behind - Baroness Sophie Buxhoeveden's memoirs of life at
Imperial court and her harrowing escape through Siberia during
the Revolution and Russian Civil War. From Alexandra Palace
-
 And
Now My Soul Is Hardened: Abandoned Children in Soviet Russia,
1918-1930 Warfare, epidemics, and famine left millions of
Soviet children homeless during the 1920s. Many became beggars,
prostitutes, and thieves, and were denizens of both secluded
underworld haunts and bustling train stations. Alan Ball's study
of these abandoned children examines their lives and the
strategies the government used to remove them from the streets
lest they threaten plans to mold a new socialist generation. The
"rehabilitation" of these youths and the results years later are
an important lesson in Soviet history.
9. Death of Lenin
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Death of Lenin: Guardian Century, 1920-1929 by Arthur
Ransome
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Lenin Dies Of Cerebral Hemorrhage from New York Times. This
event took place on January 21, 1924, and was reported in the
The New York Times the following day.
-
 Photographs
Lenin's death
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Vladimir Ilyich Lenin's full autopsy from Payne, Robert -
The life and death of Lenin, New York, 1964.
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Lenin's Testament (Read the Post script...) In 1922,
Lenin composed the following letter, which he intended to be
read at the Central Committee. In it, he discusses the
leadership of the Bolshevik Party and finds most of his
potential successors wanting. The letter, which has often been
referred to as "Lenin's testament," intensified a bitter rivalry
between Joseph Stalin (1879-1953) and Leon Trotsky. After
Lenin's death in 1924, a succession struggle dominated the
Bolshevik Party until Stalin emerged as undisputed leader.
From Lenin, Vladimir. "Letter to the Congress." As reproduced in
A Documentary History of Communism, trans. Max Eastman, ed.
Robert Daniels §
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Lenin Mausoleum - A virtual tour of the Lenin mausoleum in
Moscow; requires VRML plugin downloadable on the site.
- Stalin on Lenin:
- Trotsky on Lenin:
And finally,
something different.....
10. Historical
Analysis
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The Legacies of Revolution Richard Pipes presents an
indictment of the Russian Revolution, its violence,
consequences, and the relationship of Leninism to Stalinism. §
-
 The End of the Revolution? Sheila Fitzpatrick, one of the
most prominent historians of the USSR, discusses in this passage
from her history of the revolution the difficulties in studying
1917 and in determining when the Russian Revolution ended. Her
periodization has become the most influential way of viewing the
Russian Revolution as a twenty-year process. §
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Censored by His Own Regime 1996 review article by by Orlando
Figes which discusses the view emerging of Lenin with the
opening of the Russian secret archives. Casts useful light on
the character of Lenin
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Vladimir Ilyich Lenin - David Remnick's commentary on the
life and legacy of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin.
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Balance Sheet of October - Trotskyist overview of the
Bolshevik rise to power and the Lenin state by Ted Grant
11.
General link sites to the period
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The Russian Revolution This is a very good place to start.
It has many links to sites on the background and events of the
Revolution. A useful collection of annotated links to other
sites relating to the Russian Revolution. It is very suitable
for IB Level
-
 Revolution of 1917 Presentation by Professor Gerhard
Rempel, Western New England College.
-
Russian Studies on the Internet A very thorough, and
quite academic listing of sites relevant to Russian History. For
serious casahistorians in particular, but difficult to navigate.
-
Chronology of Russian History: Soviet Period A well
presented university site, looking at the grand sweep of
Russian/Soviet history from a chronological position. Good
linked access to documents. §
-
‘Revolutionary Silhouettes’ Written by Anatoly Vasilievich
Lunacharsky in 1923, the ‘Revolutionary Silhouettes’ are a
series of accounts dealing with leading figures of the
revolution, including Lenin and Trotsky. Lunacharsky, who was a
member of the USSR’s first government, knew these people
personally, and each silhouette is a mixture of biography,
reminiscence and examination.
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 Who
is who? Brief biographies of key figures during the
Revolutionary period |
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 Glossary:
Explanation of the main events, words, places
connected with Russia, 1917-41 |
Links to written
documentary evidence:
-
History of the Soviet Union This website of translated
documents by the Univ of East Anglia is designed to give
students easy access to a wide selection of sources on Russian
history translated into English and available electronically.
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Internet Modern History Sourcebook: Russian Revolution Key
Documents on the revolutionary period
- PLP
translations: an enormous number of books/documents
translated by Computer Based Learning Unit, University of Leeds.
This links to the enormous index. Good for browsing for sample
documents - but you need a general idea of what/who you are
looking for as the index is author based, not thematic.
Visual
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The Chairman Smiles: Soviet Posters "By 1930, propaganda
focuses on political discipline and the Five Year Plans,
ambitious programs for the collectivization of agriculture and
establishment of heavy industry. The posters give a powerful,
dynamic impression, using photomontage, compositions with
diagonal lines, and strong contrasts in colours and shapes"
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Red Scare, An Image Database An off beat site dedicated to
revolutionary imagery (not just 1917) and how others portrayed
it.
- Revolutionary
Posters The artwork of the Russian Revolution is justifiably
famous. This page contains seven large, full colour posters,
along with brief annotation.
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The Soviet Poster- Revolution by Design Clearly explained
and illustrated sections on the main aspects of the poster
during particular political periods.
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Soviet Constructivistic propaganda 1920 - 1929 Visually
interesting site of examples of constructive agitprop.
|
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 For extensive links to Stalin's Russia go to the casahistoria
Stalin 1927-39 site |
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For extensive links to the events of
1917 go to the casahistoria 1917
site |
the casahistoria Russia/USSR core sites:
Background to
Revolution
1917 Revolutions
Lenin´s Russia
Stalin's Russia
1927-39
Stalin: Economics & Terror, 1927-41
v10.04
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