The End of Tsarist Russia

May 25, 2015
Using Russian and Soviet archives only recently opened to Western historians, Lieven (Russia Against Napoleon) constructs a Russian history of the years leading up to WWI and the Russian Revolution, arguing that, contrary to Western European sensibilities, WWI was primarily a conflict between two looming Eastern hegemons: Russia and Germany. Moving from broader geopolitical analysis and historical trends all the way down to a “worm’s-eye view” of history that focuses on the actions of a small cadre of influential decision makers in July and August 1914, Lieven charts Russia’s burgeoning “Second World” imperialism—a rise inevitably complicated by modernity and mass politics. Already humiliated by losing the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905) and weakened by the 1905 revolution, Russia was ill-prepared for the demands of the 20th century. Lieven has a gift for illuminating the intricacies and complexities of tsarist Russia, but in doing so, he assumes a familiarity with Russian history likely beyond the casual reader, and his dry prose does little to support or engage novices. Nonetheless, Lieven’s uniquely Russian take on these decisive years stands as a significant work of scholarship. Maps & illus. Agent: Natasha Fairweather, United Agents (U.K.).