The ‘Russian’ Civil Wars, 1916-1926: Ten Years That Shook the World

Product Description

This volume offers a comprehensive and original analysis and reconceptualization of the compendium of struggles that wracked the collapsing Tsarist empire and the emergent USSR, profoundly affecting the history of the twentieth century. Indeed, the reverberations of those decade-long wars echo to the present day – not despite, but because of the collapse of the Soviet Union, which re-opened many old wounds, from the Baltic to the Caucasus. Contemporary memorializing and ‘de-memorializing’ of these wars, therefore form part of the book’s focus, but at its heart lie the struggles between various Russian political and military forces which sought to inherit and preserve, or even expand, the territory of the tsars, overlain with examinations of the attempts of many non-Russian national and religious groups to divide the former empire. The reasons why some of the latter were successful (Poland and Finland, for example), while others (Ukraine, Georgia and the Muslim Basmachi) were not, are as much the author’s concern as are explanations as to why the chief victors of the ‘Russian’ Civil Wars were the Bolsheviks. Tellingly, the work begins and ends with battles in Central Asia – a theatre of the ‘Russian’ Civil Wars that was closer to Mumbai than it was to Moscow.

Review

“There are many major strengths to this book. First, one cannot but be impressed by the depth of the research. There are over 100 pages of footnotes. Smele is undoubtedly one of the world’s leading authorities of this period. Second, the analysis is thorough and convincing on a case by case basis. Readers will be grateful for Smele’s mastery of this material and the clarity be brings to a potentially confusing mass of events.” — Ian D. Thatcher,
Canadian-American Slavic Studies

“The author’s erudition and assimilation of a broad array of sources is astounding. The . . . endnotes and . . . bibliography are extremely useful to scholars and a fascinating read in their own right. At its best the narrative is full of unfamiliar details, quirky excursions, bold assertions, and colorful anecdotes. Scholars interested in this period should add it to their shelf. . . [The] depictions of the devastation of urban life throughout the Soviet Union and the raw violence of all sides in the war are powerful. . . the book effectively challenges many commonly held views about the period.'”-
Slavic Review

“Adds a valuable dimension to our understanding of what is conventionally depicted as the Red-White civil war of 1917-21.”–
The Financial Times

“The most ambitious account on the subject since Evan Mawdsley’s magisterial The Russian Civil War…Assiduous and voracious, [Smele] is also intrepid…It is a bracing achievement: this is a book that will long be required reading.”–Robert Service,
The Times Literary Supplement

“Ambitious and thought-provoking new book…offers an interesting corrective to depictions of a unitary Russian civil war…This work presents a masterful synthesis of the best English and Russian language scholarship on the subject.”–
Times Higher Education

“An elaborate yet exquisite narrative of the Russian civil wars.”–
Europe-Asia Studies

“Analytical, colourful and not only clearly researched but beautifully written, Smele’s work is vivid and important, expounding as it does the acute significance of the Russian civil war for the history of the world today.”–
The Spectator

“Jonathan Smele tells the history of what he calls the ‘Russian Civil Wars’ with admirable clarity, offering an original and consistently thought-provoking interpretation. He makes a compelling case that the many-layered developments that took place across the former Russian empire between 1916 and 1926 were of paramount significance for the history of the twentieth century. The book is engagingly written and impressively researched, the analysis is discerning and dispassionate, making this study easily the best to date.”–Stephen Smith, Professor