Russia's 20th Century: A Journey in 100 Histories

(Paperback)

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Michael Khodarkovskys innovative exploration of Russia's 20th century, through 100 carefully selected vignettes that span the century, offers a fascinating prism through which to view Russian history. Each chosen microhistory focuses on one particular event or individual that allows you to understand Russia not in abstract terms but in real events in the lives of ordinary people. Russia's 20th Century covers a broad range of topics, including the economy, culture, politics, ideology, law and society. This introduction provides a vital background and engaging analysis of Russias path through a turbulent 20th century. A representative sample of chapters in the book includes: 1902: Peasants 1903: The Pogrom 1906: The Tsars Speech 1908: Church 1910: Tolstoy's Death 1913: The Romanovs 1916: Rasputin 1922: USSR 1927: Orphans into Communists 1931: Palace of the Soviets 1935: Manufacturing Heroes 1939: Hitlers Ally 1941: Moscow on the Brink 1945: Rape of Germany 1949: Atomic Project 1954: Nuclear War Exercise Snowball 1955: Empire of Nations 1960: Virgin Lands 1969: The Soviet Dr. Seuss 1971: The Soviet Bob Dylan 1972: Nixon in Moscow and Kiev 1977: USSR, Less than a Sum of its Parts 1980: Moscow Olympic Games 1984: Iron Maiden Behind the Iron Curtain 1985: Vodka 1990: Soviet Nationalisms and Ethnic Wars 1997: Russian Fascism 1998: Return of the KGB The historical mosaic of Russia's 20th Century provides a unique examination of modern Russian history one snapshot at a time, prompting us to reflect on a larger picture of Russias past and its place in the world today.

Reviews

Michael Khodarkovskys originally conceived and highly readable Russias 20th Century: A Journey in 100 Stories helps us understand: how, over the course of one very long century, Russia repeatedly failed to become a liberal democracy, why she continues to mistreat her citizens and threaten her neighbors, and why so many Western observers missed both the coming of the Soviet demise in the late 1980s and Russias revanchist resurgence in the early 2000s In contrast to most textbooks on late Imperial and Soviet periods that use traditional survey or monographic approaches, Khodarkovsky takes the reader on an exciting journey to explore Russia through numerous stories filled with captivating, often personal insights into her society and culture. The result is a comprehensive picture of Russias ravaged 20th century that allows educators to teach the subject by exploring and expanding the themes of individual vignettes in a way that is likely to trigger further interest in a subject. Russia's 20th Century is perfectly suited for introductory college courses or general reader. I, for one, cannot wait to assign this new fascinating book to my undergraduates. * Semion Lyandres, Professor of History, University of Notre Dame, USA *
Michael Khodarkovsky weaves together 100 short vignettes based on episodes in Russia's political, social, cultural and intellectual life, from the Romanovs to President Putin. The result is a book of great originalitya truly panoramic expedition across the turbulent landscape that was Russia's 20th century. Khodarkovsky writes with a conciseness that sacrifices neither learned insight nor analytical sophistication, and readers used to the ponderous detail of much of today's historiography will be refreshed by his text's brevity and eclecticism. * Mark Bassin, Professor of History, Sodertorn University, Sweden *

Author Bio

Michael Khodarkovsky is Professor of History at Loyola University Chicago, USA. He is the author of several books, including Bitter Choices: Loyalty and Betrayal in the Russian Conquest of the North Caucasus (2011), Russia's Steppe Frontier: The Making of a Colonial Empire, 1500-1800 (2002), Where Two Worlds Met: The Russian State and the Kalmyk Nomads, 1600-1771 (1992), and a co-editor of Of Religion and Empire: Missions, Conversion and Tolerance in Tsarist Russia (2001). He is also a frequent contributor to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and other media.