The Russian Civil War was one of the most important and complex events of the twentieth century. The collapse of the Tsarist regime and the failure of the Kerensky Provisional Government nearly led to the complete disintegration of the Russian state. This is not simply the story of that collapse and the vast panorama of rebellion and marching armies which accompanied it, but of the painful and costly reconstruction of Russian power under a Soviet regime within shrunken borders. Meticulously argued and powerfully written, this is a terrible warning of what happens when a great country implodes and collapses. The Russian Civil War shaped the mentality of the Soviet regime more than any other event in its history. The infant Soviet regime faced large 'White' armies of anti-Communist Russians, Anarchist mutineers, break-away nationalist minorities and invading armies from most of the major powers of the First World War. The murderous civil war with huge casualties left the Soviets with a lasting mistrust of the outside world that remained in force until the end of the regime 65 years later. The Russian Civil War has an extensive bibliography which has been updated to include numerous works written since the collapse of Communism.
