Peace In Their Time

The last days of the Provisional Government ticked by amidst plotting and feuding that would do its memory no favors. It also didn't do it any favors in the moment either, as the chaos swung vital public support towards the Bolsheviks. As October dawned, everything started coming together for the big revolution they had been dreaming of. 

Bibliography for this episode: 

1. Hosking, Geoffrey Russia and the Russians: A History The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press 2001

Questions? Comments? Email me at [email protected]

Losing one major war was survivable for Imperial Russia, but damage done by WWI both militarily and socially proved too much. The Tsar would fall in 1917, but he clung to power long enough that the damage he had caused Russia would be too great for its succeeding government to deal with. 

Bibliography for this episode: 

1. Hosking, Geoffrey Russia and the Russians: A History The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press 2001

Questions? Comments? Email me at [email protected]

The dam starts to break for Imperial Russia as it embarked on a terribly ill-advised war on the extreme edge of its empire. Long story short, it didn't go well and all the pressures that had been building for decades broke out in a frenzy of protest and violence. 

Bibliography for this episode: 

1. Hosking, Geoffrey Russia and the Russians: A History The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press 2001

Questions? Comments? Email me at [email protected]

Last week I covered some of the major fixtures of the old Russia, and this week I go over their counterparts in the Russia to come. Many were not destined to last much longer than the autocracy itself, but all would have some influence on the revolutions that would lead to the USSR's formation. 

Bibliography for this episode: 

1. Hosking, Geoffrey Russia and the Russians: A History The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press 2001

Questions? Comments? Email me at [email protected]

A memorable revolution needs a cartoonishly unsympathetic adversary, and the Communists had that in the autocracy that ruled Russia up to 1917. Today I cover some of the big institutions and figures whose mismanagement made Russia such fertile ground for revolution and the establishment of a new kind of state. 

Bibliography for this episode: 

1. Hosking, Geoffrey Russia and the Russians: A History The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press 2001

Questions? Comments? Email me at [email protected]

Fresh new miniseries this week as I get started on unpacking the Soviet Union's early years. But as you're probably familiar with by now, a topic that big deserves some setup, and today I begin a way-too-fast overview of the conditions in the Russian Empire leading up to the early 1900s. In short, the place was a mess and it turns out that an out-of-touch autocracy wasn't the best institution to fix it. 

Bibliography for this episode: 

1. Hosking, Geoffrey Russia and the Russians: A History The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press 2001

Questions? Comments? Email me at [email protected]

Today we wrap up this season's coverage on China with the early life of its eventual leader, Mao Zedong. His early years were dominated by intellectualism, but for the longest time he cast about for the proper cause to believe in. It was only after witnessing the escalating disasters that befell the nation that he came to accept Marxism, but once done he became its committed champion. 

Bibliography for this episode: 

1. Short, Philip Mao, A Life Henry Holdt and Company LLC 1999

Questions? Comments? Email me at [email protected]

It's the return of biography episodes today and first on deck is Sun Yat-sen's unlikely successor, Chiang Kai-shek. I say unlikely because for most of his early life Chiang was a fairly anonymous foot-soldier for a failing political movement. It was only after Sun enjoyed some lucky breaks that Chiang was eventually handed the responsibility of shaping what would become the most powerful army in China. And having that army made up for a lot of Chiang's deficiencies as a leader. 

Bibliography for this episode: 

1. Taylor, Jay The Generalissimo: Chiang Kai-shek and the Struggle for Modern China Harvard University Press 2011

Questions? Comments? Email me at [email protected]

Going back to the KMT this week, the party and NRA found themselves somewhat at a loss on how to move forward without Chiang Kai-shek. Militarily they were holding it together, but politically were splintering again. With Wang Jingwei not providing the leadership needed, it was eventually decided for Chiang to return to command. More powerful than ever, Chiang took charge of the Nationalists to conclude the Northern Expedition once and for all. 

Bibliography for this episode: 

1. Fairbank, John K & Denis Twitchett The Cambridge History of China, Volume 12: Republican China 1912-1949, Part 1 Cambridge University Press 1983

Questions? Comments? Email me at [email protected]

The CPC found itself hunted and on the run after the whole "getting purged" thing went down with the KMT. Survival was the order of the day, and only in limited instances were the Communists able to even make their presence felt. And even in their reduced state there were still inter-party squabbles. But the trials they endured would eventually pay off as the KMT's nemesis refused to give up their revolutionary dreams. 

1. Fairbank, John K & Denis Twitchett The Cambridge History of China, Volume 12: Republican China 1912-1949, Part 1 Cambridge University Press 1983

Questions? Comments? Email me at [email protected]