Commissioned Book Review: Anuradha M Chenoy and A Upadhyay, Hundred Years of the Russian Revolution
| Author | Pranveer Bharti |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/14789299221119094 |
| Published date | 01 February 2023 |
| Date | 01 February 2023 |
| Subject Matter | Commissioned Book Review |
Political Studies Review
2023, Vol. 21(1) NP19 –NP20
journals.sagepub.com/home/psrev
Commissioned Book Review
1119094PSW0010.1177/14789299221119094Political Studies ReviewCommissioned Book Review
book-review2022
Commissioned Book Review
Hundred Years of the Russian Revolution
edited by Anuradha M Chenoy and A
Upadhyay. Gateway East: Palgrave Macmillan,
2021, 307 pp., £119.99, ISBN 9789813347847
In the history of revolutions, the Russian revolu-
tion had a far-fetching impact on the working-
class Russian population and across geographical
boundaries. There has been renewed attempt to
postulate the enduring influence of the Russian
revolution in its completion of the centenary
year. While scholarly works discuss the achieve-
ment and failure of the Russian revolution today,
there has been relatively little work to commem-
orate its completion of 100 years.
‘Hundred Years of Russian Revolution’,
edited by Anuradha M Chenoy and Archana
Upadhyay, contains 17 chapters categorised
broadly into four themes which touch upon per-
sisting legacies, transformation, inherited mem-
ories and revolutionary legacies in the foreign
policy of contemporary Russia. Although we
discuss some critical shortcomings of the book
below, it gives remarkable insights into how the
revolution changed history worldwide and
started an anti-imperialist, anti-capitalist, self-
deterministic and nationalist movement in the
Global South.
Based on the historical analysis and long-
range literature review, the authors examine
the contributions of the Russian Revolution
through different themes. First, with their
impressive understanding, the authors offer
that even though the Russian revolution under
the leadership of Lenin ignited the violent and
disruptive social order, it laid out standards of a
distinct way of thinking of a ‘Common Man’.
Furthermore, it discusses how revolution influ-
enced the people by extensively promoting the
consciousness of national self-determin ation
among the oppressed nationalities outside its
geo-political and geographical limits. The most
compelling part of this analysis was the circu-
lation of ideas and information; the political
theorisation and interpretation of the Marxist
formula reached the Third world, particularly
India impacting the nationalist leaders and Left
parties. Marxist-Leninist analysis, such as the
Non-Capitalist Path of Development, played a
crucial role in developing Asian and Third
World countries.
Then the authors proceed to the next theme
exploring the questions of religion, culture and
women empowerment in the post-revolution
era, demonstrating the historical importance
of the early years of diplomatic engagement
between India and Russia. As they offer the his-
torical evidence of cultural and religious iden-
tity, they conclude that religious policy during
the Tsarist era evolved over the period. Even
though Byzantine Orthodox Christianity had a
predominant influence on Russia’s statehood,
by the time it incorporated Muslims, Buddhists,
Judaism, Catholicism and Protestantism in pol-
icy regulations. However, the spiritual devel-
opment in the post-revolution phase remained
under the criticism of Revolutionary intelli-
gentsia, including Bolsheviks. Using the legal
and literary documents, they conclude that, in
Tsarist Russia, women’s conditions remained
as silent enslaved people in the absence of
rights and freedom. After October Revolution,
their situation in society changed drastically
with the help of the Soviet reform in the eco-
nomic, educational and social spheres in Russia
and Central Asia.
Furthermore, the authors explore the Russian
revolution and its inherited legacy of memory
politics in Belarus and Central and Eastern
Europe. By looking at the commemoration of
November 7 as a National Day, which acquired
status as the ‘Day of the Proletarian Revolution’
during Soviet days, the authors look at how its
meaning changed from ideologically empower-
ing the Soviets to manifesting a day in history.
Finally, to explore the Soviet legacies in
Russian foreign policy, the authors have pro-
vided an overview of the persistent ideological,
cultural and institutional heritage of past and
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