Three Whys Of Russian Revolution

The author of several groundbreaking and controversial works on Russian history, Richard Pipes has written an invaluable book for anyone who wishes to understand the complicated events taking place in Russia today.

Pipes is not a mere communicator of facts but a philosopher examining the deeper, broader trends beneath the surface of history.

In 1981-82 Richard Pipes served as President Reagan's National Security Council advisor on Soviet and East European affairs, and is presently the Baird Professor of History at Harvard University.

It is my considered judgement that, had it 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 one 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 Popes, from Three Whys of the Russian Revolution. 
 
Arguably the most important event of the twentieth century, the Russian Revolution changed for ever 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 depositories havebeen thrown open to interested parties. 
 
The author of several groundbreaking and controversial works on Russian history, Richard Pipes has written an invaluable book for anyone who wishes to understand the complicated events taking place in Russia today.

Russia Under the Old Regime

Richard Pipes is a historian of Russia, and since 1990, has been Baird Emeritus Professor of History at Harvard University. His other books include The Russian Revolution and Russia under the Bolshevik Regime.

This study analyzes the evolution of the Russian state from the 9th century to the 1880s, and its unique role in managing Russian society. The development of Russia was different from that of the rest of Europe. The natural poverty of geographical conditions made it extremely difficult to construct an effective regime, and a &quot;patrimonial&quot; state arose in which the country was conceived as the personal property of the tsar. The book describes the evolution of this regime, and analyzes the political behaviour of the principal social groupings, peasantry, nobility, bourgeoisie and clergy, and accounts for their failure to stand up to the increasing absolutism of the tsar. Only the intelligentsia were able to make such a stand, and the book shows how in countering this challenge, Russia developed into a bureaucratic police state.

Richard Pipes

One of the most enduring dreams is of a Utopian society in which all possessions are held in common ownership, and there is never a quarrel over "mine" and "thine". As Professor Pipes argues in this book, such a dream has never been translated into reality in the secular world, despite the best efforts of socialist and communist ideologues. Acquisitiveness is deeply ingrained in all living creatures and all societies for both economic and psychological reasons. Where there are no guarantees of property there are no limits to state authority and no regulatory bodies of law, and hence no guarantee of individual liberty, or "civil rights". Herein lies the crux of the author's argument.

Richard Pipes

Books by Richard Pipes

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