A People’s Tragedy: The Russian Revolution 1891 – 1924

A People’s Tragedy: The Russian Revolution 1891 – 1924 by Orlando Figes

Every now and then, I come across a history book that’s so engrossing, it almost makes me wish for a time machine so I can go back to the period and witness the events firsthand.  This is such a book.  Now, notice I used the word “almost”.  Sadly, as good as this book is, it’s incredibly bleak and is filled with disillusionment and suffering.  For someone such as myself who lives in the USA a century after the key events in this book occurred, it makes the everyday gripes one hears about our government and leaders incredibly trivial.  “A People’s Tragedy” is, sadly, a perfect title for this book.

There are some that will say that the literal Russian Revolution took place in 1917 and was over a year later. That may be true, but in order to get a true perspective of cause and effect, the author does his due diligence in expanding the timeframe to a full 33 years.  The narrative “starts” in 1891, which is probably as good a time as any. This was during the final years of Tsar Alexander’s rule when hostilities were brewing a bit more than normal, and one of the many great famines started all over Russia.  A couple of years later, Alexander dies fairly young due to kidney failure and the throne is passed to his eldest son - the ill-prepared, ill-fated Nicholas II.

Due to many reasons, the largest being Nicholas’ ineptness, Russia essentially falls apart and Nicholas is forced to abdicate during the first world war (he and his family are eventually executed).  It’s here where the narrative becomes the strongest and most detailed.  Russia is such a vast, expansive country, that it’s impossible to unite behind anything for a prolonged conflict with its European neighbors.  Many Russian commanders simply sell their unit’s supplies for a quick profit, and soldiers would rather burn their rifles to keep warm as opposed to fight.  Desertion is ridiculously high.

What follows the first World War is a prolonged civil war between the “Whites” and the “Reds”.  Returning from exile is Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov – better known to the world as Lenin. It’s through his terror and intimidation that the Reds ultimately prevail, yet nothing gets better. In fact, it gets much worse. Lenin and his cronies don’t care for the workers as much as they proclaim. No, they simple want the masses to be subjugated and work as basically robots, while the leaders can control them and live in luxury. The book basically ends with Lenin’s death, yet we all know that history never really got much better until 70 years later with Glasnost (and even events following that are filled with pockmarks).

This volume is very thick with detail.  It’s heavy on politics, military leaders, peasantry, and the various individuals that are the key players during this tragedy.  My favorite parts were the sad reflections of author Maxim Gorky, who lived right in the thick of this mess (even though he lived abroad after 1906). His observations are spot on, and heavily depressing. With over 800 pages of narrative, it’s easy to get a bit lost with the many different players entering and existing.  A careful, slow read is suggested.

As bleak as this book was, I was very pleased to find such a detailed account of Russia’s history.  It really does explain a lot of things. The author has many other books, mostly about some aspect of Russian history or culture. He’s definitely an expert.  I’m eager to read more of his work.