1905

By Leon Trotsky and Leo Trotzki

Book Overview

In January of 1905, thousands of Russian workers, led by a priest on the payroll of the Tsar himself, marched to the gates of the Winter Palace with the intention of humbly petitioning their ruler for an eight hour work day. They were met by an intransigent detachment of royal guards who opened fire, killing hundreds of demonstrators. This massacre was the spark that set off an uprising that would shake the Russian Empire to its very foundation before the year's end.

At the very center of this movement stood the newly created Soviet of Workers Deputies. Formed to coordinate the wave of mass strikes that stretched from St. Petersburg to Warsaw, this council became the de-facto voice of Russia's revolutionary workers, who chose Leon Trotsky as their elected leader.

1905 is Leon Trotsky's account of these events. With his characteristic combination of elegant, beautifully written narrative and incisive, insightful analysis, Trotsky's book--despite long being out of print--has remained the central point of reference for those looking to understand the rising of workers, peasants, and soldiers that would later become known as 'the Great Dress Rehearsal.' Originally written in 1908 for revolutionaries in and outside of Russia to better understand the dynamics and forces at play in order to better apply them to their own circumstances, this new edition reclaims these lessons for today's radicals

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 160846735X
• ISBN13: 9781608467358
• Release Date: November 2016
• Publisher: Haymarket Books
• Length: 488 Pages
• Weight: 1.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.0" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Brian Wayne Wells, Esquire, reviews "1905" by Leon Trotsky

This is a history of the 1905 revolt in St. Petersburg Russia which became the "great prologue to the revolutionary drama of 1917." The book was written by one of the leading participants in that revolt--Leon Trotsky. Unlike many of Trotsky's later writings this 1908 book covers the historical events of 1905 without regard to political considerations of the Trotsky/Stalin conflict of the 1920s. Thus we are able to enjoy free-wheeling style of writing in the book free of the guarded language and descriptions which characterizes much of his other works. With its descriptions of the economic conditions of the Russian Empire at the turn of the century, the book reminds the reader of Lenin's 1899 book--"The Development of Capitalism in Russia." When the book was brought out by Random House in 1972 and later in paperback by Vintage books it became a popular seller even in the mainstream book stores. Thus it has its place as a memorial to a different time in the United States when a spirit of unrest blew across the nation.