What do you think?
Rate this book
The Crisis in Russia
This edition of The Crisis in Russia 1920 by Arthur Ransome is given by Ashed Phoenix - Million Book Edition
58 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1920
About the author
Arthur Ransome
312 books282 followersArthur Michell Ransome (January 18, 1884 – June 3, 1967) was an English author and journalist. He was educated in Windermere and Rugby.
In 1902, Ransome abandoned a chemistry degree to become a publisher's office boy in London. He used this precarious existence to practice writing, producing several minor works before Bohemia in London (1907), a study of London's artistic scene and his first significant book.
An interest in folklore, together with a desire to escape an unhappy first marriage, led Ransome to St. Petersburg, where he was ideally placed to observe and report on the Russian Revolution. He knew many of the leading Bolsheviks, including Lenin, Radek, Trotsky and the latter's secretary, Evgenia Shvelpina. These contacts led to persistent but unproven accusations that he "spied" for both the Bolsheviks and Britain.
Ransome married Evgenia and returned to England in 1924. Settling in the Lake District, he spent the late 1920s as a foreign correspondent and highly-respected angling columnist for the Manchester Guardian, before settling down to write Swallows and Amazons and its successors.
Today Ransome is best known for his Swallows and Amazons series of novels, (1931 - 1947). All remain in print and have been widely translated.
Arthur Ransome died in June 1967 and is buried at Rusland in the Lake District.
In 1902, Ransome abandoned a chemistry degree to become a publisher's office boy in London. He used this precarious existence to practice writing, producing several minor works before Bohemia in London (1907), a study of London's artistic scene and his first significant book.
An interest in folklore, together with a desire to escape an unhappy first marriage, led Ransome to St. Petersburg, where he was ideally placed to observe and report on the Russian Revolution. He knew many of the leading Bolsheviks, including Lenin, Radek, Trotsky and the latter's secretary, Evgenia Shvelpina. These contacts led to persistent but unproven accusations that he "spied" for both the Bolsheviks and Britain.
Ransome married Evgenia and returned to England in 1924. Settling in the Lake District, he spent the late 1920s as a foreign correspondent and highly-respected angling columnist for the Manchester Guardian, before settling down to write Swallows and Amazons and its successors.
Today Ransome is best known for his Swallows and Amazons series of novels, (1931 - 1947). All remain in print and have been widely translated.
Arthur Ransome died in June 1967 and is buried at Rusland in the Lake District.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
November 16, 2014
Arthur Ransome wrote three reports on Russia; this one in 1920 was the third. It is a lucid and clear-sighted account of the problems facing Russia at the time and of the way the Communist state functioned.
The problems of lack of manpower, infrastructure and raw materials, and low industrial production were caused by the First World War and the blockade during and after it, then exacerbated by the chaotic internal situation. These were slowly being addressed by meetings and discussions to obtain a consensus on action, "Saturdayings" by the more enthusiastic workers, propaganda and eventually industrial conscription. Ransome could see the difficulties, but retained a certain optimism about the future. His account of how the Russian state functioned is fascinating.
(This promising situation did not last long. The crisis was eventually 'solved' by Stalin, who did not encourage discussion and achieved consensus by removing all his opponents. It is possible that without threats from outside Russia / USSR Stalin's dictatorship would not have happened.)
The problems of lack of manpower, infrastructure and raw materials, and low industrial production were caused by the First World War and the blockade during and after it, then exacerbated by the chaotic internal situation. These were slowly being addressed by meetings and discussions to obtain a consensus on action, "Saturdayings" by the more enthusiastic workers, propaganda and eventually industrial conscription. Ransome could see the difficulties, but retained a certain optimism about the future. His account of how the Russian state functioned is fascinating.
(This promising situation did not last long. The crisis was eventually 'solved' by Stalin, who did not encourage discussion and achieved consensus by removing all his opponents. It is possible that without threats from outside Russia / USSR Stalin's dictatorship would not have happened.)
Displaying 1 of 1 review