Peace In Their Time

Episode 79 - Autocracy on Edge

A memorable revolution needs a cartoonishly unsympathetic adversary, and the Communists had that in the autocracy that ruled Russia up to 1917. Today I cover some of the big institutions and figures whose mismanagement made Russia such fertile ground for revolution and the establishment of a new kind of state. 

 

Bibliography for this episode: 

 

1. Hosking, Geoffrey Russia and the Russians: A History The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press 2001
2. Figes, Orlando A People’s Tragedy: The Russian Revolution 1891-1917 Penguin Books 1998
3. Smith, SA Russia in Revolution: An Empire in Crisis 1890-1928 Oxford University Press 2018
4. Fitzpatrick, Sheila The Russian Revolution, 4^th Edition Oxford University Press 2017
5. Kotkin, Stephen Stalin: Paradoxes of Power 1878-1928 Penguin Books 2015

 

Questions? Comments? Email me at peaceintheirtime@gmail.com

Episode 78 - The Eastern Bear

Fresh new miniseries this week as I get started on unpacking the Soviet Union's early years. But as you're probably familiar with by now, a topic that big deserves some setup, and today I begin a way-too-fast overview of the conditions in the Russian Empire leading up to the early 1900s. In short, the place was a mess and it turns out that an out-of-touch autocracy wasn't the best institution to fix it. 

 

Bibliography for this episode: 

 

1. Hosking, Geoffrey Russia and the Russians: A History The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press 2001
2. Figes, Orlando A People’s Tragedy: The Russian Revolution 1891-1917 Penguin Books 1998
3. Smith, SA Russia in Revolution: An Empire in Crisis 1890-1928 Oxford University Press 2018
4. Fitzpatrick, Sheila The Russian Revolution, 4^th Edition Oxford University Press 2017
5. Kotkin, Stephen Stalin: Paradoxes of Power 1878-1928 Penguin Books 2015

 

Questions? Comments? Email me at peaceintheirtime@gmail.com

Episode 77 - Theory Into Practice

Today we wrap up this season's coverage on China with the early life of its eventual leader, Mao Zedong. His early years were dominated by intellectualism, but for the longest time he cast about for the proper cause to believe in. It was only after witnessing the escalating disasters that befell the nation that he came to accept Marxism, but once done he became its committed champion. 

 

Bibliography for this episode: 

 

1. Short, Philip Mao, A Life Henry Holdt and Company LLC 1999
2. Fairbannk, John K & Albert Feuerwerker The Cambridge History of China, Volume 13: Republican China 1912-1949, Part 2 Cambridge University Press 1983

 

Questions? Comments? Email me at peaceintheirtime@gmail.com

Episode 76 - The Generalissimo

It's the return of biography episodes today and first on deck is Sun Yat-sen's unlikely successor, Chiang Kai-shek. I say unlikely because for most of his early life Chiang was a fairly anonymous foot-soldier for a failing political movement. It was only after Sun enjoyed some lucky breaks that Chiang was eventually handed the responsibility of shaping what would become the most powerful army in China. And having that army made up for a lot of Chiang's deficiencies as a leader. 

 

Bibliography for this episode: 

 

1. Taylor, Jay The Generalissimo: Chiang Kai-shek and the Struggle for Modern China Harvard University Press 2011
2. Fairbannk, John K & Albert Feuerwerker The Cambridge History of China, Volume 13: Republican China 1912-1949, Part 2 Cambridge University Press 1983

 

Questions? Comments? Email me at peaceintheirtime@gmail.com

Episode 75 - The Northern Showdown

Going back to the KMT this week, the party and NRA found themselves somewhat at a loss on how to move forward without Chiang Kai-shek. Militarily they were holding it together, but politically were splintering again. With Wang Jingwei not providing the leadership needed, it was eventually decided for Chiang to return to command. More powerful than ever, Chiang took charge of the Nationalists to conclude the Northern Expedition once and for all. 

 

Bibliography for this episode: 

 

1. Fairbank, John K & Denis Twitchett The Cambridge History of China, Volume 12: Republican China 1912-1949, Part 1 Cambridge University Press 1983
2. Fairbannk, John K & Albert Feuerwerker The Cambridge History of China, Volume 13: Republican China 1912-1949, Part 2 Cambridge University Press 1983
3. Sheridan, James E. China in Disintegration: The Republican Era in Chinese History 1912-1949 Macmillian Publishing Co, Inc 1975
4. Taylor, Jay The Generalissimo: Chiang Kai-shek and the Struggle for Modern China Harvard University Press 2011
5. SCM Paine The Wars for Asia 1911-1949 Cambridge University Press 2012

 

Questions? Comments? Email me at peaceintheirtime@gmail.com

Episode 74 - Red Lows

The CPC found itself hunted and on the run after the whole "getting purged" thing went down with the KMT. Survival was the order of the day, and only in limited instances were the Communists able to even make their presence felt. And even in their reduced state there were still inter-party squabbles. But the trials they endured would eventually pay off as the KMT's nemesis refused to give up their revolutionary dreams. 

