'It is my considered judgement that, had it had not been for the Russian Revolution, there would very likely have been no National Socialism; probably no Second World War and no decolonization; and certainly no Cold War, which once dominated our lives. I will attempt here to distill the essence of my books THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION and RUSSIA UNDER THE BOLSHEVIK REGIME by raising the three central questions addressed in those volumes: Why did tsarism fall? Why did the Bolsheviks gain power? Why did Stalin succeed Lenin? Richard Pipes, from THREE WHYS OF THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION. Arguably the most important event of the twentieth century, the Russian Revolution changed forever the course of modern history. Due to the Soviet clampdown on archives regarding the Revolution, many aspects of the event have been shrouded in mystery for over seventy years. However, since the collapse of Communism the archival despositories have been thrown open to interested parties. 'One of America's great histories'. WASHINGTON POST BOOK WORLD. 'Pipes is not a mere communicator of facts but a philosopher examining the deeper, broader trends beneath the surface of history. ' SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE.

The second Barbara Frum Historical Lecture, Russia's Past and Russia's Future: The Burden of History, will be written and delivered by the world's foremost Russian History scholar. Three Whys of the Russian Revolution is a complementary text to that lecture; a highly concise and valuable collection of three essays distilling the essence of Richard Pipes's acclaimed and bestselling books, The Russian Revolution and Russian Under the Bolshevik Regime. Arguably the most important event of the twentieth century, the Russian Revolution changed forever the course of modern history. Due to the Soviet clampdown on archives regarding the Revolution, many aspects of the vent have been shrouded in mystery for over seventy years. However, since the collapse of Communism the archival depositories have been thrown open to interested parties. Mr. Pipes has paid several visits to the archives and has, in Three Whys of the Russian Revolution, raised the central questions surrounding the revolution: why did Tsarism fall? Why did the Bolsheviks gain power? and why did Stalin succeed Lenin? Three Whys of the Russian Revolution is valuable document for anyone trying to understand the complicated events taking place in modern-day Russia.

An authoritative history of the Russian Revolution and the "violent and disruptive acts" that created the first modern totalitarian regime, portraying the crisis at the heart of the tsarist empire "A deep and eloquent condemnation of the revolution and its aftermath." —The New York Times Drawing on archival materials released in Russia, Richard Pipes chronicles the upheaval that began as a conservative revolt but was soon captured by messianic intellectuals intent not merely on reforming Russia but on remaking the world. He provides fresh accounts of the revolution's personalities and policies, crises, and cruelties, from the murder of the royal family through civil war, famine, and state terror. Brilliantly and persuasively, Pipes shows us why the resulting system owes less to the theories of Marx than it did to the character of Lenin and Russia's long authoritarian tradition. What ensues is a path-clearing work that is indispensable to any understanding of the events of the century.

From the accliamed authority on Russia and the Russian Revolution—the final volume in his magisterial history of the Russian Revolution, covering the period from the outbreak of the Civil War in 1918 to Lenin's death in 1924 "Offers a penetrating analysis of the making of the Soviet system.... [It is] a passionate book whose outstanding scholarship is rooted in universal values like truth, honor, responsibility and the sacredness of human life." —Philadelphia Inquirer "Timely.... The work is enriched in intriguing ways by the author's access to the once-secret archives of the Soviet Union." —Los Angeles Times

"A superb book about a topic that should be front and center in the American political debate" (National Review), from the acclaimed Harvard scholar and historian of the Russian Revolution An exploration of a wide range of national and political systems to demonstrate persuasively that private ownership has served over the centuries to limit the power of the state and enable democratic institutions to evolve and thrive in the Western world. Beginning with Greece and Rome, where the concept of private property as we understand it first developed, Richard Pipes then shows us how, in the late medieval period, the idea matured with the expansion of commerce and the rise of cities. He contrasts England, a country where property rights and parliamentary government advanced hand-in-hand, with Russia, where restrictions on ownership have for centuries consistently abetted authoritarian regimes; finally he provides reflections on current and future trends in the United States. Property and Freedom is a brilliant contribution to political thought and an essential work on a subject of vital importance.

This book explores the 1917 Russian Revolution from its February Revolution beginning to the victory of Lenin and the Bolsheviks in October.

The Russian Revolution of 1917 transformed the face of the Russian empire, politically, economically, socially, and culturally, and also profoundly affected the course of world history for the rest of the twentieth century. Now, to mark the centenary of this epochal event, historian Steve Smith presents a panoramic account of the history of the Russian empire, from the last years of the nineteenth century, through the First World War and the revolutions of 1917 and the establishment of the Bolshevik regime, to the end of the 1920s, when Stalin simultaneously unleashed violent collectivization of agriculture and crash industrialization upon Russian society. Drawing on recent archivally-based scholarship, Russia in Revolution pays particular attention to the varying impact of the Revolution on the various groups that made up society: peasants, workers, non-Russian nationalities, the army, women and the family, young people, and the Church. In doing so, it provides a fresh way into the big, perennial questions about the Revolution and its consequences: why did the attempt by the tsarist government to implement political reform after the 1905 Revolution fail?; why did the First World War bring about the collapse of the tsarist system?; why did the attempt to create a democratic system after the February Revolution of 1917 not get off the ground?; why did the Bolsheviks succeed in seizing and holding on to power?; why did they come out victorious from a punishing civil war?; why did the New Economic Policy they introduced in 1921 fail?; and why did Stalin come out on top in the power struggle inside the Bolshevik party after Lenin's death in 1924? A final chapter then reflects on the larger significance of 1917 for the history of the twentieth century - and, for all its terrible flaws, what the promise of the Revolution might mean for us today.