Kronika. RUSIA. Revoluție și Război Civil 1917–1921.

Antony Beevor traces Russia’s revolution and civil war. He covers the years from 1917 to 1921. He follows the fall of rule by the tsars. Years of war came next. The war changed Eastern Europe. It shaped much of the next century too.

This history tells a story of the early Soviet years. It gives readers a way into that time. It starts with the Volunteer Army. Armed groups rose to fight the Bolsheviks. The White side brought together those with quite different views. Some were moderate socialists. Others backed rule by a king or queen. They fought Trotsky’s Red Army and Lenin’s communist dictatorship. Beevor shows how hopes for change led to rival wars. Each side used terror. Men, women and children all suffered harm.

Other powers joined the fight, making it a proxy war. They used forces there to wage their own struggles. Churchill sent troops and arms from the British Empire. Forces from America, France and Italy took part too. Japan, Poland and Czechoslovakia also sent people to fight.

Beevor uses new research and records no one had used before. These include records from Russian archives. He tells of the wider war through those who lived through it. We hear from workers in Petrograd and officers who led mounted troops. We also hear from doctors in makeshift hospitals. Their stories link leaders and battles to the war’s human cost.

Beevor has served as president of the Society of Authors. He holds honorary doctorates. He teaches at Kent as an associate professor. He is an honorary fellow of King’s College, London. He received a knighthood in 2017. His books have come out in 34 languages. They have sold 8.5 million copies. For this Kronika edition, Petru Iamandi translated the text from English.