BYU Studies Quarterly BYU Studies Quarterly

Volume 25 Issue 1 Article 35

1-1-1985

A History of Russia Nicholas Riasanovsky; Nicholas Riasanovsky; The Romanovs:

Autocrats of All the Russias W. Bruce Lincoln; W. Bruce Lincoln; Twentieth Century

Russia Donald W. Treadgold; Donald W. Treadgold; A History of Soviet Russia M. K. M. K.

Dziewanowski; Dziewanowski; The Life of Lenin Louis Fischer; Louis Fischer; Three Who Made a

Revolution Bertram D. Wolfe; Bertram D. Wolfe; Lenin Lives!: The Lenin Cult in Soviet

Russia Nina Tumarkin; Nina Tumarkin; Stalin As Revolutionary, 1879-1929 Robert Robert

C. Tucker; C. Tucker; Gulag Archipelago 1918-1956 Alexander Solzhenitsyn; Alexander Solzhenitsyn;

Let History Judge Roy Medvedev Roy Medvedev

Rodney D. Bohac

Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq

Recommended Citation Recommended Citation Bohac, Rodney D. (1985) "A History of Russia Nicholas Riasanovsky; The Romanovs: Autocrats of All the Russias W. Bruce Lincoln; Twentieth Century Russia Donald W. Treadgold; A History of Soviet Russia M. K. Dziewanowski; The Life of Lenin Louis Fischer; Three Who Made a Revolution Bertram D. Wolfe; Lenin Lives!: The Lenin Cult in Soviet Russia Nina Tumarkin; Stalin As Revolutionary, 1879-1929 Robert C. Tucker; Gulag Archipelago 1918-1956 Alexander Solzhenitsyn; Let History Judge Roy Medvedev," BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 25 : Iss. 1 , Article 35. Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol25/iss1/35

This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in BYU Studies Quarterly by an authorized editor of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact scholarsarchive@byu.edu, ellen_amatangelo@byu.edu.

book reviews

NICHOLAS riasanovsky A history ofrussiaof russia 2dad ed new yorkoxford university press 1984 xx 695 ppap 3995599539.953995 hardback 249524.952495paperback

W BRUCE LINCOLN the Romanoromanovsromanovavs autocrats odallof aelallati the dussiasrussiasRussiasnew york doubleday 1983 864 ppap 149514.951495

DONALD W TREADGOLD twentieth century russia 5thath edboston houghton mifflin co 1981 xiii 555 ppap 225022.502250

M K dziewanowski A history of soviet russia 2dad edenglewood cliffs NJ prentice hall 1985 x 406 ppap 2395259523.952395

LOUIS FISCHER the life ofleninof leminlenin new york harper & row 1964viii 703 ppap out of print

BERTRAM D WOLFE three who made a revolution new yorkstein & day 1984 676 ppap 249524.952495 hardback 129512.951295 paperback

NINA TUMARKIN lenin lives the lenin cult in soviet russiacambridge harvard university press 1983 xiii 315 ppap 200020.002000

ROBERT C TUCKER stalin As revolutionary 187919291879 1929 A studyin history and personality new york norton and co 1973 xx519 ppap 129512.951295 hardback 109510.951095 paperback

ALEXANDER solzhenitsynsol2henitsyn gulabgulag archipelago 191819561918 1956an experiment in literary investigation 3 vols translated bythomas P whitney new york harper & row 1974 75 149514.951495

ROY MEDVEDEV let historyhistoryjudgejudge the origins and consequencesofstalinismof Stalinism edited by davidjoravskydavid joravsky and george haupt translatedby colleen taylor new york random 1973 xxxiv 566 xviiixviiippxviiipplippappp 125012.501250

reviewed by rodney D bohac assistant professor of history at Brigbrighamharn young university

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Bohac: <em>A History of Russia</em> Nicholas Riasanovsky; <em>The Romano

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176 BYU studies

recent developments in soviet american relations haveheightened popular interest in russian and soviet history thosecurious about this topic find it difficult to decide which of therecently published histories will be valuable observant readerswill quickly recognize that many of these publications single outviolent and grotesque aspects of russian history or simply gossipabout the personal lives of the tsarsasars there are however well writtenstudies of the russian and soviet society that provide a more balancedview of the russian past

one of the best introductions to the history of prerevolutionaryrussia is a textbook nicholas riasanovsky s A history ofofrussiarussia whichscholars have used in their classrooms for over twenty years the textbookspopularity stems from its clear concise style judicious blend ofinterpretation and narrative and insightful treatment of numerousspheres of russian history

unlike many popular histories riasanovsky s work confrontshistorical issues the author describes the differing positions ofhistorianson important issues analyzes the strengths of their arguments andoffers his own conclusions the textbook never addresses any issuewithout providing the narrative detail that gives meaning to abstractanalysis when discussing the fourteenth century unification ofcentral russia under moscow s leadership for instance riasanovskydoes not simply list the factors responsible for moscowsMoscows successhe also describes the actual methods employed to acquire newterritory

