March 1917

Viac o knihe

The Red Wheel is Nobel Prize-winner Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's multivolume epic about the Russian Revolution, focusing on four pivotal periods, or "nodes." This translation presents the monumental March 1917—the third node—depicting the revolution's chaos as the Imperial government collapses under mob pressure, while opposition leaders struggle to steer events. Book 2, set during March 13-15, 1917, captures the revolution's second week in Petrograd, where news spreads rapidly through the telegraph system. Amidst wartime, the army holds real power. Following Emperor Nikolai II's orders, troops are dispatched to quell the uprising, but victory speeches resonate from the Tauride Palace. Two competing authorities emerge: the Provisional Government and the Executive Committee of the Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies, which issues "Order No. 1," signaling the army's impending disintegration. The troops sent to suppress the revolution are halted by their own commanders. Ultimately, the Emperor is detained and abdicates, while his ministers face imprisonment. This sweeping historical narrative is essential for Solzhenitsyn's admirers and those intrigued by twentieth-century, Russian, and military history.