Changing views of the Russian Revolution

Opening up the Soviet Archives

In this podcast Dr Beryl Williams discusses how historians views of the Russian Revolution have changed over time in Russia and the West.

1. Introduction.
2. Reavaluation of Stalin, Lenin, Leninism and Marxism during the Gorbachev years.
3. Gorbachev fails to convince people of a democratic Lenin who would have encouraged Perestroika.
4. A Western historiography of the Russian revolution.
5. Western historical disputes and historical revisionists.
6. Western reactions to the opening of Soviet archives and controversy.
7. The historical focus shifts from class/the worker/the peasant to the individual and individual concerns.
8. An increasing focus on pre-revolutionary Russia: Economic, social and cultural developments before 1914 and the resilience of Tsarism.

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