The Russian Revolution

The turbulent events that overtook Russia in 1917 are often called one of history’s great turning points. In March of that year, a corrupt, outdated, careworn autocracy – the 300-year-old Romanov dynasty – was overthrown by a spontaneous uprising of Russia’s long-oppressed masses. During the next few months, Alexander Kerensky and other liberals in the provisional government attempted to adopt reforms. But the continuing hardships of World War I and the pressure of Vladimir Lenin’s Bolsheviks proved too much for them. In the relatively bloodless coup d’état of November 7, Lenin and his associates seized control of the state. Here, from the eminent historian E. M. Halliday, is the dramatic story of the Russian Revolution.