From my list on how the Russian Revolution changed our world.
Why am I passionate about this?
We have co-written three books on the Russian Revolution, a defining event of the twentieth century. It gave birth to the communist Soviet Union, which inspired millions and terrorized an equal number. World War II and the Cold War would have looked very different—or not happened at all—without the Soviet Union. The Russian Revolution was a Big-Bang-type event: it raged for a few years, but its economic, social, political, and geopolitical consequences reverberated for decades and can be felt to this day. Our advice to anyone interested in learning about the Russian Revolution: prepare to be amazed!
Jonathan's book list on how the Russian Revolution changed our world
Why Jonathan loves this book
We knew that Russia mobilized more female volunteers in World War I than any other country. But we are so grateful that Maria Bochkareva, a semi-literate peasant and the founder of the first Russian female death battalion, took the time to share her story with a reporter. It sheds dazzling light on soldiers’ experiences on the Eastern Front. We had often marveled at this untrained woman’s success as a combatant and a commander.
The book’s first chapters show that she learned grit and toughness from living with an abusive husband, resisting the sexual advances of a Siberian governor, and standing her ground in male soldier barracks. By the time she had to face the Germans on the frontline, she was ready. Read her book and be inspired!
1 author picked Yashka My Life as Peasant, Officer and Exile as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.
This book tells the extraordinary story of Maria Botchkareva “Yashka”, a peasant girl grown up in Siberia, who at the outbreak of First World War asked and obtained to enlist in the Russian army: not to be one of the many Red Cross nurses, but to be a soldier and fight.Yashka fought and distinguished herself at the forefront, so that after the revolution of March 1917 the provisional government of Kerensky allowed her to organize a women combat unit that was talked about by the press around the whole world, and that was submitted to massacre on the battlefield of…
- Coming soon!