Oxford University Press Defenders of the Motherland: The Tsarist Elite in Revolutionary Russia

Defenders of the Motherland studies how the most powerful social groups in tsarist Russia reacted to the challenges posed by the Russian Revolutions of 1917. Arguing that elite groups-especially nobles, landowners, and officers-played an important role in these events, Matthew Rendle shows how the alienation of tsarist elites from the tsar during the First World War and their support for the new Provisional Government in February 1917 secured the initial success of the revolution. Review A well-documented and nuanced analysis of both the impact of the Revolution on the elites and the influence of the elites on the revolutionary process. ― L.G. Novikova, Slavonic and East European Review Provide[s] much of interest to specialist historians of the Revolution. ― Daniel Beer, Journal of European Studies. Matthew Rendle's important study fills significant gaps in our understanding of revolutionary politics and society n 1917 ... