Impossible: The Russian Revolution 1917 — 1921

Facilitator: Christine Hays

Contact information: (970) 237-9340,

haysmith1980@gmail.com

Class length: 2 hours, Mondays

Class time: 1:30-3:30 pm

Class duration: 4 weeks, Oct 12 -Nov 2

Place: Foxtail 2, 9/2 in Lupine

Number of participants: 20

Required Text: None

Presentations: None required. This is a discussion-based class and participation is always voluntary.

Course Description:

No one expected the first communist government to arise in Russia. Russia was still a feudal society only “freeing” the serfs in 1861. Its industrial growth lagged behind powerful and fully industrialized European nations. Ninety percent of the Russian people were illiterate agricultural workers and living and working under horrifying conditions. Russians were the only “European” populace that still believed their monarchy was divinely chosen. The Russian Orthodox Church underscored this idea at each religious occasion. Karl Marx himself never predicted his theories of communal government would develop in Russia. So, how in the world did a small group of communists (Bolsheviks) manage to win a revolution, the following civil war, and establish the Soviet Union? Join us to find out! It is a fascinating story.