Russia's 20th Century

Michael Khodarkovsky's innovative exploration of Russia's 20th century, through 100 carefully selected vignettes that span the century, offers a fascinating prism through which to view Russian history. Each chosen microhistory focuses on one particular event or individual that allows you to understand Russia not in abstract terms but in real events in the lives of ordinary people. Russia's 20th Century covers a broad range of topics, including the economy, culture, politics, ideology, law and society. This introduction provides a vital background and engaging analysis of Russia's path through a turbulent 20th century.



A representative sample of chapters in the book includes:



1902: Peasants

1903: The Pogrom

1906: The Tsar's Speech

1908: Church

1910: Tolstoy's Death

1913: The Romanovs

1916: Rasputin

1922: USSR

1927: Orphans into Communists

1931: Palace of the Soviets

1935: Manufacturing Heroes

1939: Hitler's Ally

1941: Moscow on the Brink

1945: Rape of Germany

1949: Atomic Project

1954: Nuclear War Exercise "Snowball"

1955: Empire of Nations

1960: Virgin Lands

1969: The Soviet Dr. Seuss

1971: The Soviet Bob Dylan

1972: Nixon in Moscow and Kiev

1977: USSR, Less than a Sum of its Parts

1980: Moscow Olympic Games

1984: "Iron Maiden" Behind the Iron Curtain

1985: Vodka

1990: Soviet Nationalisms and Ethnic Wars

1997: Russian Fascism

1998: Return of the KGB



The historical mosaic of Russia's 20th Century provides a unique examination of modern Russian history one snapshot at a time, prompting us to reflect on a larger picture of Russia's past and its place in the world today.