Geoffrey Swain - Böcker

Russia's experiences during the Civil War determined the framework within which the Russian people were governed throughout the Soviet period. These newly-released documents reveal how the events of 1918-22 reflected struggles and tensions in Russian society that were more complex than the simple Red-White propaganda war. In this collection, the authors have sought out documents which highlight the complexities of the struggle, exploring episodes which shed light on what was a multi-faceted struggle which left wounds on Russian society that never healed.

Covering the horrors that took place in Latvia from the beginning of the Second World War until 1947, this book focuses on the heart of the 20th century: Stalinist industrialization, collectivization and political annihilation; Nazi expansionism and genocide; with local nationalism, local nationalist rivalries, and local anti-Semitism. The author traces the developments in one particular region of Latvia, Daugavpils. There, the dilemma of Hitler or Stalin, the ideological struggle of fascism or communism was more acute than anywhere else in Europe since the population was actively involved in establishing both.

Covering the horrors that took place in Latvia from the beginning of the Second World War until 1947, this book focuses on the heart of the 20th century: Stalinist industrialization, collectivization and political annihilation; Nazi expansionism and genocide; with local nationalism, local nationalist rivalries, and local anti-Semitism. The author traces the developments in one particular region of Latvia, Daugavpils. There, the dilemma of Hitler or Stalin, the ideological struggle of fascism or communism was more acute than anywhere else in Europe since the population was actively involved in establishing both.

Supporters of Stalin saw Trotsky as a traitor and renegade. Trotsky’s own supporters saw him as the only true Leninist. In Trotsky and the Russian Revolution, Geoffrey Swain restores Trotsky to his real and central role in the Russian Revolution. In this succinct and comprehensive study, Swain contests that: In the years between 1903 and 1917, it was the ideas of Trotsky, rather than Lenin, which shaped the nascent Bolshevik Party and prepared it for the overthrow of the Tsar. During the autumn of 1917 workers supported Trotsky’s idea of an insurrection carried out by the soviet, rather than Lenin’s demand for a party orchestrated coup d’etat. During the Russian Civil War, Trotsky persuaded a sceptical Lenin that the only way to victory was through the employment of officers trained in the Tsar’s army.As well as examining Trotsky’s critique of Stalin’s Russia in the 1930s, this seminar reader probes deeper to explore the ideas which drove Trotsky forward during his years of influence over Russia’s revolutionary politics, exploring such key concepts as how to construct a revolutionary party, how to stage a successful insurrection, how to fight a revolutionary war, and how to build a socialist state.

Concentrating on the turbulent months from February 1917 to November 1918, Geoffrey Swain explores the origins of the Civil War against the wider background of revolutionary Russia. He examines the aims of the anti-Bolshevik insurgents themselves; but he also shows how far the fear of civil war governed the action of the Provisional Government, and even the plans of the Bolsheviks. If the war itself can seem a fairly straightforward line-up of revolutionaries and counter-revolutionaries, this study reveals how complex were the motives of the people who precipitated it.

Presents a fresh look at Trotsky that provides insights into his personality, life, career and political ideas. This biography also offers a fresh interpretation of Trotsky's career, and focuses on Trotksy's years in power: his pre-Revolutionary life, his role during the 1917 revolution and civil war, and his part in constructing the soviet state.

The Russian Civil War was the Red Army’s first major conflict. Its ill-equipped, starving troops fought fellow countrymen and an invasion force of 10,000 American, British and French soldiers in the freezing wastelands of Siberia and the Ukraine. A brutal and fast moving war, sieges were broken by fiercely armoured trains immortalised in Dr Zhivago.Great land battles in the frozen east of Europe such as Kazan and Kakhovka proved very different from those fought in the west (something the Nazis would also learn to their cost twenty years later). However, the Allied armies together with the forces of Cossack warlords penetrated deep into Russia from Vladivostok towards Moscow conquering an area the size of Britain before being retreating in the face of a decisive counter-offensive.Likewise the Red Army did not fight alone. Its victory was achieved in alliance with peasant partisans. Unwilling to share his victory, Lenin began a struggle for the soul of the Russian peasantry; this bloody stalemate was only ended by Stalin a decade later through a terror in which millions Russians perished.

This concise, approachable introduction to Khrushchev explores the innovative theme of Khrushchev as reformer, arguing that the 'bumbling' nature of those reforms only partly reflected Khrushchev's uncertainty about how to act. Swain provides a cogent account of Khrushchev's political career and of his wider role in Soviet and world politics.

An established introductory textbook that provides students with an engaging overview of the complex developments in Eastern Europe from the end of the Second World War through to the present. Tracing the origins of the socialist experiment, de-Stalinisation, and the transition from socialism to capitalism, it explores the key events in each nation’s recent history.This is an ideal core text for dedicated modules on Eastern European History or Europe since 1945 (including Central Europe and the Balkans) - or a supplementary text for broader modules on Modern European History or European Political History - which may be offered at all levels of an undergraduate history, politics or European studies degree. In addition it is a crucial resource for students who may be studying the recent history of Eastern Europe for the first time as part of a taught postgraduate degree in Modern European history, European politics or European studies.New to this Edition:- A fully revised new edition of an established text, updated throughout to incorporate the latest research- Provides coverage of recent events- Offers increased focus on social and cultural history with greater emphasis on everyday life and experiences in Eastern Europe

Without Trotsky there would have been no Bolshevik Revolution, but Trotsky was no Bolshevik.Providing a full account of Trotsky’s role during the Russian Civil War and concentrating on his time as an active participant in Russian revolutionary politics, rather than his ideological writings of emigration, Swain gives the student a very different picture of the Bolshevik Commissar of War. This radically new interpretation of Trotsky’s career spanning 1905-1917 incorporates the tense relationship between Trotsky and Lenin until 1917, and pays particular attention to the Russian Civil War and Trotsky’s military organisation and contribution to the war.Swain argues critically that Trotsky achieved where Lenin would have failed, suggesting that Trotsky was in the main part responsible for the Bolshevik Revolution.

