Russia in the Twentieth Century: The Quest for Stability

Description

The history of Russia, as the natural successor to the Soviet Union, is of crucial importance to understanding why communism ultimately lost out to Western democracy and the free market system. David Marples presents a balanced overview of 20th century Russian history and shows that although contemporary Russia has retained many of the practices and memories of the Soviet period, it is not about to revert back to the Soviet example. Cover Title Copyright Dedication Contents List of illustrations List of boxes Acknowledgements Publisher’s acknowledgements Maps Preface Glossary 1 From tsarism to revolution, 1894–1917 Social and political conditions in tsarist Russia The war with Japan The 1905 Revolution The time of the Dumas Stolypin’s reforms The alliance system The First World War The February Revolution The return of Lenin The July Days The Kornilov revolt 2 The October Revolution, 1917–1921 The Constituent Assembly Making peace with the Central Powers The Cheka and the beginning of the Red Terror The start of War Communism The start of the civil war Red victory The war with the Poles The end of the civil war The Kronstadt rebellion 3 NEP and the rise of Stalin, 1921–1928 The formation of the USSR The start of the New Economic Policy The development of a Soviet bureaucracy The rise of Stalin The death of Lenin The formation of the United Opposition Propaganda, literacy, and education Foreign policy in the 1920s Summary: the 1920s 4 Collectivization, industrialization and the Great Purge, 1929–1940 Introduction The decision to collectivize agriculture Mass collectivization begins The Great Famine in Ukraine Completion of collectivization The start of industrialization The purges Socialist Realism begins Foreign policy in the 1930s Popular Fronts Toward the Nazi-Soviet Pact 5 The Great Patriotic War and aftermath, 1941–1953 Early stages The assault on Leningrad and Kyiv Operation Typhoon: the attack on Moscow The Partisan movement Stalingrad Wartime culture: the peak of Socialist Realism The Battle of Kursk Salient Stalin and his allies Victory in the West and in the East The results of the Great Patriotic War Economic recovery Armed resistance The period of High Stalinism 6 Khrushchev’s reforms, 1953–1964; and postwar foreign policy The succession question The Virgin Lands Program The 20th Party Congress The attack on the Russian Orthodox Church Cultural thaw Foreign policy during the early Cold War, 1945–1963 Another plot 7 The Brezhnev regime and its successors, 1964–1984 Introduction Leonid Ilich Brezhnev The economy The Constitution of 1977 Language and political questions in the national republics Foreign policy under Brezhnev Culture under Brezhnev The dissident movement The last years of the Brezhnev regime The interlude: Andropov and Chernenko 8 Gorbachev, Glasnost and Perestroika, 1985–1991 Introduction The Chernobyl disaster The development of Glasnost Politics under Gorbachev The perils of Perestroika Foreign policy The national question 1991 - the year of collapse The Soviet legacy in retrospect 9 From Yeltsin to Putin: Russia’s decline and recovery, 1992–2008 Vladimir V. Putin Political events, 2000–2008 The attack on the oligarchs Presidential elections of 2004 Russia and its neighbors Chechnya: terrorism and the resumption of war Partnerships The 2007 parliamentary elections Gazprom and economic revival Historical memory and the modern state Bibliography of older works Index