In this fascinating book Alter Litvin tells us what life was really like for professional Soviet historians from Lenin to Gorbachev, and assesses the efforts made since 1991 to create a more truthful picture of the turbulent Russian past. Passionate yet fair-minded, this is the first account of the subject to appear in English. Designed primarily for the general reader, it contains much fresh material of specialist interest and an ample up-to-date bibliography.

Ivan IV, the sixteenth-century Russian tsar notorious for his reign of terror, became an unlikely national hero in the Soviet Union during the 1940s. This book traces the development of Ivan's positive image, placing it in the context of Stalin's campaign for patriotism. In addition to historians' images of Ivan, the author examines literary and artistic representations, including Sergei Eisenstein's famous film, banned for its depiction of the tsar which was interpreted as an allegorical criticism of Stalin.

The Caspian-Caucasus region has received considerable attention over the past eight years. The old potential of this colossal territory is so significant that the analytical centres of the world's largest oil and refining companies consider it to be more long-term than the unstable Persian Gulf. The Politics of Caspian Oil is a collection of essays presenting the results of recent research, which should serve as a reference book for the politics of Caspian oil.

This volume explores the crisis of identity that faced Russia during and after the Revolution. The essays discuss how a re-evaluation of national identity challenged traditional institutions and ideas, having a direct bearing upon personal identity. Topics include the Stolypin agrarian reform, the fracturing of the Intelligentsia and Church reform. Also included in this volume is Khlebinkov's manifesto An Indo-Russian Union published here in Russian with a new English translation.

Until his death in 2000, Artyom Borovik was considered one of the preeminent journalists in Russia. With The Hidden War he provided the world its first glimpse inside the Soviet military machine, capturing the soldiers' terror, helplessness, and despair at waging war in a foreign land against an unseen enemy for unclear purposes. When first published, Borovik's groundbreaking revelations exposed the weaknesses beneath the Soviet Union's aura of military might, creating an enormous controversy both in Russia and around the world. A vital and fascinating portrait of the Soviet empire at the twilight of its power, this is a book that still resonates today. An honest and graphic account of individual and general disillusionment during the very worst kind of war. -Christopher Hitchens, New York Newsday; Alternately fascinating and horrific.... A fascinating look at the life and death of Soviet soldiers. -- Bill Wallace, San Francisco Chronicle; I have read no other account of the war in Afghanistan equal to this ... this is literature. -- Graham Greene

As the Soviet Union collapsed, many scholars and policymakers predicted that the pillars of Communism would collapse along with the state. The official trade unions not only continued to exist but gained power in the late Soviet and post-Soviet period. Sue Davis explains the reasons why the official trade unions survive and thrive and new, independent unions remain small and weak despite massive Western assistance. She examines many factors ranging from state policy to labour power in the late Soviet period as well as the first five years of the post-Soviet era in Russia and Ukraine.

While a number of books document Polish social and political history, few works comprehensively chronicle Poland's long-term constitutional history, and even fewer analyze Poland's contemporary struggle to establish a constitutional democracy. This book, by examining the recent development of constitutionalism in Poland in the light of her deeper constitutional heritage, addresses both areas.

World War II threw Britain and the Soviet Union together as unlikely allies. This book examines British policy-makers' attitudes to cooperation with the USSR and shows how views of internal developments in the USSR and of Stalin himself influenced Churchill, the War Cabinet and the Foreign Office to believe that long-term collaboration was a desirable and achievable goal. In particular, it was assumed that a shared concern to prevent future German aggression would be a lasting bond. Such attitudes significantly shaped Britain's wartime policy towards the USSR, and for many individuals, including Churchill, played a more important role than their long-standing anti-Communist attitudes.

