"Since the fall of Soviet Russia, there has been much reflection on the significance of the Russian Revolution, a desperate time in the country's history that paved the way for the horrors of Stalin's regime. Now historian S. A. Smith uses new sources and archives to examine the events of 1917 to 1936 and how they impacted Russian society. Smith examines not only the political chaos, but also the massive economic, social, and cultural changes that were also occurring."--P. [4] of cover.