This popular, concise and highly readable study discusses the key themes and debates about the Russian Revolution. Robert Service's lively analysis examines:
• state and society under the Romanovs from 1900
• the February and October Revolutions of 1917
• the final years of the Romanov dynasty and the start of the Soviet order
• comparisons with political, social and economic trends elsewhere in the world
• the extent to which the later development of the USSR was conditioned by the October Revolution.

Clear and incisive, the fourth edition has been thoroughly revised and updated in the light of the latest research and features a new scene-setting Introduction and maps. Service's text remains the essential starting point for anyone studying this tumultuous period in the history of Russia and the world in the twentieth century.

'Ideally suited to undergraduate courses and to anyone interested in a brief, readable and balanced introduction to the Russian revolution.' - Professor Andrew August, Penn State University, USA

Editors' Preface
Cartoons and Maps
Preface
Introduction
Unstable Structure, 1900-1914
Demolition, 1915-1917
Experimental Construction, 1917-1927
Conclusions
Select Bibliography
Chronology of Events
Index

ROBERT SERVICE is Professor of Russian History at St Anthony's College, Oxford, UK.