In War's Dark Shadow: The Russians Before the Great War
  
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In War's Dark Shadow: The Russians Before the Great War [Paperback]

W. Bruce Lincoln (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The shadow of war that settled upon Russia's western frontier in 1914 darkened one of the most turbulent and exciting eras in Russian history. In War's Dark Shadow, W. Bruce Lincoln brilliantly tells the story of Russia's entry into the twentieth century. In a profoundly dramatic exploration, Lincoln portrays a vast empire on the eve of World War I: the relocation of hundreds of thousands of peasants from backward villages to wretched urban slums; the creation of a new class of wealthy industrialists; the swelling ranks of revolutionary terrorists; the brutal persecution of Jews in the most anti-Semitic society before Nazi Germany; and the birth of a revolutionary intelligentsia that created some of the most exciting and vibrant art Russia had ever produced. Based on voluminous first hand accounts taken from libraries and archives in St. Petersburg, Moscow, New York, London, Paris, and Helsinki, Lincoln creates a fascinating portrait of the enormous change and devastation that crushed Russian society from 1891 to 1914, making the Revolution of 1917 all but inevitable.

About the Author


W. Bruce Lincoln is Distinguished Research Professor of Russian History at Northern Illinois University and the author of ten books including Passage to Armageddon, Nicholas I, and the The Romanovs.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 592 pages
  • Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (June 9, 1994)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0195089537
  • ISBN-13: 978-0195089530
  • Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.2 x 1.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #2,708,479 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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W. Bruce Lincoln
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Customer Reviews

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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Very informative!!, October 17, 2005
By 10catz (Houston or Moscow, depending on the time of the month) - See all my reviews
This review is from: In War's Dark Shadow: The Russians Before the Great War (Hardcover)
I am Russian so I knew quite a lot about Russian history before opening this book. The book is the best guide to Russian history of the period. Here's why:

-It is written in a wonderful language - very easy to read, yet directed towards scholars.
-History is divided into chapters that concentrate on specific subjects.
-It is full of detail that other history books often lack. I was suprised to see Bruce Lincoln use original Russian words instead of finding an English equivalent for it (such as "izba," "domovoj," "dvorovoj," "lapti," etc.).
-Finally, I've not yet read a book that concentrates so much, and gives such an in-depth study, on the subjects that are usually avoided being talked about "pre-revolutionary" times (simply because they are deemed not important in the light of a warfare).

With this book you will get a clear idea of what the Russian society looked like on the dawn of WWI. Bruce Lincold actually spent several years in the Russian archives doing research (but not just for this book), so he has a first-hand knowledge on the subject.

The chapters discuss the following subjects:

Chapter 1 - 1891: The Fateful Year:
Basic overview of the situation in Russia by the yar or 1891: camine, construction of trans-Siberian railway, some politics.

Chapter 2 - In the Wake of Famine:
Famine, peasants and life in the country.

Chapter 3 - Russia's New Lords:
Emancipation, new layer of society "Kuptsi" and arts and trade associated with it.

Chapter 4 - Life in the Lower Depths:
Proletariat and life in cities and towns.

Chapter 5 - The Few Who Dared:
Revolutionaries - formation of the political parties, radicals, impact on literature.

Chapter 6 - Defenders of the Old Order:
Royal Defenders - key figures that supported the old "tzar" order; their lives and activities.

Chapter 7 - "A Small Victorious War":
The Japanese War - why, when, and how. Gives the background, as well.

Chapter 8 - 1905: The Year of Turmoil:
Revolution of 1905.

Chapter 9 - "What We Want is a Great Russia!":
Government - parties, duma, people behind the law, the lawmaking process.

Chapter 10 - "The Childre of Russia's Dreadful Years":
Art revolution.

Chapter 11 - The Last Days of Peace:
Political situation on the dawn of the WWI - foreign relations and repressions.

Chapter 12 - The Drums of War:
WWI and how it affected Russia and its people.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent History of Pre-Bolshevik Russia, May 27, 1998
By David Smith (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews
This review is from: In War's Dark Shadow: The Russians Before the Great War (Paperback)
"In War's Dark Shadow" is one of the best histories I have ever read. Lincoln does an excellent job of making the reader feel what each of the major participants of this extraordinary time in history felt, from the peasants (narod) and industrial workers, to the revolutionaries and conservatives, and finally to the monarchs.

No stone is left unturned in this exhaustive study of the events and the perceptions of those events that led to the downfall of the Romanovs and capitalism in 1917. Many people will be surprised to see the extent of anti-Semitism and xenophobia that permeated the society that later fought off the Nazis in World War II.

For an entirely new perspective on the Russian people, I highly recommend this work.

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific !, April 22, 2002
By J. J. Bevill "JJBevill" (Houston, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: In War's Dark Shadow: The Russians Before the Great War (Hardcover)
In the forward, W. Bruce Lincoln states the book is "...an effort to explore the lives, thoughts, hopes, and dreams of the men and women who lived in the world's largest empire and to convey some sense of the tensions that tore at the fabric of their existence on the eve of the Great War and the Revolution of 1917." In this effort he succeeds brilliantly.

We see portraits of Tsar Alexander III, Nicholas II, Pobedonostsev, Lenin, Rasputin, and a host of other generals, officials and ordinary people who shaped that era.

We get an insider's look at what life was like in a peasant community, inside the peasant's izba or house, and their attitudes towards schooling, medicine and religion. We go inside the growing factories and the slums the workers inhabited in the cities with rapidly developing industry. We see the new nobility of the industrial barons, the revolutionaries fighting the tsarist autocracy, the defenders of the Old Order...all come to life in these pages.

Graphic descriptions are given of the vicious pogroms against Jews. The impact of the Trans-Siberian Railroad in both economic and a political aspects is covered. The 1904 war with Japan is there with its criminally incompetent generals and and admirals and the war's impact on the development of the Revolution of 1905 as well as the mood of the populace as the nations slides toward the Great War.

This well written, illuminating, detailed and well documented book is a classic work on the Russian society of those years and fleshes out the soul of Russia as few other books do. 16 pages of photos. Highly recommended.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A nice suprise
I am very interested in Russian history from 1891 through WWII since I collect a certain rifle that was used during that whole period. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Neal A. Wellons

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read
I bought this book for a class and was surprised at how engaging it is. This book is very well written and informative, and gave me a great general knowledge of Russia leading up... Read more
Published on July 12, 2008 by C. Pool

5.0 out of 5 stars "What Americans Do Not Understand"
I chose this title, because it was true, at least for me. As Americans, we (some of us, not all) "think" Russians are not "very intelligent", "backward" and even, "less than... Read more
Published on May 16, 2002 by bibliophiles-on-ice

5.0 out of 5 stars thanks to bookseller julian brogi!
The book I ordered, In War's Dark Shadow, was exactly as the seller described it - in perfect condition. Read more
Published on January 30, 2002 by Jeanette Fregulia

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