Drawing on newly available Russian sources--many of which appear in English for the first time here--this volume covers a broad array of topics, including the Bolshevik rise to power and World War I as the catalyst and cradle, respectively, of the Revolution. The authors convey the boldness and diversity of the revolutionaries' aspirations as well as the ways in which the Revolution affected the lives of ordinary people, from the workers of Petrograd to Siberian peasants and Ukrainian Jews.

Maps, illustrations, and a glossary of terms are included, as are a chronology of the Revolution, a list of works cited, and a thorough index.