Alexander Rabinowitch – författare

" . . . a comprehensive look at an enigmatic era . . . " —Choice"This provocative collection of essays certainly takes some of the polish off Soviet socialism's golden age." —Journal of Interdisciplinary History"The authors and editors of this splendid volume deserve great praise. Their work moves the field of Soviet history several large steps forward." —Slavic ReviewLenin's New Economic Policy of the 1920s, although a relatively free and open potential alternative to Soviet communism, was also a time of extreme tension, as Russian society and culture were rocked by the forces of resistance and change. These essays examine the social and cultural dimensions of NEP in urban and rural Russia in the years before Stalin and rapid industrialization.

" . . . an expert work . . . remarkable for its objectivity, judiciousness, and its sure handling of the available evidence." —Political Science Quarterly" . . . a fine piece of historical writing." —Soviet Studies"An able and scholarly inquiry into the perplexing abortive Petrograd uprising of June and July 1917 . . . a very interesting view of revolutionary action on the local level." —Foreign AffairsFirst published in 1968, this pioneering study of revolutionary events in Petrograd in the summer of 1917 revised the established view of the Bolsheviks as a monolithic party. Rabinowitch documents how the party's pluralistic nature had crucial implications for the outcome of the revolution in October.

A major contribution to the historiography of the world in the 20th century, The Bolsheviks in Power focuses on the fateful first year of Soviet rule in Petrograd. It examines events that profoundly shaped the Soviet political system that endured through most of the 20th century. Drawing largely from previously inaccessible Soviet archives, it demolishes standard interpretations of the origins of Soviet authoritarianism by demonstrating that the Soviet system evolved ad hoc as the Bolsheviks struggled to retain political power amid spiraling political, social, economic, and military crises. The book covers issues such as the rapid fall of influential moderate Bolsheviks, the formation of the dreaded Cheka, the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly, the Red Terror, the national government's flight to Moscow, and the subsequent rivalry between Russia's new and old capitals.

The Bolsheviks Come to Power is one of the most important histories of the Russian Revolution to challenge the mainstream narratives. Originally published to great acclaim in 2004, this new edition marks the 100th anniversary of one of the explosive and game-changing moments in modern times.In this absorbing narrative, Alexander Rabinowitch counters the claims by mainstream historians that the revolution was a military coup led by Lenin and a small band of fanatics. He refutes the Soviet myth that the party's triumph in the October Revolution was inevitable, and explains the ebbs and flows of the revolutionary period, tracing the moods of the working class and the political positions of the Bolsheviks at different historical moments, including the immediate aftermath of the February Revolution, the July Days, the Kornilov affair, and up to and including the October Revolution itself.Drawn from a wealth of primary sources and archival material, this new edition of Rabinowitch's classic account is a must-have for anyone interested in clearing away the tired platitudes of mainstream historians, and reclaiming the revolution on this important anniversary.

The Bolsheviks Come to Power is one of the most important histories of the Russian Revolution to challenge the mainstream narratives. Originally published to great acclaim in 2004, this new edition marks the 100th anniversary of one of the explosive and game-changing moments in modern times.In this absorbing narrative, Alexander Rabinowitch counters the claims by mainstream historians that the revolution was a military coup led by Lenin and a small band of fanatics. He refutes the Soviet myth that the party's triumph in the October Revolution was inevitable, and explains the ebbs and flows of the revolutionary period, tracing the moods of the working class and the political positions of the Bolsheviks at different historical moments, including the immediate aftermath of the February Revolution, the July Days, the Kornilov affair, and up to and including the October Revolution itself.Drawn from a wealth of primary sources and archival material, this new edition of Rabinowitch's classic account is a must-have for anyone interested in clearing away the tired platitudes of mainstream historians, and reclaiming the revolution on this important anniversary.

Petrograd, the imperial capital and the urban stage upon which virtually the entire Russian Revolution was enacted, in 1919 struggled through a year of civil war, hunger, social upheaval, and political and economic challenges. Based on exhaustive research in previously closed Russian archives, the book presents an in depth look at how Petrograd’s local Soviet government and Bolshevik party organizations struggled to implement the Bolshevik party program, fight domestic and foreign counterrevolutionaries, quiet labor unrest, and provide food, fuel, and education to the local population.

Petrograd, the imperial capital and the urban stage upon which virtually the entire Russian Revolution was enacted, in 1919 struggled through a year of civil war, hunger, social upheaval, and political and economic challenges. Based on exhaustive research in previously closed Russian archives, Alexander Rabinowitch authoritatively presents an in depth look at how Petrograd’s local Soviet government and Bolshevik Party organizations struggled to implement the Bolshevik Party program, fight domestic and foreign counterrevolutionaries, quiet labor unrest, and provide food, fuel, and education to the local population. The methods and strategies used by the government and party organizations to organize public life and fight enemies, domestic and foreign, not only preserved the infant Soviet regime but proved to be the first manifestation of what would become the one-party authoritarian Soviet political system.

A classic work depicting the early months of the Russian Revolution, featuring a new introduction for the revolution’s centenary. 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. 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.

