Shlapentokh D. The Counter-Revolution in Revolution: Images of Thermidor and Napoleon at the Time of the Russian Revolution and Civil War

New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 1999. — 183 p. — ISBN10: 0333669142; ISBN13: 978-0333669143.The collapse of the imperial regime excited Russian intellectuals of all political persuasions. Although eager to draw comparisons between pre-revolutionary Russia and revolutionary France, the political elite saw the outcome in their own country as vastly different to the events which had occurred in France. Looking to the past they tried to predict the future - how their revolution would end. As the political situation became more unstable, there was increasing fear of dictatorship and bloodshed. The perception of Napoleon as a victorious general changed; he was seen instead as a powerful man who had brought stability to France. Thus came the search for a Russian Napoleon - first in the form of Alexander Kerensky, and later General Lavr Kornilov. Neither man was a successful candidate. Shlapentokh examines one of the most dramatic periods in European history. Drawing comparisons between revolutionary Russia and France he provides an insightful and original analysis of such subjects as counter-revolution, terror and dictatorship.Note on Sources
The French Revolution in Modern Russian and Western Thought
An Alternativist Reading of History: Theoretical Justification
On the Road to Brumaire: Napoleon's Ghost Haunts the Provisional Government
Kerensky as Napoleon (April-June 1917)
The Summer Crisis and the Anticipation of a Real Napoleon
Kornilov as a Real Napoleon (August 1917)
Brumaire or 1793: the Open Question
Thermidor and Napoleon as the Outcome of Bolshevik Rule
A Degenerate Napoleon as son of Degenerate Jacobins
Change of Landmark Movement: the Bolsheviks not as Patriotic Jacobins