Routledge Library Editions: Early Western Responses to Soviet Russia

Originally published between 1927 and 1933 the 15 volumes in this set cover the whole ground of the Revolution, the early history of Bolshevism and the state of Russia in the late 1920s and early 1930s. They present a broad panorama in which real problems are set against an historical background, examining life under Bolshevism, discussing the limitations in practice of Bolshevist politics, the reality of the Soviet elections of the early 1920s and the growing influence of the Communist Party.

Many of the books focus on aspects which the authors feel are of particular significance to Western readers and many, such as the volume covering the Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1919, show what many people in Western Europe were unaware of at the time: namely that one of the main prinicples behind the Bolshevist system was brutal force. Some of the volumes cover the Five-Year Plan in relation to industry, agriculture, labour, banking and the budget, but legal, political and sociological aspects of the country are also covered.

Importantly, the direction US foreign policy should take in relation to Russia is also discussed – something which clearly has an enduring relevance today, some 70 years after these books were first published.