The Bolsheviks Come to Power is one of the most important histories of the Russian Revolution to challenge the mainstream narratives. Originally published to great acclaim in 2004, this new edition marks the 100th anniversary of one of the explosive and game-changing moments in modern times.In this absorbing narrative, Alexander Rabinowitch counters the claims by mainstream historians that the revolution was a military coup led by Lenin and a small band of fanatics. He refutes the Soviet myth that the party''s triumph in the October Revolution was inevitable, and explains the ebbs and flows of the revolutionary period, tracing the moods of the working class and the political positions of the Bolsheviks at different historical moments, including the immediate aftermath of the February Revolution, the July Days, the Kornilov affair, and up to and including the October Revolution itself.Drawn from a wealth of primary sources and archival material, this new edition of Rabinowitch''s classic account is a must-have for anyone interested in clearing away the tired platitudes of mainstream historians, and reclaiming the revolution on this important anniversary.

Die Oktoberrevolution 1917 in Russland prägte nicht nur die Geschichte Europas, sondern veränderte die ganze Welt. Das erste Jahr der Herrschaft der Bolschewiki ist Gegenstand der umfangreichen Untersuchung des amerikanischen Historikers Alexander Rabinowitch. Der Mehring Verlag veröffentlicht im März 2010 das Buch ''Die Sowjetmacht. Das erste Jahr'', das nach zwanzigjähriger Forschungsarbeit entstanden ist. Seit 1991 war es Rabinowitch möglich, in den Archiven der Regierung und Kommunistischen Partei in Moskau und danach in Leningrad zu arbeiten. 1993 erhielt er sogar Zugang zu den ehemaligen KGB-Archiven. Detailreich folgt das Buch den Auseinandersetzungen innerhalb der bolschewistischen Partei, schildert Rabinowitch Persönlichkeiten der revolutionären Bewegung, zeigt er die bedrohlichen Hindernisse, die sich dem jungen Regime entgegenstellen. Gestützt auf sein Studium der Archive lehnt Rabinowitch die Darstellungen der Russischen Revolution ab, die viele Jahrzehnte die Geschichtswissenschaft und die öffentliche Diskussion dominiert haben: Erstens die Schule der stalinistischen Fälschung, die nicht nur in der ehemaligen Sowjetunion verbreitet war, und zweitens die Tendenz, die die Oktoberrevolution als Putsch einer Partei ansah, die über keine Unterstützung in den Massen verfügte und daher mit Terror regierte.

Die Oktoberrevolution 1917 in Russland war nicht das Ergebnis eines Putschs einer hochdisziplinierten und autoritär geführten Partei, wie es viele Jahrzehnte in der Geschichtswissenschaft dargestellt wurde. Der amerikanische Historiker Alexander Rabinowitch zeigt in seiner glänzenden Studie, dass die engen Beziehungen der Bolschewiki zu den Arbeiter- und Soldatenmassen und die Unterstützung, die sie in den Betrieben gewonnen hatten, die entscheidenden Faktoren für ihren Sieg im Oktober waren. Detailreich schildert Rabinowitch die Entwicklung von den ''Juli-Tagen'' bis zum Oktoberaufstand 1917 in Petrograd (St. Petersburg).Als die erste Auflage von The Bolsheviks Come to Power erschien, war das Schicksal vieler Petrograder Bolschewiki, die in meinem Buch eine bedeutende Rolle spielen, noch ungeklärt. Dies ist nicht länger der Fall. Einige starben im Kampf ums Überleben während des Bürgerkriegs. Zu ihnen gehören W. Wolodarski und M. Urizki (beide Opfer von Terroranschlägen in Petrograd), A. I. Sluzki, W. K. Sluzkaja, I. A. Rachia und S. G. Roschal. Viele, die den Bürgerkrieg überlebten, verloren ihr Leben im Großen Terror Stalins. So erging es den meisten Mitgliedern, die auf dem Sechsten Parteitag Ende Juli 1917 ins Zentralkomitee gewählt worden waren und Anfang der 1930er Jahre noch lebten, Stalin selbst natürlich ausgenommen. Unter den Opfern der Säuberungen waren T. Smilga, L. B. Kamenew, G. E. Sinowjew, A. S. Bubnow, N. N. Krestinski, J. A. Bersin, W. P. Miljutin, A. I. Rykow, N. I. Bucharin und Leo Trotzki (der von einem Agenten Stalins in Mexiko ermordet wurde). Zu den prominenten Opfern der Säuberungen unter den Mitgliedern des bolschewistischen Petersburger Komitees zählten A. G. Schljapnikow, P. A. Saluzki, M. J. Lazis, I. N. Stukow, G. E. Jewdokimow, W. A. Antonow-Owsejenko, G. I. Boki, S. M. Gessen, M. A. Saweljew, J. N. Jegorowa, S. K. Ordschonikidse und M. P. Tomski (die beiden Letztgenannten entgingen ihrer Hinrichtung durch Selbstmord). Folgende Mitglieder der bolschewistischen Militärischen Organisation wurden ermordet: W. I. Newski, N. W. Krylenko, M. S. Kedrow, K. A. Mechanoschin, A. F. Iljin-Schenewski und F. P. Chaustow; zwei prominente Kronstädter Bolschewiki; auch F. F. Raskolnikow und A. M. Ljubowitsch fielen Stalin zum Opfer. Zu den prominenten Petrograder Bolschewiki, die sowohl den Bürgerkrieg wie auch Stalins Terror überlebten, gehörten W. M. Molotow, M. I. Kalinin, Jelena Stasowa, Alexandra Kollontai und N. I. Podwoiski.«