The shortest history of the Soviet Union. Fitzpatrick Sh.

In 1917, the Bolsheviks came to power in the exhausted First World War of the Russian Empire contrary to all forecasts, including their own. In 1991, after approximately the average duration of human life, the Soviet Union collapsed as accidentally as it was born. The decades between these two events have contained the tragedies of incredible scale - the chaos of the post -revolutionary years, hunger and terror, which had a heavily gained victory in the most devastating war in the history of mankind and the global geopolitical conflict, but all these tragedies were inextricably intended with the dream to build the best society.

The famous historian Sheila Fizpatrick compiled the most capacious chronicle of the Soviet era - its beginning, heyday and unexpected completion, as well as its posthumous existence in today's Russia. This book is a living and reliable story about the difficult history of the USSR, strewn with bright details, unexpected angles and witty remarks.

First of all, Fitzpatrick clearly shows many paradoxes of the Soviet experiment. The ideology, which claimed that it gives a person power over history, itself could not cope with unforeseen circumstances. The state who considers itself internationalist and anti-imperialist gave rise to many national folks. In the end, the idea of ​​radical overcoming social inequality and economic injustice gave rise to a country that was surprisingly normal.