Russia: Bolsheviks to Baristas
F05
Eileen Scully
World War I ignited a revolution in tsarist Russia, as moderate socialists seized power in the spring of 1917, only to be pushed out by the Bolsheviks. Under the leadership of Vladimir Lenin, the Bolsheviks established the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. We examine Russia ‘from tsars to commissars,’ drawing upon English-language primary and secondary sources including works of art, music, poetry, literature, and political thought. Topics include tsarist Russia, serfdom, antitsarist movements, WWI, Marxist-Leninist thought, the Bolshevik Revolution, Bolshevik culture, Lenin in power, relations with the U.S., the Communist International, Stalin in power, the gulag system, WWII, the Cold War, and Russia since then. Weekly readings of 150–200 pages; midterm exercise; two short essays; final project (medium/topic of student’s choosing; may be collaborative).