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C Varenhorst

Russian History Timeline: 4 years of growth and evolution

July 5, 2013

Now in its fourth year, the Timeline of the Russian Revolution is used every spring in Professor Elizabeth Wood's Russian History course for student research and scholarship.

The timeline has evolved in design and focus to reveal multiple layers of analysis of the tumultuous year of 1917. Starting with undisputed 'canonical' events, proceeding to the perspectives of various stakeholders such as workers, soldiers, activists and peasants, and ending with personal reflections of individuals living through the revolution, a visitor to the timeline can explore differing perspectives of the same event or group of events. Each entry on the timeline focuses on a primary document related to a date in 1917. For canonical events, the documents are communications, edicts and proclamations. For stakeholders such as soldiers, workers , etc., the documents are similar to conanical events but also include articles in the press. For individuals living through the revolution, the documents are journal entries, personal letters or other reflections.

Each document in the timeline is analysed by a student scholar and presented on the web interface with a summary description of the event as well as pointers leading to related secondary sources.

Over 50 students have researched and contributed to the timeline since 2010. Recently the 2013 cohort has begun to use the research of earlier students for material in their scholarly work. Thus, as the timeline grows it becomes both a resource for research as well as a repository for new scholarship. 

Please visit the Russian Revolution timeline and website.

 

 

 

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