This book examines the emergence of nationalism in Lithuania, specifically the Lithuanian national movement, known as Sajudis, and its approach towards the citizenship rights of national minorities. The study concentrates on the period between 1988 and 1993 when the national majority and minorities began forming and debating citizenship rights. The question of citizenship rights of national minorities is not ordinarily viewed as a problem with regard to Lithuania and there has consequently been minimal attention devoted to this topic. This book addresses this neglect and brings the underlying assumptions into critical perspective by analysing the Lithuanian situation not just according to the letter of the law but also in terms of how these laws were implemented and how the minorities responded to them. In doing so, the book explores the conflict which emerged between the growing national movement and the ideals of citizenship such as multicultural pluralism, diversity and heterogeneity. The book therefore has relevance to all those who are interested in postcommunist societies; and in particular the tensions that frequently develop between nationalism and citizenship.

This is the first detailed study of Estonian politics during the 1930s. It examines the Estonian Veteran's League, which won a majority in a referendum for its constitutional amendment, creating a strong presidency. The Veterans appeared set to triumph in the 1934 elections, but were thwarted by the establishment of an authoritarian regime. By using formerly unobtainable archival records, this study fills a considerable gap in the literature on the Baltic states and should be of interest to students of fascism.

The Presidency of George W. Bush is the first balanced academic study to analyze the entirety of his presidency-domestic, social, economic, and national security policies-as well as the administration's response to 9/11 and the subsequent "War on Terror." In so doing, John Robert Greene argues persuasively that the judgment of most scholars-that the Bush administration was a complete failure-has been made in haste and without the benefit of primary sources. This book is the first scholarly work to make wide use of the documents at the George W. Bush Presidential Library, many of which have only recently been made available to researchers through the Freedom of Information Act. John Robert Greene offers balanced assessment and nuanced conclusions supported by documentary evidence. Yet in doing so he does not absolve the Bush administration of its shortcomings. The Presidency of George W. Bush shows that the administration could be vindictive, as demonstrated by the Wilson-Plame affair and the firing of the US attorneys. It all too often moved too slowly, as shown by the National Security Council's lethargic handling of terrorism pre-9/11, the failed attempt to revise Social Security, and the sluggish reaction to Hurricane Katrina. It was an administration that accepted, and acted on, the highly suspect theory of the unitary presidency as advocated by Dick Cheney and accepted by the president. On the other side of the balance sheet, however, the evidence also makes it eminently clear that the Bush administration was responsible for many positive achievements: No Child Left Behind set the nation on the road toward affecting serious educational reform. In healthcare reform, the Bush administration both strengthened the Medicare system and extended its benefits for millions of Americans. And Bush did more to combat the worldwide scourge of AIDS as well as for Africa than any other president. In sum, the actions of this presidency continue to affect the presidencies of each of his successors as well as the trajectory of world history to the present day.

In this first monograph on the Russian cooperative movement before 1914, economic and social change is considered alongside Russian political culture. Looking at such historical actors as Sergei Witte, Piotr Stolypin, and Alexander Chaianov, and by tapping into several newly opened Russian local and state archives on peasant practice in the movement, Kotsonis suggests how cooperatives reflected a pan-European dilemma over whether and to what extent populations could participate in their own transformation.

This book is the first comprehensive cultural and historical introduction to modern Georgia. It covers the country region by region, taking the form of a literary journey through the transition from Soviet Georgia to the modern independent nation state. Peter Nasmyth traveled extensively in Georgia over a period of 5 years, and his lively and topical survey charts the nation's remarkable cultural and historical journey to statehood. This authoritative, lively and perceptive book is based on hundreds of interviews with modern Georgians, from country priests to black marketeers. Georgia: Mountains and Honour will be essential reading for anyone interested in this fascinating region, as well as those requiring an insight into the life after the collapse of the old Soviet order in the richest and most dramatic of the former republics.

The essays in this collection explore the social 'construction' of the Russian peasantry in the period between Emancipation and Collectivisation, and the impact of these constructions on Tsarist and Bolshevik agrarian policy. The international group of authors represent different trends in the historical, sociological and geographical investigations of the East European peasantry and draw both upon the insights of cultural studies and recently available archival materials to throw new light on the relationship between peasantry and other classes.

