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Orlando Figes

A People's Tragedy: The Russian Revolution: 1891-1924 Paperback – March 1, 1998

by Orlando Figes (Author)

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On the brink of the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution, read the most vivid, moving, and comprehensive history of the events that changed the world

It is history on an epic yet human scale. Vast in scope, exhaustive in original research, written with passion, narrative skill, and human sympathy, A People's Tragedy is a profound account of the Russian Revolution for a new generation. Many consider the Russian Revolution to be the most significant event of the twentieth century. Distinguished scholar Orlando Figes presents a panorama of Russian society on the eve of that revolution, and then narrates the story of how these social forces were violently erased. Within the broad stokes of war and revolution are miniature histories of individuals, in which Figes follows the main players' fortunes as they saw their hopes die and their world crash into ruins. Unlike previous accounts that trace the origins of the revolution to overreaching political forces and ideals, Figes argues that the failure of democracy in 1917 was deeply rooted in Russian culture and social history and that what had started as a people's revolution contained the seeds of its degeneration into violence and dictatorship. A People's Tragedy is a masterful and original synthesis by a mature scholar, presented in a compelling and accessibly human narrative.

Print length

1024 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Penguin Books
Publication date

March 1, 1998
Dimensions

6.1 x 1.65 x 9.25 inches
ISBN-10

014024364X
ISBN-13

978-0140243642
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Few historians have the courage to attack great subjects; fewer have the grasp to succeed. This is a book that lets the reader look into the face of one of the major social upheavels of history. . . . A People's Tragedy will do more to help us undersand the Russian Revolution than any other book I know."
—Eric Hobsbawm, The London Review of Books

"I doubt there is anyone in the world who knows the revolution as well as Figes does."
—Norman Stone, The Sunday Times (London)

"An engagingly written and well-researched book. . . . Will stand for some time as a standard of historical scholarship."
—Steven Merritt Miner, The New York Times Book Review

"Huge in scope, brilliant in vignette, dark and implacable in theme, it is a modern masterpiece."
—Andrew Marr, The Independent

About the Author

Orlando Figes is the prizewinning author of A People’s Tragedy and Natasha’s Dance. He is a regular contributor to The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The New York Review of Books.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Books; Reprint edition (March 1, 1998)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 1024 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 014024364X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0140243642
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.16 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.1 x 1.65 x 9.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #59,633 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #25 in Russian & Former Soviet Union Politics
- #85 in European Politics Books
- #88 in Russian History (Books)

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Sean Claycamp

How could this NOT BE 5 stars

Reviewed in the United States on February 29, 2020

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This is a 5 star book. No question about it.

Professor Figes has to be the most knowledgeable person in the world when it comes to Russian history and specifically the multidimensional aspects of the Russian Revolution.

I was mystified by how he looped the entire story together with detail and insight that is unparalleled.

I found myself saying... how does he know all this?

Seriously, if you want to read a book on the Russian Revolution - and as a history nerd it’s been a long term bucket list subject for me - this book is it.

Full stop end of story.

BUT

You had better be ready.

I have read 200+ biographies and historical must reads through the years and this is simply the HEAVIEST LIFT of my entire reading life. I can’t imagine a book being more informative and yet at times less enjoyable and tedious than this book.

It sucks the life out of you at times in about page 300 as you get bogged down in details, dates, and Russian names. Especially when you realize to complete this epic book it is 820 pages.

I usually read a book a month. It took me 2.5 months to read this. But I kept at it because this is absolutely the book to read on the Russian Revolution.

Read it but be ready because it is a long and challenging hill to climb.

32 people found this helpful

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T. Graczewski

A comprehensive view of the Russian Revolution

Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2021

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There are lots of books on the Russian Revolution. Few are as comprehensive and compelling as Orlando Figes’ “A People’s Tragedy: The Russian Revolution: 1891 – 1924,” first published to wide critical acclaim in 1997.

Figes takes a broad view of his subject; his history stretches over nearly two generations, from the famine of 1891 to the death of Lenin in 1924. He argues for the 1891 date because the whole of Russian society had been “politicized and radicalized” as a result of the famine crisis and the Tsarist regime’s inept response to it. Tsar Nicolas II remained wedded to autocracy in the face of increasing calls for reform from both the industrial centers of his country and the agricultural peasantry. Hostility and resentment would fester for decades.

