This volume presents a new cultural history of the transformation of Russia to the Soviet Union. It looks at how the literature, the sciences and the arts played a key role in the emergence from a largely agrarian economy to world order. It traces the multiple revolutions that resulted in the overthrow of the Tsar’s regime during World War I; society, polity, cultural life and the economy saw major upheavals as the country went into turmoil following the War and the revolution. However, the volume highlights the continuities from the previous regime, as the communists built on the work done by their predecessors, including monarchists. Finally, the volume connects it to the larger currents in Europe and Asia at the time.

The volume will be of great interest to scholars and students of modern Europe, history, social movements, and communism. It will also find interest among general readers.

Ashoke Ranjan Thakur earned his PhD from Calcutta University and joined as a faculty in the Department of Physics in 1977. He was one of the founder members of the new Department of Biophysics Molecular Biology in 1987. His research areas included structural biology, molecular biology of anaerobic bacteria and microbial bioremediation. He took up academic administration in 2001, working in Jadavpur University and four other universities, the last three of which he was the founder Vice Chancellor. His current interest is decoloniality of knowledge.