Good intro! McMeekin is great and thank you for mentioning his wonderful book! A few other great primary secondary sources to check out:
Samuel Harper's: The Russia I Believe in
David Francis ambassador's diaries from 1916-1918
Malcolm Muggeridge's Chronicles of Wasted Time
I have done a very deep dive on this and I'm not gonna lie, I found a lot of these books via Yarvin's substack. He has some other books on the Siberian Expedition from the general Graves, The Raymond Robins hagiography, Sorokin's memoir on this era, Anthony Sutton's The Bolsheviks and Wall Street, as well as Herbert Hoover's book The Ordeal of Woodrow Wilson which really flesh out his thesis. This thesis really just proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that US elites including Wilson, Thomas Lamont, etc wanted to destroy the Tsar and then Kerensky and make Russia into a lab and communist country which would be a testament to the validity of Edward House's Administrator Phillip Dru and Edward Bellamy's Looking Backward. No one ever lays it out, but there is not a single mainstream history book on this era that even comes close to explaining the discrepancies, missing info, and just absurd justifications for why this horrific tragedy happened. If any of you have the time, I'd recommend reading all the books above I listed as well as Grove's wonderful McMeekin rec (that is a phenomenal book to start with)
This is a project I am passionate about btw. I have many many more books to rec on this subject if you any of you are interested, but these titles will give you ample places to start. If you read even two of these books including the propaganda I've listed and you are remotely familiar with 20th century historiography, you will notice gaping problems in trad narrative. This is virgin intellectual territory ripe for a new young mind to observe, question, and reflect on. Again, please don't take my word for it and read this stuff straight from the commie's mouth.
I actually located Charles Crane's autobiography (this guy loves to show up at the scene of the crime (always) and knows all the criminals (Harper knew him well in both Mid East and Russia he is a modern day Soros/NGO type) on archive and it is in some obscure awful format that can only be accessed in notepad files, but I will read this one too and share it in comment section when I get done.
BTW ALL these books are worth buying if you have money or time, but they can usually be located on archive.org. Grove has highlighted the importance of this site in the past. He is heroic in defending this invaluable resource. If you find an old source on there, ALWAYS look and see if you can download the pdf version of it, then do so.
Man, I don't really know a way to comment on your stuff without coming off as abrasive or autistic and I apologize. I don't like gaming stuff but I enjoy all your movie reviews and I appreciate that you get ppl to do deep dives on Civil War, Bleeding Kansas or whatever historical subject that has been colonized by redditor historians. The old books by Kemp or by Wrangel are great and you have saved them from the muck of modernity. Idk I don't want to be the AKSHULLY reply guy. I want random ppl to read these obscure sources I mentioned though. When I comment I am not trying to dissuade new ppl or whatever I want them to read your recs. If they like then I add stuff they can get even more into. I'm sorry if this shit is offputting. It is not my intention to be a prick so I am sorry if I am.
Whatever my social graces lack, I am not a free subscriber. A free subscriber (this is a true story) was dying in the hospital while I was there visiting my grandmother. The ER doctor said that he needed a urine transfusion on his face to save his life. This individual was writhing in pain and begging me for urine shower. I asked him what happened in A Perfect World ep after 10 minutes. Just to be sure I asked him twice. He couldn't answer so I went to the bathroom and emptied my bladder then left the hospital with a crystal clear conscience.
Man, it's hard enough for me to keep up on Revolutionary America. I have McMeekin's book on the Russian Revolution but haven't read it (I have read his The Russian Origins of the First World War and Stalin's War).
Thanks for the rec on Francis's diaries. Just downloaded. I have a copy of Ambassador James W. Gerard's "My Four Years in Germany" which is absolutely fascinating.
I’ve read probably a dozen books now on the subject and although I liked McMeekin’s - especially on the ties between the German gov’t and the revolutionaries - I think it falls a bit short of the really top tier histories on the subject.
If you or anyone else is interested, for my money the best single-volume is Orlando Figes’ “A People’s Tragedy”. Really superb and filled with colorful details that give one a feeling for what it was like on the ground in Moscow and Petrograd.