The author ascribes great importance to the personal role played by Bolshevik leader, Vladimir Lenin, in the Revolution of 1917. “Much of Lenin’s success in 1917 was no doubt explained by his towering domination over the [Bolshevik] party,” Figes writes, “which distinguished [them] from the Mensheviks (who had no clear leader of their own).” Indeed, according to Figes, “few historical events in the modern era better illustrate the decisive effect of an individual on the course of history … Without his decisive personal influence, it is hard to imagine a Bolshevik seizure of power.”

That is not to say that a Bolshevik victory was foreordained. Far from it. Alexander Kerensky was, for a brief time, the most popular man in Russia and had a reasonable chance at establishing the authority of the Provisional Government. In Figes’ estimation, Kerensky and his allies failed to grasp the depth of war wariness among the Russian people. They believed that a last ditch offensive against the Germans might rally the country behind the Provisional Government in the national defense of democracy. They were badly mistaken. Had the Provisional Government adopted a similar policy as the Bolsheviks and immediately opened peace negotiations with the Germans in the summer of 1917, “no doubt the Bolsheviks would never have come to power,” says Figes.

The author also claims that Kerensky made critical errors in his handling of the so-called Kornilov Affair. “One of the most enduring myths of the Russian Revolution is the notion that Kornilov was planning a coup d’etat against the Provisional Government,” Figes says. “But the evidence suggests that Kornilov, far from plotting the overthrow of the Provisional Government, had in fact intended to save it.” Miscommunication and misunderstanding led to a rupture that in many ways sealed the fate of Kerensky and his Provisional Government.

The Bolsheviks, meanwhile, stumbled toward power. Lenin was ill-prepared for seizing power during most of 1917. For instance, Figes argues that the Bolshevik leader could have taken power during the spontaneous July Days uprising, if he had been prepared and willing. “With 50,000 armed and angry men surrounding the Tauride Palace” in July 1917, Figes writes, “there was nothing to prevent a Bolshevik coup d’etat.” When the next opportunity came in October Lenin would not be caught flat-footed. Figes claims that Lenin almost single-handedly seized power.

For the Bolsheviks of 1917, the revolution in Russia was only a part – and a small part at that – of the worldwide struggle between imperialism and socialism. The decision to make a separate and humiliating peace with Germany was, Figes says, “without doubt one of the most critical moments in the history of the party.” The newborn Soviet Republic lost 34% of her population, 54% of his industrial enterprises and 89% of her coalmines in the Brest-Litovsk Treaty. In Figes’ estimation, “The peace of Brest-Litovsk marked the completion of Lenin’s revolution: it was the culmination of October.” There was no longer any prospect of the revolution spreading to the West.

The subsequent Russian Civil War of 1918 to 1920 was brutal. The Whites assumed they could win the civil war without the support of the peasantry; or, at any rate, they seemed to think that the whole question of land reform could be put off until after victory. It couldn’t. “Whereas land reform was the first act of the Bolsheviks,” Figes writes, “it was the last act of the Whites,” and this goes a long way in explaining the outcome of the civil war. Both the Reds and the Whites were constantly crippled by mass desertion, by the breakdown of supplies, by strikes and peasant revolts in the rear. But their ability to maintain their campaigns in spite of all these problems depended less on military factors than on political ones. The Reds had one crucial advantage, Figes says: they were able to fight under the Red Flag and claim to be defending “the revolution.” Meanwhile, the Whites’ failure to recognize the peasant revolution on the land and the national independence movements doomed them to defeat. “In the end,” Figes writes, “the defeat of the Whites comes down largely to their own dismal failure to break with the past and to regain the initiative within the agenda of 1917.”

If you’re looking to read just one book on the Russian Revolution and have the stamina and fortitude to plow through 800 pages of dense historical writing, “A People’s Tragedy” is an excellent choice.

One person found this helpful

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Jorge Pawsoda

The definitive book on the Russian Revolution

Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2021

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If you want to know more about the subject, buy this book. Despite its length, it's very easy to read and offers tremendous insight into the period, the people (both famous and not-so-famous), the countless factors that led to the Russian Revolution, and the events of the Revolution itself. Figes is not here to push an agenda, but rather to offer a complex and nuanced analysis of a complex and nuanced series of events that completely changed the world. I was absolutely blown away by A People's Revolution, and I can't recommend it highly enough.

