THE BOLSHEVIK REVOLUTION: 1917-1923

This first volume of a full-length history of Russia from the October Revolution deals with the internal development of the Communist Party, outgrowth of the Bolshevists. Carr goes back to 1905 for the seeds of fundamental issues; he examines source material rather than later statements, for the basis of the split between Mensheviks and Bolshevists, for the emergence of Lenin as a dominant power; for the part played by Molotov, by Trotsky, by Stalin. He feels that the war of 1914 proved a forcing house for revolution, resulting in the young revolutionary state inheriting a regime of scarcity not abundance. Politically, Lenin attempted to bridge the gap; economically, there was created a socialist economy without the resources of the capitalist order. He studies the constitutional structure, the development of the USSR out of the working program of the RSFSR, the establishment of the pattern of expansion, the steps by which Party and State became one. A book for students of government. Not easy reading- but important in its field.