Russia's 20th Century

<p><b>Shortlisted for the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing 2020</b> <p/>Michael Khodarkovsky's innovative exploration of Russia's 20th century through 100 carefully selected vignettes that span the century offers a fascinating prism through which to view Russian history. Each chosen microhistory focuses on one particular event or individual that allows you to understand Russia not in abstract terms but in real events in the lives of ordinary people. <i>Russia's 20th Century</i> covers a broad range of topics including the economy culture politics ideology law and society. This introduction provides a vital background and engaging analysis of Russia's path through a turbulent 20th century. <p/>A representative sample of chapters in the book includes: <p/>1902: Peasants<br>1903: The Pogrom<br>1906: The Tsar's Speech<br>1908: Church<br>1910: Tolstoy's Death<br>1913: The Romanovs<br>1916: Rasputin<br>1922: USSR<br>1927: Orphans into Communists<br>1931: Palace of the Soviets <br>1935: Manufacturing Heroes<br>1939: Hitler's Ally<br>1941: Moscow on the Brink <br>1945: Rape of Germany<br>1949: Atomic Project<br>1954: Nuclear War Exercise Snowball<br>1955: Empire of Nations<br>1960: Virgin Lands <br>1969: The Soviet Dr. Seuss <br>1971: The Soviet Bob Dylan <br>1972: Nixon in Moscow and Kiev<br>1977: USSR Less than a Sum of its Parts <br>1980: Moscow Olympic Games<br>1984: Iron Maiden Behind the Iron Curtain<br>1985: Vodka <br>1990: Soviet Nationalisms and Ethnic Wars<br>1997: Russian Fascism<br>1998: Return of the KGB <p/>The historical mosaic of <i>Russia's 20th Century</i> provides a unique examination of modern Russian history one snapshot at a time prompting us to reflect on a larger picture of Russia's past and its place in the world today.</p>