Lenin and the Making of the Soviet State: A Brief History with Documents (Bedford Series in History & Culture) [Paperback]

Jeffrey Brooks (Author), Georgiy Chernyavskiy (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0312412665 | ISBN-13: 978-0312412661 | Publication Date: October 25, 2006

Vladimir Ilich Lenin (1870-1924) led the first successful revolt against market-based liberal democracy and founded the Soviet state in 1917, serving as the new nation's chief architect and sole ruler for the next five years. He created an innovative political, economic, social, and cultural system that in its heyday would challenge the military, technological, and cultural might of the United States. This collection of primary sources allows readers to learn about Lenin through his own words and explores the complicated relationship between Lenin's actions and his ideology. Jeffrey Brooks and Georgiy Chernyavskiy have translated newly available documents that make it possible to provide a more accurate portrait of this ruthless strategist. Document headnotes, a chronology, questions for consideration, and a selected bibliography offer additional pedagogical support and encourage students to analyze the actions and beliefs of a man who transformed world history and whose legacy continues to affect social and political movements throughout the world.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

JEFFREY BROOKS is a professor of history at Johns Hopkins University. He is the author of Thank You Comrade Stalin! Soviet Public Culture from Revolution to Cold War (2000) and When Russia Learned to Read: Literacy and Popular Literature, 1861-1917 (1985; reprinted 2003), which won the Vucinich Prize of the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies for best book by an American in 1985. Professor Brooks received the Johns Hopkins Alumni Association Excellence in Teaching Award in Arts and Sciences for 2004. He is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship.

GEORGIY CHERNYAVSKIY, an independent researcher, was a professor at Kharkov University until 1996. His most recent books, both published in Russian, are Sagas of the Truth and Lies: Political Dramas of the Twentieth Century (2004) and The Shadow of the Devil's Wing: Bolshevism and National Socialism--A Comparative Historical Analysis (2003).

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Bedford/St. Martin's (October 25, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312412665
• ISBN-13: 978-0312412661
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #52,921 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #88 in Books > History > Asia > Russia

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