A resounding look at one of the biggest moments in history, written in plain language with colorful details that will serve as a primer for those wanting to learn more. It also takes down some of the myths surrounding Lenin’s government; while the prolonged civil war and extensive efforts by Capitalist nations to strangle the infant in the cradle didn’t help, Lenin was always teetering on the brink of becoming an authoritarian. The Bolshevik Revolution also served to undermine more egalitarian efforts at establishing a socialist society closer to Marx’s vision.

If you are looking for an introduction to the Russian Revolution of 1917, The Russian Revolution by Victor Sebestyen is a book for you.

The author starts with Tsarist Russia, make no mistake – this lot were autocrats and ruled Russia for 300 years with an iron fist. There were many attempts to usurp power from the monarchy, the Tsars weren’t popular. Nicholas II has been characterised as the most useless of the useless, and early in 1917, under considerable pressure, he abdicated and later in the year the Bolsheviks, lead by Lenin, overthrew the provisional Russian Government.

After several years of brutal civil war – Lenin’s mob, the Bolsheviks, ended up victors. What followed was 70 years of brutal communist rule by the Soviets.

This easy-to-read piece covers the main players during the period leading up to the 1917 revolution(s) and up until Lenin’s death after the Russian Civil War. There is so much to learn here, the amount of information is perfect for lovers of history to learn about this pivotal time. The author skilfully provides just enough information and depth to makes this meaty enough for history lovers. There are some great pictures and photos too.

This book also gave me reason to really think about the implications of politics. It really is a matter of life and death.

I highly recommend this to those wanting a leg up into this period of Russian history. It is fascinating. I will certainly be digging deeper into various aspects, and actors of this period of Russian history in future.


"Lenin committed many crimes, but by far the greatest was to have left a man like Stalin in pole position to take over from him" Lenin thought Stalin was a ‘good soldier’ someone to do the dirty work – however, due to Lenin’s early death the vacuum was open for Stalin to step in, and step in he did.

4 Stars

Informative, well-researched, accessible and eminently readable account of the Russian Revolution, accompanied by a wealth of photographs and illustrations. It’s not an in-depth account – there are plenty of those – but an ideal introduction for readers perhaps less knowledgeable about the subject or who would appreciate a refresher. Well worth reading.

I’ve been reading about the Russian Revolution for a little while now, in my history of Russia project. And this is a difficult topic to cover because SO MUCH HAPPENS. This books is a wonderful cliffnotes of this topic, and gives the main historical points that you need to know to understand what happened. This will not give you any comprehensive information because that’s impossible. But it’s a great outline.

I don’t like my history tainted by the author’s opinion. It’s just a weird fact about me. I just want the plain boring facts because I want to create my own thoughts about it. And reading about Russian history is tough here in America because so much is tainted with opinions. Many of the good history books need to be translated. Just my opinion, don’t come at me. This did have opinions thrown in, and I found them distracting and unnecessary. At one point, the author, describing the last Tsar (Nicholas II), says, “He deserves his place in the dustbin of history.” I don’t find that professional or pleasant to read. So it did alter my opinion about the book a little, and I almost didn’t keep reading. (I know it sounds dramatic, but again, it’s just a weird quirk about me).

Regardless, this was good. It had a lot of information that I didn’t know and I’m glad I read it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Head of Zeus Publishing for the advanced copy. This is my honest opinion.

A greatly detailed account of the events that shaped Russian for almost 100 years. All the key moments and characters are present, and this can easily be used as an introduction to the Russian Revolution for someone who has little knowledge of it. It is also well-written for someone like me who has read many books on the topic. Although I didn't learn anything new, I throughoughly enjoyed the refresher.

That being said, this account of the Russian Revolution reads more like a historical essay, as the author is clearly opiniated on the topic and sharing his conclusions and views on what happened. He does allude to different views before dismissing them. A new learner might want to keep this in mind.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a free copy in return for my honest opinion.