Imperial and Soviet Russia: Power, Privilege and the Challenge of Modernity

Imperial and Soviet Russia offers a coherent interpretation of the turbulent history of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union during the last two centuries. Tracing the roots of the Communist experiment in the peasant world of traditional Russia, it shows how the harsh social and economic changes of the nineteenth century created enough dislocation to topple the tsarist regime and bring the Bolsheviks to power in 1917. This book offers a comprehensive guide to the modern history of one of the world's greatest powers.