Perato's review of A People's Tragedy (original) (raw)

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Perato's Reviews > A People's Tragedy: The Russian Revolution, 1891-1924

A People's Tragedy by Orlando Figes

A People's Tragedy: The Russian Revolution, 1891-1924
by

58967677

A Book of biblical proportions in terms of what it covers to what the implications were to Russia and the world. Over 800 pages of Russian history that covers about 30 years of turmoil. It gives a lot of food for thought and because of it's(the book and the topic) magnitude it's hard to digest all of it in just one read let alone trying to review it in just after the end.

Although the actors, political parties, locales etc. change fast and a lot, it was quite easy to keep up what he was talking about. The writing is good, yet I cannot really say about his arguments since I'm not that familiar with the topic and was a bit overwhelmed about the amount of information. This isn't just a recollection of events, but sort of an explanation to why things happened the way they happened. It's quite broad in it's focus, it's not just about few party people but a whole of nation, explaining a lot of the old Tsarist Russia before even entering WW1(around p. 250). Also a lot of focus is in the peasants and in agriculture instead of factories although after you read it, you understand why. The book increased my understanding of the Soviet union and the people especially since my main interests lie in the times after these events.

I'm sure to return to this book once I've devoured more Russian classics and when I'm more informed about the French Revolution. I'd say this is a cornerstone book to anyone interested in the history of 1900's Europe, World Wars, Cold War or communism.

One flaw worth mentioning is the writers habit of repeating himself, although in a book of this scope I felt it was somewhat useful to be reminded of things often. The other one is his random comments about Russians and Russia which occasionally come off as rude remarks of a nation/nationality.

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Reading Progress

February 12, 2021 – Shelved as:to-read

February 12, 2021 – Shelved

March 17, 2021 – Shelved as:own-it

August 1, 2021 –Started Reading

August 11, 2021 – Shelved as:2021

August 11, 2021 –Finished Reading

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