Red Victory: A History Of The Russian Civil War, 1918-1921 [Paperback]

W. Bruce Lincoln (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 7, 1999

Shortly after withdrawing from World War I, Russia descended into a bitter civil war unprecedented for its savagery: epidemics, battles, mass executions, forced labor, and famine claimed millions of lives. From 1918 to 1921, through great cities and tiny villages, across untouched forests and vast frozen wasteland, the Bolshevik "Reds" fought the anti-Communist Whites and their Allies (fourteen foreign countries contributed weapons, money, and troops—including 20,000 American soldiers). This landmark history re-creates the epic conflict that transformed Russia from the Empire of the Tsars into the Empire of the Commissars, while never losing sight of the horrifying human cost.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Shortly after the Soviet Union withdrew from WW I, the Red Army confronted the Whites, staunch opponents of communism who were aided by an interventionist militia led by the U.S., Britain and France. Millions died in the civil war of 1918-1921, as battles, epidemics, mass starvation and executions racked the nation, and as the Cheka, or secret police, sent countless people to death in labor camps. Anti-Semitic massacres swept the Ukraine. In this gripping, revelatory history, readers grasp the human cost of the civil war and its permanent impact on Soviet consciousness. Lincoln ( In War's Dark Shadow ; Passage Through Armageddon ) uncovers fanaticism, terror and elitist politics among both Reds and Whites, peopling his canvas with memorable figures including a truculent Lenin, stormy poet Vladimir Mayakovsky and Aleksandra Kollontai, champion of women's rights and sexual liberation. Photos.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

The final volume in a trilogy encompassing events preceding the tsar's fall ( In War's Dark Shadow, LJ 5/1/83), the Russian Revolution ( Passage Through Armageddon, LJ 9/15/86), and the civil war. Covering 1917-21, this weaves together military, political, and social history to describe the Bolshevik triumph over internal conflict to defeat the disparate White opposition and uncertain Allied forces which attacked from all sides. The strength of this and preceding volumes is Lincoln's ability to convert complex, confusing events into lively, compelling human drama, comprehensible to a wide readership. Lincoln employs a wealth of primary sources and contemporary scholarly research, but his survey is aimed at the general reader and beginning student. He succeeds quite well. More popular and expansive than Evan Mawdsley's The Russian Civil War (Allen & Unwin, 1987), this is recommended for general and undergraduate collections.
- Rena Fowler, Northern Michigan Univ. Lib., Marquette
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 640 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (May 7, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306809095
• ISBN-13: 978-0306809095
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #388,526 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book on a difficult topic., March 5, 2000

By 

Jonathan D. Eckel "nekulturnii istorik" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Red Victory: A History Of The Russian Civil War, 1918-1921 (Paperback)

It is rare to find a book on any civil war that is both factual and objective. _Red Victory_ is one of the rare exceptions. It is remarkably unbiased, and tells the stories of both the "Reds" and the "Whites" without taking sides. It also succeeds in presenting the facts of the fast-moving and unconventional Russian Civil War in a format that is easy to read. It covers not only the civil war but the early years of Communist government, as well. Those who want to dig deeper into the various aspects of the conflict will find the abundant footnotes and bibliography to be of great value.

The author's greatest achievement is his excellent analysis of why the Reds ultimately prevailed. Unlike those revisionist authors who claim that the Bolsheviks' military triumph was inevitable, W. Bruce Lincoln shows how the Reds were able to make the most of their opportunities and consolidate their gains while the Whites squandered many of their considerable advantages. Neither enjoyed widespread popular support. Both sides were also guilty of atrocities, as the conditions of post-World War 1 Russia left little room between repression or anarchy. The difference is that the Communists combined repression with reform, and were able to win the reluctant support (or at least toleration) of much of the populace. The Whites, by contrast, even when initially welcomed as liberators, alienated many with their reactionary policies (which included restoring the estates of the hated landowners). Given a choice between "Red Terror" and the Old Order, most Russians opted to take their chances with the former.

My only disappointment was the lack of detailed information on the military campaigns of the war. However, this book is much better than _Russia Under the Bolshevik Regime_, by Richard Pipes, which is the only other single-volume work widely available on the topic.

33 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A fine book, worth reading, but with some flaws, January 3, 2000

By 

Victor A. Vyssotsky "mandvav" (Orleans, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Red Victory: A History Of The Russian Civil War, 1918-1921 (Paperback)

This book provides an excellent portrayal of the social, political, economic and military events in the parts of Russia that were at least nominally controlled by the Bolsheviks during the successive stages of the Russian Civil War. This extensive description and discussion not only illuminates the problems confronted and solved by Lenin and Trotsky, but provides a basis for understanding the later course of events in the Soviet Union.

I have two criticisms. First, the book does not describe nearly as well the evolution, decisions and events of the 20-odd major anti-Bolshevik groups (including army units from 14 foreign countries, and about a dozen governments and/or armies set up by anti-Bolshevik Russians between 1918 and 1922.) This lack is reflected in the bibliography, which omits various important sources on the anti-Bolshevik movements.

Second, a criticism of the publisher. Like most authors' manuscripts, this one could have benefited from a heavy editorial blue pencil. If somebody as skillful and determined as (say) Katherine White had been Lincoln's editor, the book would have wound up covering all the same material more clearly in perhaps 2/3 as many words, would have eliminated a number of ambiguities and seeming inconsistencies (and a couple of minor errors of fact), and would have contained a far more useful index.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very engaging history on a very complex subject, April 5, 2003

By 

Michael Green "mrclay2000" (OKLAHOMA CITY, OK United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Red Victory: A History Of The Russian Civil War, 1918-1921 (Paperback)

Lincoln very engagingly takes the reader into the private memoirs of hundreds of principal characters, into the thinking of Lenin and Trotsky and Stalin, and into the changing and complex fabric of Russian life during its Civil War. Every page breathes the idea "revolution" as the cure-all in the Reds' minds for every ill in Russian society, while the Whites seem more bent on democracy or a dictatorship (like the tsarist days), so long as there was some kind of order, during a period when "corruption" was their own festering and ultimately destructive cancer. Politics, the maker of strange bedfellows, and a background as broad and as varied as Russia itself, make for key components in this fascinating examination of political theory and efforts at self-government on the heels of the First World War.