The Counter-Revolution in Revolution : Images of Thermidor and Napoleon at the Time of the Russian Revolution and Civil War

my Jewish grandmother, Raisa Alievskaia, who prayed for me. The collapse of the imperial regime excited Russian intellectuals of all political persuasions. Although eager to draw comparisons between pre-revolutionary Russia and revolutionary France, the political elite saw the outcome in their own country as vastly different to the events which had occurred in France. Looking to the past they tried to predict the future - how their revolution would end. As the political situation became more unstable, there was increasing fear of dictatorship and bloodshed. The perception of Napoleon as a victorious general changed; he was seen instead as a powerful man who had brought stability to France. Thus came the search for a Russian Napoleon - first in the form of Alexander Kerensky, and later General Lavr Kornilov. Neither man was a successful candidate. Shlapentokh examines one of the most dramatic periods in European history. Drawing comparisons between revolutionary Russia and France he provides an insightful and original analysis of such subjects as counter-revolution, terror and dictatorship. Front Matter....Pages i-viii Introduction....Pages 1-4 A Note on Sources....Pages 5-7 The French Revolution in Modern Russian and Western Thought....Pages 8-14 An Alternativist Reading of History: Theoretical Justification....Pages 15-25 On the Road to Brumaire: Napoleon’s Ghost Haunts the Provisional Government....Pages 26-36 Kerensky as Napoleon (April-June 1917)....Pages 37-47 The Summer Crisis and the Anticipation of a Real Napoleon....Pages 48-60 Kornilov as a Real Napoleon (August 1917)....Pages 61-78 Brumaire or 1793: the Open Question....Pages 79-93 Thermidor and Napoleon as the Outcome of Bolshevik Rule....Pages 94-130 A Degenerate Napoleon as son of Degenerate Jacobins....Pages 131-146 Change of Landmark Movement: the Bolsheviks not as Patriotic Jacobins....Pages 147-159 Conclusion....Pages 160-167 Back Matter....Pages 168-183