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Review
By far the most important academic study of 1917 (Kevin Murphy )
...I know of no previous work which has so skillfully presented the fluctuating state of the mood of the 'masses' in the Russian capital in those fateful months. (The New York Review of Books )
The Bolsheviks Come To Power remains the best book on the 1917 Russian revolution–a seminal study of events that shaped history for decades and continues to do so even today. Both political and social history, it greatly expands on our detailed knowledge of the turbulent events of that year, while deepening and revising our understanding of the Bolshevik Party and the social factors that brought it to power. (Stephen F. Cohen, New York University )
...I know of no previous work which has so skillfully presented the fluctuating state of the mood of the 'masses' in the Russian capital in those fateful months. (The New York Review of Books )
The Bolsheviks Come To Power remains the best book on the 1917 Russian revolution–a seminal study of events that shaped history for decades and continues to do so even today. Both political and social history, it greatly expands on our detailed knowledge of the turbulent events of that year, while deepening and revising our understanding of the Bolshevik Party and the social factors that brought it to power. (Stephen F. Cohen, New York University )
Review
"the fullest and most reliable account of the Bolshevik seizure of power currently available in English" - Russian Review; "The best volume on the Russian Revolution in years... What is so valuable about the book is that it undoes both rigid stereotypes: that the Leninism is inherently and always 'correct', pointing straight toward revolutionary triumph, and that of Leninism as always rigidly authoritarian, pointing straight toward dictatorship. A first-rate piece of work." Irving Howe; "Alexander Rabinowitch... has written what is perhaps the fullest and most reliable account of the Bolshevik seizure of power currently available in English... Based on a solid command of the sources, it is scholarly and well documented yet accessible to the general reader, with its clear and vigorous style and interesting illustrations... Should be read by every person interested in the Russian Revolution." Paul Avrich, Russian Review; "The Bolsheviks Come To Power is one of the most important books on the Russian Revolution of 1917 to appear in many years. It is revisionist scholarship in the best and truest sense. Both political and social history, it greatly expands on our detailed knowledge of the turbulent events of that year, while deepening and revising our understanding of the Bolshevik Party and the social factors that brought it to power." Stephen F. Cohen"
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is a superb history of the 1917 revolution in Russia. Essential reading.
Its strength is its systematic use of primary sources--and to my knowledge this book has never been refuted in the decades since it was written. It references the minutes of the workers councils (soviets) and Bolshevik party meetings. It explains the context of the revolution--World War 1, the terrible slaughter in the Russian trenches, the mutinies in the ranks and the collapse of the authority of the officers.
The book takes the reader through the events leading up to the October Revolution in Petrograd with every step fully substantiated and documented. One of the things I liked about the book was the map of Petrograd--all the important places where key events happened are marked on it. Another map of the military front line shows clearly where the events outside Petrograd were taking place. These aid comprehension of the events.
The different factions within all the key parties: the Bolsheviks, Mensheviks and Social Revolutionaries are highlighted and Rabinowitch outlines the internal clashes that took place within and between them. He concludes that the internal party regime of the Bolsheviks was democratic during the period leading up to the October revolution--the relations between the leaders and the ranks were flexible and dynamic enough to allow for feedback to take place. New recruits such as Trotsky were assimilated quickly into the leadership of the party and played a key role in events. It was possible for the ranks to argue and win debates with higher party bodies so that tactical flexibility at the local level was possible.
The lucid description of the events is breath-taking in its scope and detail. But this is no subjective one sided memoir--it is a fully substantiated, well researched academic work. The book explains exactly how the Bolsheviks gained power. The key issues were the desire for peace by the starving, exhausted population, the hunger for land by the peasants and soldiers (overwhelmingly peasants) and the convening of a Constituent Assembly.
Support in the soviets for the right wing of the Social Revolutionary party and the Mensheviks drained away as Kerensky refused to implement even the demands of bourgeois democracy. He continued the disastrous war, refused to convene a Constituent Assembly and blocked land reform. The Bolshevik gained solid support precisely because they demanded all of these things--land, peace and bread. And the Soviets and their national congresses provided the democratic workers parliament in which issues could be thrashed out.
The author documents the way that the Bolshevik leadership skilfully presented its every move as a defensive measure against offensive attacks by the Provisional Government. And the book shows the central role played by Trotsky--the sword of the revolution--in the seizure of power while Lenin was fuming in hiding in Finland. This central role was subsequently air-brushed out of the picture by the Stalinist historians.
It is remarkable therefore that this book was one of only a very few works by Western historians of October to be published in Russia.
Its strength is its systematic use of primary sources--and to my knowledge this book has never been refuted in the decades since it was written. It references the minutes of the workers councils (soviets) and Bolshevik party meetings. It explains the context of the revolution--World War 1, the terrible slaughter in the Russian trenches, the mutinies in the ranks and the collapse of the authority of the officers.
The book takes the reader through the events leading up to the October Revolution in Petrograd with every step fully substantiated and documented. One of the things I liked about the book was the map of Petrograd--all the important places where key events happened are marked on it. Another map of the military front line shows clearly where the events outside Petrograd were taking place. These aid comprehension of the events.
The different factions within all the key parties: the Bolsheviks, Mensheviks and Social Revolutionaries are highlighted and Rabinowitch outlines the internal clashes that took place within and between them. He concludes that the internal party regime of the Bolsheviks was democratic during the period leading up to the October revolution--the relations between the leaders and the ranks were flexible and dynamic enough to allow for feedback to take place. New recruits such as Trotsky were assimilated quickly into the leadership of the party and played a key role in events. It was possible for the ranks to argue and win debates with higher party bodies so that tactical flexibility at the local level was possible.