J. Williams Thorne (1816-1897) was an outspoken farmer who spent the first half-century of his remarkable life in Chester County, Pennsylvania, where he took part in political debates, helped fugitive slaves in the Underground Railroad and co-founded the Progressive Friends Meeting near his home in Longwood. Williams and his associates discussed vital matters of the day, from slavery to prohibition to women's rights. These issues sometimes came to Thorne's doorstep-he met with nationally prominent reformers, and thwarted kidnappers seeking to enslave one of his free black tenants. After the Civil War, Williams became a "carpetbagger," ;moving to postwar North Carolina to pursue farming and politics. An "infidel" Quaker (anti-Christian), he was opposed by Democrats who sought to keep him out of the legislature on account of his religious beliefs. Today a little-known figure in history, Williams made his mark through his outspokenness and persistent battling for what he believed.

In February 2019, Harmony Siganporia walked from Dandi to Ahmedabad, retracing the route of Gandhi's Salt March in reverse. She walked this route of just under 400 kilometres over 25 days, much as Gandhi and the original band of Marchers did in 1930. The 'Dandi Path' is the setting against which she explores the story of modern Gujarat, tracing the contours of the state's seismic shift towards espousing the narrative of vikas, abandoning in the process the possibility of a quest for swaraj. Gujarat has been described as the laboratory of Hindutva, and this book is an effort to explore this theme, even as it attempts to unearth whether there remain any competing epistemes to it; memories of the region's prior avatar as the setting against which Gandhi put into practice his experiments with truth, non-violent civil disobedience, and satyagraha. This project investigates what-if anything-remains of the Salt March in Gujarat's cultural memory, while also attempting to fill out the contours of the 'single story' of vikas with which the State has become so closely associated.

After more than three years of grim fighting, General Ulysses Grant had a plan to end the Civil War-laying siege to Petersburg, Virginia, thus cutting off supplies to the Confederate capital at Richmond. He established his headquarters at City Point on the James River, requiring thousands of troops, tons of supplies, as well as extensive medical facilities and staff. Nurses flooded the area, yet many did not work in medical capacities-they served as organizers, advocates and intelligence gatherers. Nursing emerged as a noble profession with multiple specialties. Drawing on a range of primary and secondary sources, this history covers the resilient women who opened the way for others into postwar medical, professional and political arenas.

While the Western was dying a slow death across the cultural landscape, it was blazing back to life as a video game in the early twenty-first century. Rockstar Games' Red Dead franchise, beginning with Red Dead Revolver in 2004, has grown into one of the most critically acclaimed video game franchises of the twenty-first century. Red Dead Redemption: History, Myth, and Violence in the Video Game West offers a critical, interdisciplinary look at this cultural phenomenon at the intersection of game studies and American history. Drawing on game studies, western history, American studies, and cultural studies, the authors train a wide-ranging, deeply informed analytic perspective on the Red Dead franchise-from its earliest incarnation to the latest, Red Dead Redemption 2 (2018). Their intersecting chapters put the series in the context of American history, culture, and contemporary media, with inquiries into issues of authenticity, realism, the meaning of play and commercial promotion, and the relationship between the game and the wider cultural iterations of the classic Western. The contributors also delve into the role the series' development has played in recent debates around working conditions in the gaming industry and gaming culture. In its redeployment and reinvention of the Western's myth and memes, the Red Dead franchise speaks to broader aspects of American culture-the hold of the frontier myth and the "Wild West" over the popular imagination, the role of gun culture in society, depictions of gender and ethnicity in mass media, and the increasing allure of digital escapism-all of which come in for scrutiny here, making this volume a vital, sweeping, and deeply revealing cultural intervention.