For instance: after storming the Winter Palace, the Red Guard detachment made straight for cellars and got rip-roaring drunk on what was probably Europe’s best wine cellar. The next detachment, sent in to restore discipline to the first, instead joined in. Eventually there were hundreds of drunk guardsmen and the commissars resorted the next morning to running firehoses into the basement and flooding them out. Anarchic, end-of-the-world atmosphere those fateful days.
Your comment "Historical documents are tricky because, even if the documents are interesting, the authors (understandably) assumed that readers would know about things that, 100+ years later and several continents away, they don’t necessarily know about. Even a bit of background knowledge can add a lot to peoples’ understanding of these documents." is really important as it gets to the crux of what it means to be a practicing historian.
Yeah, you might not have a PhD, or an MA, or even an undergrad degree in history - but one does not need such titles to be a historian, or even sometimes a "professional historian."
History with a capital-H is not just the recitation of facts, names, and dates, but is rather an *interpretation* of the past. Some interpretations happen to be better than others based upon the quantity (and quality) of the sources considered, the relevant secondary literature, as well as one's familiarity with the times. This latter aspect allows for a better contextualization of sources. It's also one of the main reasons why historians tend to do their best work towards the end of their careers - they've spent lots of time in and among the source material.
One thought I'll leave you with:
In his great book "The Great Cat Massacre and Other Episodes in French Cultural History" Robert Darnton makes the observation that to truly understand a group of people who lived in the past it is necessary to understand what they found funny and why. In this case, it happens to be a pretty brutal massacre of a bunch of cats by apprentice printers in Paris in the 1730s. If you can explain why these young French printers found killing cats hilarious, you know these people.
So, have you (or anyone else for that matter) come across any particularly funny jokes from the Russian Revolution?
Saw this link in an article at Zero Hedge. I never sign up for paid subscriptions because I can't afford all of the things in life that I'd like to. I made an exception here. I've read parts one and two and before reading part three, I went and got my debit card, as you've requested (practically begged, lol) so sweetly.
This is my absolute favorite historical subject and I love your approach of providing a general overview before drilling down to getting more specific. I've read a fair amount on this topic (can't get enough) but it's so huge that it's hard to remember everything and enjoyable, when reading, to discover that I actually remember more than I gave myself credit for. But, still, I learn. I've read Sorokin's book and cannot recommend it enough and, so far, what you've written is consistent with his gut wrenching first hand account. You're a wonderful writer with a straightforward style and I look forward to reading more. Best of luck to you and you deserve everything you can make from this very well executed endeavor to bring alive one of the most catastrophic times in modern history. Thank you for doing it.
You are so welcome and I know you appreciate it :)
Luckily, I had not cleared my history and was able locate your link at Zero Hedge. Many thinks to "PORTFOLIO ARMOR" (ZH member, I guess) for recommending you:
I think Beevor was a little to hostile to the Whites (particularly Wrangel) and there were odd quirks (like his frequently mentioning formerly-wealthy women prostituting themselves) that struck me as ideological. Overall a good read.
One other thing, Conundrum Cluster: WTH is that photo in your banner? I've blown it up, inspected it closely and can only come up with part of a furry animal but can't even tell if tell what kind. It's driving me crazy!
Good intro! McMeekin is great and thank you for mentioning his wonderful book! A few other great primary secondary sources to check out:
Samuel Harper's: The Russia I Believe in
David Francis ambassador's diaries from 1916-1918
Malcolm Muggeridge's Chronicles of Wasted Time
I have done a very deep dive on this and I'm not gonna lie, I found a lot of these books via Yarvin's substack. He has some other books on the Siberian Expedition from the general Graves, The Raymond Robins hagiography, Sorokin's memoir on this era, Anthony Sutton's The Bolsheviks and Wall Street, as well as Herbert Hoover's book The Ordeal of Woodrow Wilson which really flesh out his thesis. This thesis really just proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that US elites including Wilson, Thomas Lamont, etc wanted to destroy the Tsar and then Kerensky and make Russia into a lab and communist country which would be a testament to the validity of Edward House's Administrator Phillip Dru and Edward Bellamy's Looking Backward. No one ever lays it out, but there is not a single mainstream history book on this era that even comes close to explaining the discrepancies, missing info, and just absurd justifications for why this horrific tragedy happened. If any of you have the time, I'd recommend reading all the books above I listed as well as Grove's wonderful McMeekin rec (that is a phenomenal book to start with)
This is a project I am passionate about btw. I have many many more books to rec on this subject if you any of you are interested, but these titles will give you ample places to start. If you read even two of these books including the propaganda I've listed and you are remotely familiar with 20th century historiography, you will notice gaping problems in trad narrative. This is virgin intellectual territory ripe for a new young mind to observe, question, and reflect on. Again, please don't take my word for it and read this stuff straight from the commie's mouth.
