[close] From the Bolshevik revolution in 1917 to the collapse of communism in 1991, from Lenin to Yeltsin, the history of Russia in the 20th century is a complex, tumultuous story of social, geographic, and political upheaval. Robert Service, a professor at the University of London's School of Slavonic and Eastern European studies, closely looks at this period in A History of Twentieth-Century Russia. Starting with the armed revolution between 1918 and 1921, Service examines the influence of Leninist philosophy on the Bolshevik movement, while at the same time analyzing the complex social dynamics taking place in the background. His intention is to understand the ingredients of "The Soviet Compound"--the synthesis of social and political Leninist techniques--and how it perpetuated the Soviet state for more than half a century.

Service is also keen to debunk the theory that it was merely fear and intimidation that explains the endurance of the state. He cites welfare reforms, education, and significant economic progress as a unifying force that brought a share of betterment into Russian society. Students of Russian history will find this book informative and surprisingly powerful, in particular, Service's narrative on the causes of the Soviet collapse, which he believes Gorbachev's radical social reforms brought about by inadvertently opening the door for dramatic change to take place. --Jeremy Storey