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Loading... The First Socialist Society: A History of the Soviet Union from Within, Second Enlarged Editionby Geoffrey A. Hosking
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Pretty great for what it is. Broad easy overview / history of Soviet experiment. a bit too sympathetic I would say, but still well told and well paced. ( ) The First Socialist Society is the compelling and often tragic history of what Soviet citizens have lived through from 1917 to the present, told with great sympathy and perception. It ranges over the changing lives of peasants, urban workers, and professionals; the interaction of Soviet autocrats with the people; the character and role of religion, law, education, and literature within Soviet society; and the significance and fate of various national groups. As the story unfolds, we come to understand how the ideas of Marxism have been changed, taking on almost unrecognizable forms by unique political and economic circumstances. Hosking's analysis of this vast and complex country begins by asking how it was that the first socialist revolution took place in backward, autocratic Russia. Why were the Bolsheviks able to seize power and hold on to it? The core of the book lies in the years of Stalin's rule: how did he exercise such unlimited power, and how did the various strata of society survive and come to terms with his tyranny? The later chapters recount Khrushchev's efforts to reform the worst features of Stalinism, and the unpredictable effects of his attempts within the East European satellite countries, bringing out elements of socialism that had been obscured or overlaid in the Soviet Union itself. And in the aftermath of the long Brezhnev years of stagnation and corruption, the question is posed: can Soviet society find a way to modify the rigidities inherited from the Stalinist past? no reviews | add a review
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Describes the changes in the character of Soviet life from 1917 to the present, showing us how the ideas of Marxism have been transformed by unique political and economic circumstances. Discusses the experience of peasants and urban workers and professionals; the interaction of Soviet autocrats with the people; the role of religion, law and education in Soviet society; and the significance of various national groups. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)947.084History and Geography Europe Russia and eastern Europe [and formerly Finland] Russian & Slavic History by Period 1855- 1917-1953 ; Communist periodLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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