U. S. S. R.: A Concise History

by Basil Dmytryshyn

Book Overview

Traces the history of Israel from the earliest settlements in Canaan to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. and looks at the social, political, economic, and religious conditions during Old... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0023304308
• ISBN13: 9780023304309
• Release Date: January 1984
• Publisher: Prentice Hall
• Length: 697 Pages
• Weight: 2.15 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A Concise History of the Mega Police State and Concentration Camp Empire

Basil Dmytryshyn (BD for the sake of convenience) wrote this book which was copyrighted in 1965. The book a succinct precis of the rapid rise of the Bolsheviks (the Commnuinsts)during the latter years of W.W. I. BD produced useful guides and maps which assist readers to have a clearer understanding of the USSR. BD began this book with an interesting summary of Russian geography/geology and description of Russian climate zones. Based on these well written descriptions, readers can understand that Russia has the most varied geography and climate of the world. The photoplates in this section of the book help explain Russia's geography and climate. BD immediately made a quick trasnition to the Bolshevik Russian Revolution. His descriptions of the catastrophic Russian performance in W.W. I left little wonder why there there was a revolution. Food shortages among the troops and civilians plus workers' strikes in munitions factories obviously hampered the war effort. The incompetence and corrpution of the regime of Czar Nicholus(1894-1917) & co. were fully exposed, and the Czar abdicated. Eventually a Provisional Government under the leadership of Alexander Kerensky (1881-1970)made the fatal blunder of keeping the Russians in the war. When Lenin (187-1924), Trotsky (1888-1940) & co. got power, they immediately centralized all power into the hands of the Russian government and Communist Party and immediately started a police state and terror. As readers may know the Bolshevik seizure of power was followed by a civil war (1918-1922) between the Communists (the Reds) and their foes-the Whites. BD carefully explained why the Whites lost. They were on the periphery of Russia where there was a large non-Russian population. The Whites had bad transportation networks and lack of coordination. As contradictory as this may seem, the "allies" who supported the Whites gave the Reds the reputation of defending Russian and the Revolution from foreign invaders. In other words, "allied" help from the US, Great Britian, Japan, the Czechs, etc. unified the Russians regardless what they may have thought of the Bolsheviks. The "allies" themselves did not have a clear understanding of Russian conditions, and there were reports of the Whites fighting against their "allies" An interesting anecdote occured when a US journalist reminded a White commander that Bolsheviks were a bunch of "so and so's." The White agreed that the Bolsheviks were a bunch of so and so' but they were at least our (Russian) so and so's. BD then continued this study with a section on the "Regimented 30s. The rise of the Terror State, begun by Lenin, grew rapidly. The imposed famine on the Ukrainians and the purge trials after the Kirov assassination (1934) led to the concentration camp empire in Siberia. Some estimates are that 20 million people disappeared during this time. The purge reached to the lieutenent rank of the Soviet army. Innocent men and women were arrested and sent to Siberian con