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Quote by Sheila Fitzpatrick

“Conspiracy theories explaining the Bolshevik victory gained widespread credence: the most popular of these was that of international Jewish conspiracy, since Trotsky, Zinoviev, and a number of other Bolshevik leaders were Jewish; but another theory, revived in Solzhenitsyn's Lenin in Zurich, pictured the Bolsheviks as pawns of the Germans in a successful plot to take Russia out of the war. (...) the attitudes that enabled such theories to flourish may also have influenced Western scholarly approaches to the problem.”

Book:The Russian Revolution 1917-1932

Work

The Russian Revolution 1917-1932

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Author

Sheila Fitzpatrick

Sheila Fitzpatrick (born June 4, 1941) is an Australian-born historian and one of the world's leading scholars of Soviet history. She served as a professor at the University of Chicago for decades and is renowned for her influential works on the Russian Revolution, Stalinism, and Soviet society. Her books, including "The Russian Revolution" and "Everyday Stalinism," have become essential readings in the field. Fitzpatrick's research is distinguished by its rigorous archival work and innovative social history approach. more

“It may well be that the Bolsheviks' greatest strength in 1917 was not strict party organization and discipline (which scarcely existed at this time) but rather the party's stance of intransigent radicalism on the extreme left of the political spectrum. While other socialist and liberal groups jostled for position in the Provisional Government and Petrograd Soviet, the Bolsheviks refused to be co-opted and denounced the politics of coalition and compromise. While other formerly radical politicians called for restraint and responsible, statesmanlike leadership, the Bolsheviks stayed out on the streets with the irresponsible and belligerent revolutionary crowd. As the 'dual power' structure disintegrated, discrediting the coalition parties represented in the Provisional Government and Petrograd Soviet leadership, only the Bolsheviks were in a position to benefit. Among the socialist parties, only the Bolsheviks had overcome Marxist scruples, caught the mood of the crowd, and declared their willingness to seize power in the name of the proletarian revolution.”

Bolsheviks October Revolution

Book:The Russian Revolution 1917-1932

Source: The Russian Revolution 1917-1932

“But the powerful and respected party right, particularly Stalin, went so far in the direction of moderation as to support a merger of Bolsheviks and Mensheviks - the proposal of Irakli Tsereteli, the outstanding Menshevik intellect and orator, recently returned from Siberian exile and now in charge of the Petrograd Soviet.”

Russia Stalin October Revolution Tsereteli

Book:October: The Story of the Russian Revolution

Source: October: The Story of the Russian Revolution

“The early days of revolution were remarkable for how submerged and scattered that hard right was. Most of its high-profile figures had left the country or been arrested after February. Only the erratic Purishkevich remained at large, more or less powerless, tolerated and toothless. The political integument of Petrograd in particular had lurched leftward, repositioning radicals as moderates and moderates as right-wingers. In those days everyone was, or claimed to be, a socialist. No one wanted to be bourgeois.”

Russia October Revolution

Book:October: The Story of the Russian Revolution

Source: October: The Story of the Russian Revolution