The Russian Revolution of 1917 transformed the face of the Russian empire, politically, economically, socially and culturally. It also profoundly affected the course of world history for the rest of the twentieth century. Steve Smith presents a panoramic account of the history of the Russian empire. Drawing on evidence from newly opened Russian archives and recent scholarship, he pays particular attention to the impact of the Revolution on the various groups that made up society: peasants, workers, non-Russian nationalities, the army, women and the family, young people, and the Church. In doing so, Steve Smith provides a fresh way into the big, perennial questions about the Revolution and its consequences, and reflects on the larger significance of 1917 for us today.
Steve Smith is Senior Research Fellow at All Souls College, Oxford. His most recent book is Russia in Revolution: An Empire in Crisis, 1890 to 1928 (OUP, 2017).