A Short History Of Soviet Socialism

Mark Sandle is Lecturer in Russian and East European History at De Montfort University.; This book is intended for undergraduate courses on 20th century Soviet history/the Cold War/European history/Soviet studies/History of political thought/Marxism-Leninism. The Left.

An acclaimed historian explores the dynamic history of the twentieth century Soviet Union In ten concise and compelling chapters, The Soviet Union covers the entire Soviet Union experience from the years 1904 to 1991 by putting the focus on three major themes: warfare, welfare, and empire. Throughout the book, Mark Edele—a noted expert on the topic—clearly demonstrates that the Soviet Union was more than simply "Russia." Instead, it was a multi-ethnic empire. The author explains that there were many incarnations of Soviet society throughout its turbulent history, each one a representative of Soviet socialism. The text covers a wide range of topics: The end Romanov empire; The outbreak of World War I; The Bolshevik Revolution of 1917; The breakdown of the old empire and its re-constitution in the Civil War; The New Economic Policy; The rise of Stalin; The Soviet’s role in World War II; Post war normalization; and Gorbachev’s attempt to end the Cold War. The author also explores the challenges encountered by the successor states, their struggles with and against democracy, capitalism, authoritarianism, and war. This vital resource: Provides a concise overview of the history of the Soviet Union Includes information on the latest research that takes the broad view of the history of the Soviet Union and its place in world history Treats scholarly disagreements as part of the history of the influence of the Soviet Union on the course of the twentieth century Offers suggestion for further readings and a link to online primary sources Written for students of twentieth century Russia, the Russian Revolution, the Soviet Union, and the Cold War, and twentieth century World History, The Soviet Union: A Short History is a volume in the popular Wiley Short Histories series.

You know about the Soviet Union. You know about your world of yesterday and today, regardless of which nation you belong to.This book offers a bird's eye view of the history of the Soviet Union. Sure to be a racy read.This book is a short history of the USSR for beginners and lovers of history.An excerpt."Socialism did kill millions of human lives in the USSR mercilessly. During Stalin's regime, the government was one huge irrepressible killing machine. But once you are done shrinking at the horror of what happened out there, open your closed eyes. Enlighten yourself to the fact that Socialism also saved millions and millions of lives across the globe at the same time from the ravages of imperialist capitalism. It gave hopes to multitudes of toiling masses and helped them fight their righteous fight against predatory capitalism. Even today, things we take for granted such as legally guaranteed working hours, pensions, provident fund, maternity leave, voting rights, the right to organize, the right to education, food and a decent living owe their origins to the idea of Socialism. The USSR regardless of how close it came to achieving Socialism internally, was viewed all over the world by the ruling classes as nothing less than a living embodiment of Socialism, an idea that simply horrified them. It was that fear, that terrible fear to protect themselves from the hegemony of the working classes that Socialism stood for, that forced them to grant all the rights and freedoms that you enjoy today. Let that sink in."