The shortest history of the Soviet Union / Sheila Fitzpatrick.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Fitzpatrick, Sheila, author.

Contributor:

Rosengarten Family Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Soviet Union--History.

Soviet Union.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

248 pages : illustrations, maps ; 21 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Columbia University Press, [2022]

Summary:

"In 1917, Bolshevik revolutionaries came to power in the war-torn Russian Empire in a way that defied all predictions, including their own. Scarcely a lifespan later, in 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed as accidentally as it arose. The decades between witnessed drama on an epic scale-the chaos and hope of revolution, famines and purges, hard-won victory in history's most destructive war, and worldwide geopolitical conflict, all entwined around the dream of building a better society. This book is a lively and authoritative distillation of this complex history, told with vivid details, a grand sweep, and wry wit. The acclaimed historian Sheila Fitzpatrick chronicles the Soviet Age-its rise, reign, and unexpected fall, as well as its afterlife in today's Russia. She underscores the many ironies of the Soviet experience: An ideology that claimed to offer humanity the reins of history wrangled with contingency. An avowedly internationalist and anti-imperialist state birthed an array of nationalisms. And a vision of transcending economic and social inequality and injustice gave rise to a country that was, in its way, surprisingly normal"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: 1. Making the Union

2. The Lenin Years and the Succession Struggle

3. Stalinism

4. War and Its Aftermath

5. From `Collective Leadership' to Khrushchev

6. The Brezhnev Period

7. The Fall.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Rosengarten Family Fund.

Other Format:

Online version: Fitzpatrick, Sheila. Shortest history of the Soviet Union

ISBN:

9780231207164

0231207166

9780231207171

0231207174

OCLC:

1286366874