Focusing on the career of the Soviet historian M.N. Pokrovskii, the author examines the evolution of historical writing in the first decade of Soviet rule. As Deputy People's Commissar for Education, Pokrovskii was among those who established the academic institutions of the new regime. The study of Pokrovskii's writings and the political context in which they were conceived helps explain the origin of interpretations of modern Russian history current in Soviet times. The book can for that reason be regarded as a preliminary to the study of the Russian revolutionary era, and a key to the critical evaluation of the historical sources for the period.
About the AuthorJames D. White is Emeritus Professor of the University of Glasgow, Scotland. He is the author of Red Hamlet: The Life and Ideas of Alexander Bogdanov (2018), Marx and Russia: The Fate of a Doctrine (2018), Lenin: The Practice and Theory of Revolution (2001), Karl Marx and the Intellectual Origins of Dialectical Materialism (1996) and The Russian Revolution 1917-1921 (1994). He has also published many articles on Russian and Soviet history.
Book InformationISBN 9789004703872
Author James D. WhiteFormat Hardback
Page Count 332
Imprint BrillPublisher Brill
Weight(grams) 699g