Concentrating on the turbulent months from February 1917 to November 1918, Geoffrey Swain explores the origins of the Civil War against the wider background of revolutionary Russia. He examines the aims of the anti-Bolshevik insurgents themselves; but he also shows how far the fear of civil war governed the action of the Provisional Government, and even the plans of the Bolsheviks. If the war itself can seem a fairly straightforward line-up of revolutionaries and counter-revolutionaries, this study reveals how complex were the motives of the people who precipitated it.

The 1917 Revolution sent shockwaves throughout the globe, setting a chain of events in motion that would change the entire course of the 20th century. With the overthrow of the Romanov Dynasty, Russia was plunged into the political unknown and, from the crucible of social unrest, ideological conflict and violent civil war, the world’s first communist state was forged. In this revised edition, Geoffrey Swain provides an incisive overview of one of the most complex and turbulent periods in modern history, tracing key moments from the abdication of Tsar Nicolas II to the Bolshevik seizure of power. A leading authority on Russia and Eastern Europe, Geoffrey Swain highlights the important legacies of 1905, demonstrating how early revolutionary ambitions among the masses culminated in the events of 1917. Challenging conventions in Soviet scholarship, this revised edition shows that the Bolshevik concepts of discipline and ideology that had mobilised the revolution, set an unnecessary course towards dictatorship and terror. Covering new historiography in the field, this revised edition places a renewed emphasis on the social and cultural upheaval experienced in Russia amid the nation’s political turmoil.

The 1917 Revolution sent shockwaves throughout the globe, setting a chain of events in motion that would change the entire course of the 20th century. With the overthrow of the Romanov Dynasty, Russia was plunged into the political unknown and, from the crucible of social unrest, ideological conflict and violent civil war, the world’s first communist state was forged. In this revised edition, Geoffrey Swain provides an incisive overview of one of the most complex and turbulent periods in modern history, tracing key moments from the abdication of Tsar Nicolas II to the Bolshevik seizure of power. A leading authority on Russia and Eastern Europe, Geoffrey Swain highlights the important legacies of 1905, demonstrating how early revolutionary ambitions among the masses culminated in the events of 1917. Challenging conventions in Soviet scholarship, this revised edition shows that the Bolshevik concepts of discipline and ideology that had mobilised the revolution, set an unnecessary course towards dictatorship and terror. Covering new historiography in the field, this revised edition places a renewed emphasis on the social and cultural upheaval experienced in Russia amid the nation’s political turmoil.

Through 30 interpretative essays, The Bloomsbury Handbook of the Russian Revolution sees an international team of leading scholars comprehensively examine Russia’s revolutionary years. In the wake of the 2017 centenary, this handbook is the first reference point for anyone wishing to learn more about the changes which took place in Russia between 1917 and 1921 and subsequently the 20th century. Split into six sections covering political crises, politicians and parties, social groups, identities, regions and peoples, and civil war, the volume covers the collapse of Tsarism and the February Revolution, the emergence of the Provisional Government, and major historical figures such as Lenin, Kerensky and the Socialist Revolutionary leader Viktor Chernov. It also explores the events surrounding the Bolshevik seizure of power in October 1917, the first year of Soviet Government until the Bolshevik dictatorship was established, and the impact on Russia of the subsequent civil war. The focus is broader than these issues of high politics, however, since this handbook also considers events in the provinces as well as revolutionary Petrograd, and examines the social impact of the revolution in terms of class, gender, age and culture.

Through 30 interpretative essays, The Bloomsbury Handbook of the Russian Revolution sees an international team of leading scholars comprehensively examine Russia’s revolutionary years. In the wake of the 2017 centenary, this handbook is the first reference point for anyone wishing to learn more about the changes which took place in Russia between 1917 and 1921 and subsequently the 20th century. Split into six sections covering political crises, politicians and parties, social groups, identities, regions and peoples, and civil war, the volume covers the collapse of Tsarism and the February Revolution, the emergence of the Provisional Government, and major historical figures such as Lenin, Kerensky and the Socialist Revolutionary leader Viktor Chernov. It also explores the events surrounding the Bolshevik seizure of power in October 1917, the first year of Soviet Government until the Bolshevik dictatorship was established, and the impact on Russia of the subsequent civil war. The focus is broader than these issues of high politics, however, since this handbook also considers events in the provinces as well as revolutionary Petrograd, and examines the social impact of the revolution in terms of class, gender, age and culture.

Supporters of Stalin saw Trotsky as a traitor and renegade. Trotsky’s own supporters saw him as the only true Leninist. In Trotsky and the Russian Revolution, Geoffrey Swain restores Trotsky to his real and central role in the Russian Revolution. In this succinct and comprehensive study, Swain contests that: In the years between 1903 and 1917, it was the ideas of Trotsky, rather than Lenin, which shaped the nascent Bolshevik Party and prepared it for the overthrow of the Tsar. During the autumn of 1917 workers supported Trotsky’s idea of an insurrection carried out by the soviet, rather than Lenin’s demand for a party orchestrated coup d’etat. During the Russian Civil War, Trotsky persuaded a sceptical Lenin that the only way to victory was through the employment of officers trained in the Tsar’s army.As well as examining Trotsky’s critique of Stalin’s Russia in the 1930s, this seminar reader probes deeper to explore the ideas which drove Trotsky forward during his years of influence over Russia’s revolutionary politics, exploring such key concepts as how to construct a revolutionary party, how to stage a successful insurrection, how to fight a revolutionary war, and how to build a socialist state.