A HISTORY OF SOVIET RUSSIA

by Georg Von Rauch ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 20, 1957

From the premonitory stirrings of the Revolution through the Bolshevik victory and up to the riots in Hungary, this direct, fact-filled history of modern Russia is noteworthy precisely for what it does not contain. It shuns interpretation, coloring, viewpoint, emphasis. Without detracting from the eminence of Lenin or Stalin, it does not allow their dynamic role to short circuit the influences of moderates and lesser figures. There is no attempt to make politics or economic theory the guiding light, but neither is the cultural nor psychological aspect unduly stressed. As it purports to be, this is a chronological record of persons, events and forces as they affected Soviet growth, aimed at the teacher and student rather than the reader looking for new illuminations. There are the bedrock facts and issues, the raw materials from which others may fashion their insights. The author's ideal is not always fully achieved: he argues, for instance, that Communism was not the inevitable outgrowth of a Czarist society. Yet the overall impression is one of objectivity, of sturdiness, clarity and logical rigor. Very useful for the uninitiate to restore a sense of order after the welter of surmise and opinion.

Pub Date: Feb. 20, 1957

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Frederick A. Praeger

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1957

Categories: NONFICTION