The Russian Provisional Government, 1917: Documents by Robert Paul Browder; Alexander F.KerenskyReview by: Robert F. ByrnesThe American Historical Review, Vol. 68, No. 4 (Jul., 1963), pp. 1063-1064Published by: Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Historical AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1847302 .

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Russian Provisional Government, Documents I063

tional Democrats for their refusal to cooperate with the government at the time, a course he considers to have been very much in the realm of the possible. Before too long, to be sure, the government turned farther to the Right and proceeded on its path of self-destruction.

Apart from comment on a few mistakes and more numerous misprints, at least two qualifications need to be nmade. The analysis is quite explicitly political, the author refusing to consider the basic economic dilemmas of Russia. Yet such an approach almost of necessity fails to do justice to the radical and revolutionary movements and parties, for it was precisely in the larger economic and social prob- lems that they found, or tried to find, their raison d'e'tre. In addition, Walkin is often too clear cut, too sure of too many things, ranging from the "obvious" suc- cess of Stolypin's controversial reforms to the claim that: "The educational effect of the Second Duma made its dissolution unnecessary. The liberal deputies were dispersed just at the point at which they were settling down to constructive effort on major legislation." On the whole, this is a fine book to be highly recommended both to those interested specifically in its subject and to the general reader.

University of California, Berkeley NICFIOLAS V. RIASANOVSKY

THE RUSSIAN PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT, 19I7: DOCUMENTS. In three volumes. Selected and edited by Robert Paul Browder and Alexander F. Kerensky. [Hoover Institution Publications.] (Stanford, Calif.: Stanford Uni- versity Press. I96I. PP. xxx, 477; xxvi, 480-II93; xix, II96-I875. $30.00 the set.)

THE provisional government, which ruled Russia for the seven and one-half months between the March and November revolutions of I9I7, has received inadequate attention from historians or has been treated as a prelude to the Bolshevik seizure of power or as an interlude between the old regime and the new order. With these three volumes, edited by an American specialist and the leader of that provisional government for more than half of its existence, this short period becomes probably the best-documented time in all Russian history, even though insufficient attention is devoted here to the Bolsheviks.

Briefly, the editors have selected and translated fourteen hundred primary sources, most of them for the first time translated into English. The selections are excellent, the translations smooth and clear, and the scholarly introductions and notes completely adequate as summaries and guides. The editors have ranged very widely in selecting their materials, including the official administrative records of the government, laws and decrees, records of conferences and congresses, cor- respondence, pamphlets, and press reports. Very few sources are printed in full, and the average selection is only slightly more than a page in length. The first

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I o64 Reviews of Books

two volumes arrange materials topically (the collapse of the old regime, the es- tablishment of the new government, the political, economic, and social problems and decisions of that government, the war, and foreign affairs), and the third volume provides source material on the politics and political crises of the period. The editors deliberately devote less attention to the Bolsheviks than histories of the period generally do, in part because the role of the Bolsheviks was not great until fall, in part because the Bolshevik actions in 1917 have been well studied, and in part because relatively few unpublished documents are available in this country on Lenin and his party in this period.

These volumes in a sense constitute a testament of the provisional government, or perhaps, more accurately, an obituary. Nowhere has more data been published on the actions this government took on the vast problems that almost overwhelmed it during its short existence. The achievements of the provisional government in penal reform, judicial changes, municipal, uezd, and provincial government, nationality problems, police, transportation, army supply, education, public finance, and other fields are most impressive. Indeed, the mass of problems was so great and demanded such immediate attention that one can understand why the govern- ment failed utterly to solve other issues, particularly whether and how to continue fighting and how to keep dissatisfied generals under control. Indeed, the docu- ments show clearly that Kerensky and his colleagues, unprepared to rule, never had the opportunity or the sense to reflect about the policy they should adopt with regard to the war. This inability and this failure opened up the door to power for the Bolsheviks, and the documents reveal particularly clearly how the conflict be- tween the civilians and the army leaders assisted Lenin.

In some ways, these volumes are not only an obituary to the provisional govern- ment, but also a signal proof of the strength of American libraries. Most of these materials were selected from the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace, an institution that did not exist when the Kerensky government was over- thrown and that now possesses one of the most significant collections on modern Russian history in the world. This is representative of the extraordinary develop- ment of American libraries in the seventh decade of the twentieth century.

On the other hand, however useful these expensive volumes are, one wonders about the wisdom with which the editors and their assistants have lavished their time and energy. Certainly this is a rich collection that will be useful for students in particular. On the other hand, the serious scholar will not be satisfied with even splendidly selected and translated snippets from a wide range of documents. Perhaps a detailed catalogue of the Hoover Institution's holdings or of all of the holdings in this country on this period of Russian history would have been more valuable to scholars than these volumes, handsome and valuable though they are.

Indiana University ROBERT F. BYRNES

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