Smithsonian Magazine has published an article by Ian Frazier that encapsulates the Soviet experience that began 100 years ago. Mr. Frazier is a writer, publishing articles in various publications including the New Yorker. He has spent quite a bit of time studying Russyan history of the 20th century and before. But his strengths run to his experience in the 21st century after the fall of Soviet Russya in 1989.
The current article details facts surrounding the revolution of 1917 and the end of the Romanov era. While the Great War raged to its 1918 conclusion, the Russyan Army picked up their pieces and went home to help the czar. To no avail. The Bolsheviks, by luck and violence, carried the day, and introduced the whole world to collectivization, Communism, and mass murder. The author traces the steps of many of the principal actors: Nicolas II, V. Lenin, Rasputin, and other members of socialist groups vying for power in a time of complete chaos.
The article is lengthy, but filled with nuggets of history that comport to tday's situation not only in Russya, but in Western Europe, Ukraine, (Crimea), and the U.S.A.
It is well worth the effort and will help readers understand the milieu of Mr. Putin and others from the St. Petersburg swamp.
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