What binds together Louis Riel's former secretary, a railroad inventor, a Montreal comedienne, an early proponent of Canada's juvenile system and a prominent Canadian architect? Socialists, suffragists, musicians, artists--from 1898 to 1948, these and some 550 other individual Canadian Baha'is helped create a movement described as the second most widespread religion in the world.

Using diaries, memoirs, official reports, private correspondence, newspapers, archives and interviews, Will C. van den Hoonaard has created the first historical account of Baha'is in Canada. In addition, "The Origins of the Baha'i Community of Canada, 1898-1948" clearly depicts the dynamics and the struggles of a new religion in a new country.

This is a story of modern spiritual heroes--people who changed the lives of others through their devotion to the Baha'i ideals, in particular to the belief that the earth is one country and "all" of humankind are its citizens.

Thirty-nine original photographs effectively depict persons and events influencing the growth of the Baha'i movement in Canada.

"The Origins of the Baha'i Community of Canada, 1898-1948" makes an original contribution to religious history in Canada and provides a major sociological reference tool, as well as a narrative history that can be used by scholars and Baha'is alike for many years to come.

The Soviet government's attitude to religion in theory and practice is shown in this wide-ranging collection of annotated texts from the newly-opened archives. Included are documents from the KGB, the Central Committee, the Council for Religious Affairs and numerous other official bodies. For the first time in English we see the bureaucrats' own view of how religious believers should be controlled, following the story from the persecutions of the early Soviet years to the openness instituted by Mikhail Gorbachev.

Rhode Island sent 23,236 men to fight in the Civil War. They served in eight infantry regiments, three heavy artillery regiments, three regiments and one battalion of cavalry, a company of hospital guards and 10 batteries of light artillery. Hundreds more served in the U.S. Army, Navy and Marine Corps. Rhode Islanders participated in nearly every major battle of the war, firing the first volleys at Bull Run, and some of the last at Appomattox. How many died in the Civil War is a question that has long eluded historians. Drawing on a twenty-year study of regimental histories, pension files, letters, diaries, and visits to every cemetery in the state, award-winning Civil War historian Robert Grandchamp documents 2,182 Rhode Islanders who died as a direct result of military service. Each regiment is identified, followed by the name, rank and place of residence for each soldier, the details of their deaths and, where known, their final resting places.

When Captain Scott died in 1912 on his way back from the South Pole, his story became a myth embedded in the national imagination. Everyone remembers the doomed Captain Oates's last words: 'I'm just going outside, and I may be some time.' Francis Spufford's celebrated and prize-winning history shows how Scott's death was the culmination of a national enchantment with vast empty spaces, the beauty of untrodden snow, and perilous journeys to the end of the earth.

Since 1985 Russia has experienced a dramatic cultural and social revolution. Rosalind Marsh presents the first study encompassing one important aspect of this process, that is the major part which literature has played in reassessing the past, transforming public opinion, and hence in promoting political change in Russia. She provides a chronology of literary politics in this period, and analyses the content and influence of newly published literature on a variety of historical themes, including Stalin and Stalinism, Lenin, the Civil War, the February and October Revolutions and the fall of Tsarism. She explores the heated moral and political debates inspired among different sections of Russian society by the works of many authors, including Rybakov, Solzhenitsyn, Grossman, Bunin and Gorky.

This work presents eleven studies in the field of Russian/Soviet economic and social history, which have been specially commissioned as a tribute to Professor R.W. Davies. Each chapter highlights a particular area of controversy, and illuminates the process of policy formation in this critical period of Soviet development. Together they provide an overview of the period 1917-1953.

This work provides an in-depth case-study of decision-making in the Soviet Union in the Stalin era. It focuses on the development of rail transport policy, upon which the entire economy as well as the country's defence were so crucially dependent. It analyses the role of institutional lobbies in shaping policy, and sheds new light on the Stakhanovite movement, and analyses for the first time the impact of the Great Purges on the railways. The work provides a critical examination of the adequacy of existing conceptualisations of the Stalinist state.