2 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

booklover

A masterpiece

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 19, 2015

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A masterpiece. Well-written, absorbing, fascinating. It's huge but I couldn't put it down and found myself reading snatches whenever I could - at breakfast, for example: it's very easy to pick up from where you were (unlike other academic books I've read).

Structured chronologically, it's a full account of the Tsarist regime's downfall, the revolutions of 1917 and the Lenin years. However, it's so much more than that. Spiced with personal stories and anecdotes, it is history 'brought alive'. The real strength is that political history is underpinned by social history: evidence of how these historic events affected people. The political and the social are equally valid and necessary.

I've have studied Russian history at A level and I've also visited Russia, but reading this book allowed me, for the first time, to really understood the Russian story, even some of the famous episodes. Much of Russian history is simplified, biased, made facile, or fudged. Figes shows that it is SO much more complex than you thought! But the joy of this book is that the complexities are untangled for you. At the same time, the real essence of things is exposed: Figes seems to really 'get' Russia and its people.

I have read many, many history books - but this one stands out as the best I've ever read. Not only is it formidably scholarly, it's written and easy to read. I highlighted sections as I read, for ease of locating important points when using it as a reference book.

Two minor points to end with: I was very familiar with the history before I read this (or thought I was!) - i.e. I knew all the major and even minor figures fairly well and have read Service's biography of Lenin, but if this was your first introduction to the subject it might be a bit more daunting (though still accessible, I feel). Secondly, there was repetition and the author could have used a more ruthless editor. Having said this, it remains, in my view, a masterpiece of history and probably one of the most important accounts of the revolution written in English.

8 people found this helpful

J. Nichols

The Road to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 12, 2013

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Whoever reads this account of the Russian revolution will surely feel that after the tercentenary celebrations of Romanov rule in 1913 there was nothing actually carved in stone on the wall of fate. It is with hindsight that we can mouth the still prevailing Marxist perception of history where feudalism had to make way for capitalism with imperial aspirations which in turn must bow out when the workers of the world unite. In actual fact in 1913 we have a scenario where "the side" that makes the least mistakes is the side that must eventually prevail. Time and again it is shown that there were opportunities missed that could have changed the course of history.

Orlando Figes admits it took him six years to write his physically unwieldy 900 page tome which covers the social history of the period 1891-1924 as much as the political events that shaped it. It might have benefitted being conceived as two volumes, but either way it must be granted that Figes is not dry or dull and where he occasionally gives way to a narrative account his book becomes highly entertaining. For non-historians it is possible to get a bit confused after the October Revolution with all the balooning buraucratic changes that the Bolsheviks bring about in order to consolidate the Leninist position : apart from the trades unions and the Soviets where the grass-roots of the Party lay, there were the staff of the Central Committee, with nine departments, together with a Party Secretariat and a special organization bureau (Orgburo), the Cheka - or secret police - often somewhat independent of the Party itself, and Sovnarkom, the Council of the People's Commissars.

If only Tsar Nicholas had had a more flexible attitude vis à vis his status and divine right to rule absolutely; if only the German born Tsarina had not alienated many liberals by her interference in affairs of state and her blind faith in Rasputin; if only the World War where the Tsar felt obliged to commit Russia's participation had not weakened so terribly the Imperial regime; and later .... if only the Whites engaged in the civil war had been less reactionary in their views concerning the need to overthrow the land reforms in full and without compromise. If only !!! And the Bolsheviks who eventually took power could reflect on their mistakes which at times had alienated them from their very own supporters - the peasants, industrial workers and the soldiers - yet by the time Lenin died Stalin had all but taken control of the Party and he was not someone known for showing remorse !

This is a great study in the origins and perpetuation of tyranny and shows how the Russian people liberated themselves from one regime only to be enslaved by another - ironically carrying out their programmes in the name of the people they subjugated.

24 people found this helpful

T. Gokce

Cheap story

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 27, 2019

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A good read but nothing to getting really appreciate or get excited about! Too much waffle...

John Ranson

Definitive history of the period

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 28, 2021

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I wanted the definitive history of the Russian Revolution and civil war. And got it here!

Paul Reynolds

Comprehensive

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 4, 2013

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I bought this as the definitive one-volume guide to the Russian Revolution. It didn't disappoint. This is thorough and all-encompassing. Figes focusses on the 'ordinary man or woman' in the Revolution, but the rest of the aspects of the revolution's causes are also given due attention. In short, if you want a book on the Russian Revolution, this should really be it.

3 people found this helpful

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