The lucid description of the events is breath-taking in its scope and detail. But this is no subjective one sided memoir--it is a fully substantiated, well researched academic work. The book explains exactly how the Bolsheviks gained power. The key issues were the desire for peace by the starving, exhausted population, the hunger for land by the peasants and soldiers (overwhelmingly peasants) and the convening of a Constituent Assembly.
Support in the soviets for the right wing of the Social Revolutionary party and the Mensheviks drained away as Kerensky refused to implement even the demands of bourgeois democracy. He continued the disastrous war, refused to convene a Constituent Assembly and blocked land reform. The Bolshevik gained solid support precisely because they demanded all of these things--land, peace and bread. And the Soviets and their national congresses provided the democratic workers parliament in which issues could be thrashed out.
The author documents the way that the Bolshevik leadership skilfully presented its every move as a defensive measure against offensive attacks by the Provisional Government. And the book shows the central role played by Trotsky--the sword of the revolution--in the seizure of power while Lenin was fuming in hiding in Finland. This central role was subsequently air-brushed out of the picture by the Stalinist historians.
It is remarkable therefore that this book was one of only a very few works by Western historians of October to be published in Russia.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Alexander Rabinowitch's 'The Bolsheviks Come to Power' is one of those history books that belong in a special category of 'must read' or 'reads like a novel'. This belongs in both. Both the style and the content are of the first order.
Rabinowitch has that happy ability, which sadly many academic historians lack, of being able to write well while losing no academic gravitas in the process. His books are always a joy to read and this is probably his best.
The content is even more important than the style. There is a dominant school of thought which claims, erroneously, that the dictatorship of Stalin, and all the horrors associated with it, were an inevitable consequence of the October Revolution and were somehow written into the political principles and practices, the very political DNA, of the Bolshevik Party. Essential props to this 'continuity thesis' is the assertion that the Bolshevik Party was a monolithic, rigidly centralised party that bent to the will of Lenin, that the Bolsheviks had little popular support and that their revolution of October 1917 was a coup.
These props are destroyed by Rabinowitch who demonstrates that the opposite is nearly always the case. Rabinowitch demonstrates this throughout his book as analysis of events is woven into the narrative as Russia moves towrd the revolution of October, and is able to conclude: "..I would emphasise the party's relatively democratic, tolerant, and decentralised structure and method of operation, as well as it's essentially open and mass character...", "Leaders who differed with the majority were at liberty to fight for their views, and not infrequently Lenin was the loser in these struggles", "subordinate bodies like the Petersburg Committee and the Military Organization were permitted considerable independence and initiative, and their views and criticism were taken into account in the formation of policy at the highest levels", "Vast numbers of new members.....played a significant role in shaping the Bolsheviks bahaviour. Among these newcomers were many of the leading figures in the October revolution.."
A picture emerges of a popular insurrection that proceeds almost bloodlessly due to the fact that it was organised but more so because it had large scale popular support. The picture of the minority coup evaporates in the face of overwhelming counter evidence.
If you read only one book about the Russian Revolution, make sure it is this one.
Rabinowitch has that happy ability, which sadly many academic historians lack, of being able to write well while losing no academic gravitas in the process. His books are always a joy to read and this is probably his best.
The content is even more important than the style. There is a dominant school of thought which claims, erroneously, that the dictatorship of Stalin, and all the horrors associated with it, were an inevitable consequence of the October Revolution and were somehow written into the political principles and practices, the very political DNA, of the Bolshevik Party. Essential props to this 'continuity thesis' is the assertion that the Bolshevik Party was a monolithic, rigidly centralised party that bent to the will of Lenin, that the Bolsheviks had little popular support and that their revolution of October 1917 was a coup.
These props are destroyed by Rabinowitch who demonstrates that the opposite is nearly always the case. Rabinowitch demonstrates this throughout his book as analysis of events is woven into the narrative as Russia moves towrd the revolution of October, and is able to conclude: "..I would emphasise the party's relatively democratic, tolerant, and decentralised structure and method of operation, as well as it's essentially open and mass character...", "Leaders who differed with the majority were at liberty to fight for their views, and not infrequently Lenin was the loser in these struggles", "subordinate bodies like the Petersburg Committee and the Military Organization were permitted considerable independence and initiative, and their views and criticism were taken into account in the formation of policy at the highest levels", "Vast numbers of new members.....played a significant role in shaping the Bolsheviks bahaviour. Among these newcomers were many of the leading figures in the October revolution.."
A picture emerges of a popular insurrection that proceeds almost bloodlessly due to the fact that it was organised but more so because it had large scale popular support. The picture of the minority coup evaporates in the face of overwhelming counter evidence.
If you read only one book about the Russian Revolution, make sure it is this one.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
1 review
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Good History
25 Oct 2008
Format:Paperback
This is a highly detailed account of the rise of the Bolshevik party in Petrograd after the initial overthrow of the Czar in 1917. This volume demonstrates the repeated attempts of Kerensky's provisional government to block the development of Socialism in Russia. Rabinowitch paints a picture of the Bolsheviks in striking contrast to the conventional view; far from being an elitist party of authoritarian leaders who organized an unwarranted coup in Petrograd, the Bolsheviks were in fact a highly nuanced party which rode the wave of a rising revolutionary proletariat. Lenin's attunement to working class consciousness in the months to the October Revolution was perhaps the primary strength of the Bolshevik leadership. Aside from Rabinowitch's terribly awkward prose style, this is an excellent reversal of a commonly accepted narrative.
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