The Era of Wars and Revolutions in the New Work of a Russian Historian

Шубин А. В. Мировая революционная волна (1918–1923 гг.). Отлив. – М.: Академический проект, 2025. – 509 с. – ISBN: 978-5-8291-4355-8.

Abstract

This article reviews a new monograph by A. V. Shubin, which represents a logical continuation of his previous work, The World Revolutionary Wave (1918–1923): The Tide. The author focuses on the waning of the revolutionary process that engulfed the former Russian Empire, several European countries, and the colonial and semi-colonial lands of Asia following World War I, which resulted in the collapse of four empires (the Russian, German, Austro-Hungarian, and Ottoman). The work examines the debates within the Bolshevik Party regarding ways to deepen the revolution. A separate chapter is devoted to peasant movements across the territories of the collapsed Russian Empire (including the Makhnovshchina in Left-Bank Ukraine) and their program demands, which conflicted with both the goals of the White movement and the Bolsheviks’ agrarian policy during the years of “War Communism.” The author also touches upon the resolution of the national question in the vast territories inherited from the Russian Empire, including its western borderlands. He concludes that the implemented model of the formation of the USSR not only frozen the clash of national projects but also redirected national aspirations toward overall modernization. The reviewer pays particular attention to the monograph’s coverage of the fading revolutionary process in the Balkan region.

Received: 14.12.2025.

Citation
Stykalin A. S. The Era of Wars and Revolutions in the New Work of a Russian Historian // Slavic Almanac. 2026. No 1–2. P. 486–498 (in Russian). DOI: 10.31168/2073-5731.2026.1-2.27