Lots of historical studies of the Russian Revolution have been made in English. Here is a tiny list that should interest people attending any of the “Enchanting World” events, along with a few related literary works.

Online historical resources

• Seventeen Moments in Soviet History
  An excellent place to start learning about the Russian Revolution. Consists of short essays on important aspects of the Revolution, as well as a wonderful collection of primary sources (translated texts, images and video from the period). 

• Russia’s Great War and Revolution
  Several short and informative essays on various topics (under “Media Content”). Part of an ongoing multivolume publication project, that considers interesting aspects of Russia’s history during the First World War, 1917 Revolution, and Russian Civil War.

 

Histories

• Shiela Fitzpatrick, The Russian Revolution, 3^rd edition (Oxford, 2008).
  A classic treatment of the Revolution and the years surrounding it, and a wonderful read. 

• Stephen Kotkin, Stalin: Paradoxes of Power, 1878-1928 (Penguin, 2014).
  A sweeping history and interpretation of the entire period that situates the dramatic changes in Russia, including the 1917 Revolution, within a global context. An excellent, long, read.

• Richard Stites, Revolutionary Dreams: Utopia Vision and Experimental Life in the Russian Revolution (Oxford, 1989).
  A highly innovative study of the Revolution, which looks at popular and public demonstrations of utopian mentalities in Russia around and during the period.

 

Literature

• Boris Pasternak, Doctor Zhivago, trans. Pevear and Volokhonsky (Vintage, 2011).
  A world classic written in the 1950s, but set during the Revolution and subsequent Russian Civil War.

• George Orwell, Animal Farm (1945).
  Orwell’s famous allegory and critique of Russia’s Revolution and Stalinism. A musical theater adaptation by Sir Peter Hall will be performed in April at UH’s School of Theatre and Dance.

• Yevgeny Zamyatin, We, trans. Clarence Brown (Penguin, 1993).
  Written in 1920-21, though not published in the Soviet Union until 1989, We is a dystopian precursor to Orwell’s 1984 that explores the impulse to create a total, perfect society.

• Isaac Babel, Red Cavalry, trans. Peter Constantine (Norton, 2003).
  A masterpiece of Russian literature written in the 1920s. Consists of many short stories set during the 1919-1921 Polish-Soviet War that broke out in the aftermath of the 1917 Revolution.