I actually located Charles Crane's autobiography (this guy loves to show up at the scene of the crime (always) and knows all the criminals (Harper knew him well in both Mid East and Russia he is a modern day Soros/NGO type) on archive and it is in some obscure awful format that can only be accessed in notepad files, but I will read this one too and share it in comment section when I get done.
BTW ALL these books are worth buying if you have money or time, but they can usually be located on archive.org. Grove has highlighted the importance of this site in the past. He is heroic in defending this invaluable resource. If you find an old source on there, ALWAYS look and see if you can download the pdf version of it, then do so.
Man, I don't really know a way to comment on your stuff without coming off as abrasive or autistic and I apologize. I don't like gaming stuff but I enjoy all your movie reviews and I appreciate that you get ppl to do deep dives on Civil War, Bleeding Kansas or whatever historical subject that has been colonized by redditor historians. The old books by Kemp or by Wrangel are great and you have saved them from the muck of modernity. Idk I don't want to be the AKSHULLY reply guy. I want random ppl to read these obscure sources I mentioned though. When I comment I am not trying to dissuade new ppl or whatever I want them to read your recs. If they like then I add stuff they can get even more into. I'm sorry if this shit is offputting. It is not my intention to be a prick so I am sorry if I am.
Never sweat it dude, I appreciate the recommendations
Whatever my social graces lack, I am not a free subscriber. A free subscriber (this is a true story) was dying in the hospital while I was there visiting my grandmother. The ER doctor said that he needed a urine transfusion on his face to save his life. This individual was writhing in pain and begging me for urine shower. I asked him what happened in A Perfect World ep after 10 minutes. Just to be sure I asked him twice. He couldn't answer so I went to the bathroom and emptied my bladder then left the hospital with a crystal clear conscience.
Man, it's hard enough for me to keep up on Revolutionary America. I have McMeekin's book on the Russian Revolution but haven't read it (I have read his The Russian Origins of the First World War and Stalin's War).
Thanks for the rec on Francis's diaries. Just downloaded. I have a copy of Ambassador James W. Gerard's "My Four Years in Germany" which is absolutely fascinating.
Will check out Gerard. Stalin's War is also great.
Kerensky is the poster-boy of normie conservatism.
This was a great piece esp for people (me) who don’t know abt Russian history. Thank you for writing!
I’ve read probably a dozen books now on the subject and although I liked McMeekin’s - especially on the ties between the German gov’t and the revolutionaries - I think it falls a bit short of the really top tier histories on the subject.
If you or anyone else is interested, for my money the best single-volume is Orlando Figes’ “A People’s Tragedy”. Really superb and filled with colorful details that give one a feeling for what it was like on the ground in Moscow and Petrograd.
For instance: after storming the Winter Palace, the Red Guard detachment made straight for cellars and got rip-roaring drunk on what was probably Europe’s best wine cellar. The next detachment, sent in to restore discipline to the first, instead joined in. Eventually there were hundreds of drunk guardsmen and the commissars resorted the next morning to running firehoses into the basement and flooding them out. Anarchic, end-of-the-world atmosphere those fateful days.
Less than $5 on ebay. It'd be rude not to.
