1917 : Year that Changed the World

A dramatic account of a year of two revolutions in Russia, told through extracts from contemporary diaries, letters and memoirs and illustrated with many previously unpublished photographs.

1917: The Year that Changed the World is a dramatic and compelling account of Russia's revolutionary year as told by those who lived through it (not just in Russia). The book consists entirely of primary sources, taken from letters, memoirs, diaries and other documents of the period, accompanied by remarkable images, many previously not published. The team of journalists and experts behind Project 1917 has scoured archives, libraries and storerooms for texts, photographs and videos which are presented in a way that brings the reader as close as possible to the lives and events of that extraordinary year.

The story is told through several chapters that reveal the ebb and flow of events and opinions over the year, from increasing disillusionment with the monarchy to revolutionary fervour after the abdication of Nicholas II, then the gradual 'unravelling' of the Provisional Government, and eventually the 'Great October' that brought the Bolsheviks to power.

There were many who thought that Russia's second revolution would also be short-lived, but it was the decisive moment in a year that influenced the entire course of the twentieth century, as this book vividly demonstrates.

About the Author

Mikhail Zygar, founder and director of Project1917, is a Russian journalist and former editor-in-chief of the only independent TV station in Russian, TV Rain (Dozhd). His most recent book is All the Kremlin's Men: Inside the Court of Vladimir Putin (Perseus, 2016).