Book cover of Interpreting the Russian Revolution: The Language and Symbols of 1917

Book description

This is the first book in any language to offer a comprehensive analysis of the political culture of the Russian Revolution. Orlando Figes and Boris Kolonitskii examine the diverse ways that language and other symbols-including flags and emblems, public rituals, songs, and codes of dress-were used to identify competing sides…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Interpreting the Russian Revolution as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

This book was extremely important for helping us to understand the myths of the Russian Revolution. In a semi-literate country with strict censorship, how did ordinary people form negative opinions about Rasputin or come to believe that Grand Duchess Anastasia survived the massacre of the royal family?

Rumors spreading by word of mouth! Scurrilous pamphlets circulating from hand to hand! Rasputin’s braggadocio! People’s desire for scapegoats! The book answered so many of our questions about how myths in this era were formed and propagated.

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Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!

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