Your comment "Historical documents are tricky because, even if the documents are interesting, the authors (understandably) assumed that readers would know about things that, 100+ years later and several continents away, they don’t necessarily know about. Even a bit of background knowledge can add a lot to peoples’ understanding of these documents." is really important as it gets to the crux of what it means to be a practicing historian.
Yeah, you might not have a PhD, or an MA, or even an undergrad degree in history - but one does not need such titles to be a historian, or even sometimes a "professional historian."
History with a capital-H is not just the recitation of facts, names, and dates, but is rather an *interpretation* of the past. Some interpretations happen to be better than others based upon the quantity (and quality) of the sources considered, the relevant secondary literature, as well as one's familiarity with the times. This latter aspect allows for a better contextualization of sources. It's also one of the main reasons why historians tend to do their best work towards the end of their careers - they've spent lots of time in and among the source material.
One thought I'll leave you with:
In his great book "The Great Cat Massacre and Other Episodes in French Cultural History" Robert Darnton makes the observation that to truly understand a group of people who lived in the past it is necessary to understand what they found funny and why. In this case, it happens to be a pretty brutal massacre of a bunch of cats by apprentice printers in Paris in the 1730s. If you can explain why these young French printers found killing cats hilarious, you know these people.
So, have you (or anyone else for that matter) come across any particularly funny jokes from the Russian Revolution?
There are actually a lot of funny jokes about revolutionary society (in the 1905 Revolution) in the book "Thou Shalt Kill," highly recommend
I'd pay $5 to read a post about those... oh wait...
Thank you CC 😃 Although I’m generally familiar with the topic I expect to benefit greatly from this series.
Freeks, it’s time to Subscribe.
I enjoyed your 30 min format, and your writing is easy to digest. Makes it a perfect lunch break read!
Thank you! I'm starting on the McMeekin trilogy today and this series is going to be invaluable in finding my footing before diving in!
Saw this link in an article at Zero Hedge. I never sign up for paid subscriptions because I can't afford all of the things in life that I'd like to. I made an exception here. I've read parts one and two and before reading part three, I went and got my debit card, as you've requested (practically begged, lol) so sweetly.
This is my absolute favorite historical subject and I love your approach of providing a general overview before drilling down to getting more specific. I've read a fair amount on this topic (can't get enough) but it's so huge that it's hard to remember everything and enjoyable, when reading, to discover that I actually remember more than I gave myself credit for. But, still, I learn. I've read Sorokin's book and cannot recommend it enough and, so far, what you've written is consistent with his gut wrenching first hand account. You're a wonderful writer with a straightforward style and I look forward to reading more. Best of luck to you and you deserve everything you can make from this very well executed endeavor to bring alive one of the most catastrophic times in modern history. Thank you for doing it.
Thank you so much, I really do appreciate it. Would you mind linking the ZeroHedge article? I can't find it.
You are so welcome and I know you appreciate it :)
Luckily, I had not cleared my history and was able locate your link at Zero Hedge. Many thinks to "PORTFOLIO ARMOR" (ZH member, I guess) for recommending you:
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2024-08-04/what-elon-musk-gets-wrong-about-uk-protests
BTW, I tried to like your reply but get ":javascript:void(0)". Turned off the add blocker but still won't work. Anyway, thanks for your reply.
Amazing, thankyou. Looking forward to catching up on the rest.
Just to clarify was Petrograd the capital at that time? And Moscow only became the capital once the Bolshovicks took power?
It's been a while since I've read about the revolution. I'd actually forgotten Lenin was forced to flee.
Excellent piece
I enjoyed the heck out of "Russia: Revolution and Civil War, 1917-1921", by Antony Beevor. Would be interested to hear any critiques.
I think Beevor was a little to hostile to the Whites (particularly Wrangel) and there were odd quirks (like his frequently mentioning formerly-wealthy women prostituting themselves) that struck me as ideological. Overall a good read.
Really accessible overview! People should share this with their families and coworkers!
Do you have a condensed reading list?
One other thing, Conundrum Cluster: WTH is that photo in your banner? I've blown it up, inspected it closely and can only come up with part of a furry animal but can't even tell if tell what kind. It's driving me crazy!