the book treats not only political history but also investigatescultural economic and diplomatic history in A history of russiaone learns about the origins of the unique style of early russian churcharchitecture and the factors that led to russiasdussiasRussias victory over napoleonthe book however fails to discuss the family and community life ofrussiasdussiasRussias social classes and instead concentrates on the legal status ofthese groups

the treatment of a wide diversity of topics sometimes leads to afrustratingly limited amount of information on some subjects and toa few paragraphs in which every sentence introduces a new namespecialists may also contest some of riasanovsky s interpretations heexaggerates for instance the vitality of democratic institutions inancient novgorodNovgorod and the byzantine influence on the developmentof russian autocracy the sections on marxism the russian revolu-tion and the early soviet period furthermore do not incorporate thecontributions of recent research

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these minor deficiencies do not detract from the books value asan introduction to the field and as a reference the narrative finfurthermorethermorethedmoreis supplemented by thirty maps as well as appendices charting thegenealogy of the ruling families A lengthy bibliography aids the readerin pursuing subjects of special interest

A second work written for a more general audience also providesa balanced and entertaining introduction to russian history writtenby historian bruce lincoln the Romanoromanovsromanovavs autocrats ofa11of aftallatt the dussiasrussiasexamines the royal family that ruled the russian empire from 1613to the fall of the autocracy in 1917 the prologue also briefly recountssignificant events from the history of previous dynasties

lincolnsLincolns book devotes at least a third of its pages to the personallives of the tsarsasars and their families but it also examines their politicalactivities the Romanoromanovsromanovavs for instance describes the marriage and loveaffairs of catherine the great as do many popular histories lincoln I1

however does not simply accept the stories and pass them on to thereader he assesses their authenticity and analyzes the incidentsimpact on russian history he then proceeds to discuss catherinesforeign and domestic policies and cultural life under her rule severalpages are devoted to the life and accomplishments of the eighteenthcentury intellectual mikhail lomonosov

the last fifth of the book focuses on the drama and tragedy ofthe reign of the last romanovsRomanoromanovavs nicholas 11II and his wife alexandralincoln draws heavily on the royal couples letters and diaries to depicttheir aspirations fears and weaknesses and again he does not resortto sensationalism his analysis indicates the limits of using the evilinfluence of the monk rasputin to explain the collapse of themonarchy the book instead relates the broader political and socioeconomic problems that led to the february revolution in thissection as elsewhere lincoln blends personal biography with analysisof broader political and social trends

well written books with broad coverage are more difficult to findfor the soviet period the standard textbook is donald W treadgoldsTreadgoldstwentieth century russia treadgoldsTreadgolds amazingly detailed accountemphasizes the growth of governmental and party institutions thetreatment of ethnic minorities and the development of foreign policythe concentration on detail however also makes it difficult for thenovice in soviet history to follow the broad trends of historicaldevelopment in addition treadgold often focuses disproportionatelyon the actions of the political leadership neglecting the contributionsand influences of workers peasants and lower level bureaucrats

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Bohac: <em>A History of Russia</em> Nicholas Riasanovsky; <em>The Romano

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A more recent textbook M K dziewanowskis A history ofsovietof sovietrussia perhaps better conveys the general outlines of soviet historywhile also incorporating new findings concerning the history of thesoviet society and the communist party dziewanowski for instancenotes the popularity of some of stalins views among party membersand other segments of the population when he explains stalinsvictory over trotsky the text also describes the increasing social mobilityof the sons ofworkers and peasants during the industrialization driveand purges of the 1930s dziewanowski treats most aspects of soviethistory and includes bibliographies at the end of each chapterreferring readers to more specialized studies

biographies serve as another vehicle for gaining insight into thedevelopment of the soviet state lenin is treated in numerous worksincluding the acclaimed classics of louislouls fischer the life of leninand bertram wolfe three who made a revolution A fascinatingrecent work nina Tumarkins lenin lives the lenin cult in sovietrussia analyzes the element of myth in lenins biography andinvestigates the decision to embalm lenins body treating these andother topics the book tells us much about the early political developmentof the communist party biographies of stalin also dominate historicalworks concerning the soviet period A recent portrait of stalinwritten by robert C tucker stalin As revolutionary 187919291879 1929excels in its portrayal of stalins personality

for a description of the 1930s many readers turn to alexandersolzhenitsyns gulabgulag archipelago a marvelous experiment in literaryhistory valuable insights can also be garnered from roy medvedev s

let historyjudgehistory judge medvedev a soviet dissident challenges the viewsof solzhenitsyn by shifting blame for the excesses of the soviet regimefrom lenin to stalin

these biographies as well as the other textbooks provide balancedand readable introductions to russian and soviet history and insightinto contemporary soviet policies

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