 

1. Fairbank, John K & Denis Twitchett The Cambridge History of China, Volume 12: Republican China 1912-1949, Part 1 Cambridge University Press 1983
2. Fairbannk, John K & Albert Feuerwerker The Cambridge History of China, Volume 13: Republican China 1912-1949, Part 2 Cambridge University Press 1983
3. Short, Philip Mao, A Life Henry Holdt and Company LLC 1999
4. Wilson, Dick The Long March 1935 The Viking Press 1971
5. Bianco, Lucien Origins of the Chinese Revolution, 1915-1949 Editions Gallimard 1967

 

Questions? Comments? Email me at peaceintheirtime@gmail.com

Episode 73 - A Revolution Dashed

The war for China took a turn when Chiang Kai-shek and the Right KMT executed a massive backstab on the Communists and their Left KMT allies. In doing so, Chiang unknowingly established an intractable rivalry that would haunt him for the rest of his life. 

 

Bibliography for this episode: 

 

1. Fairbank, John K & Denis Twitchett The Cambridge History of China, Volume 12: Republican China 1912-1949, Part 1 Cambridge University Press 1983
2. Sheridan, James E. China in Disintegration: The Republican Era in Chinese History 1912-1949 Macmillian Publishing Co, Inc 1975
3. Taylor, Jay The Generalissimo: Chiang Kai-shek and the Struggle for Modern China Harvard University Press 2011
4. SCM Paine The Wars for Asia 1911-1949 Cambridge University Press 2012
5. Bianco, Lucien Origins of the Chinese Revolution, 1915-1949 Editions Gallimard 1967

 

Questions? Comments? Email me at peaceintheirtime@gmail.com

Episode 72 - The Northern Expedition

The decisive campaign of China's warlord era begins as Chiang Kai-shek tightens his grip on the Kuomintang and finally kicks off the Northern Expedition. Despite KMT power and influence in the south having been growing for over two years previously, the feuding warlords didn't have an answer and got routed in the first phase. The only thing that slowed the advance of the KMT was its internal divisions that would come to a head after the first round of dizzying victories. 

 

Bibliography for this episode: 

 

1. Fairbank, John K & Denis Twitchett The Cambridge History of China, Volume 12: Republican China 1912-1949, Part 1 Cambridge University Press 1983
2. Sheridan, James E. China in Disintegration: The Republican Era in Chinese History 1912-1949 Macmillian Publishing Co, Inc 1975
3. Taylor, Jay The Generalissimo: Chiang Kai-shek and the Struggle for Modern China Harvard University Press 2011
4. SCM Paine The Wars for Asia 1911-1949 Cambridge University Press 2012

 

Questions? Comments? Email me at peaceintheirtime@gmail.com

Episode 71 - The Sun Sets

The Kuomintang was going from strength to strength by the mid-20s, but in early 1925 faced a test of an unfamiliar sort when its founder, Sun Yat-sen, passed away. It would be up to his lieutenants to carry on the Nationalist cause without him. Alongside their Communist allies, the next generation of KMT leaders made their final preparations for the great Northern Expedition. 

 

Bibliography for this episode: 

 

1. Fairbank, John K & Denis Twitchett The Cambridge History of China, Volume 12: Republican China 1912-1949, Part 1 Cambridge University Press 1983
2. Sheridan, James E. China in Disintegration: The Republican Era in Chinese History 1912-1949 Macmillian Publishing Co, Inc 1975
3. Bianco, Lucien Origins of the Chinese Revolution, 1915-1949 Editions Gallimard 1967
4. Waldron, Arthur From War to Nationalism: China's Turning Point, 1924-25 Cambridge University Press 1995

 

Questions? Comments? Email me at peaceintheirtime@gmail.com

Episode 70 - Communist Entanglements

Today we finally leave the warlords of the north behind and turn back to China's southern provinces, where Sun Yat-sen and his Kuomintang were still struggling to establish a stable base. Those efforts would be saved by the intervention of an outside party: the Soviet Union. Their aid though came at the price of allying with the tiny Communist Party of China. The partnership would change the KMT in ways Sun hadn't foreseen, but would also lift the Party out of the morass of frustrations it had been subjected to for the past decade.

 

Bibliography for this episode: 

 

1. Fairbank, John K & Denis Twitchett The Cambridge History of China, Volume 12: Republican China 1912-1949, Part 1 Cambridge University Press 1983
2. Sheridan, James E. China in Disintegration: The Republican Era in Chinese History 1912-1949 Macmillian Publishing Co, Inc 1975
3. Bianco, Lucien Origins of the Chinese Revolution, 1915-1949 Editions Gallimard 1967
4. Waldron, Arthur From War to Nationalism: China's Turning Point, 1924-25 Cambridge University Press 1995

 

Questions? Comments? Email me at peaceintheirtime@gmail.com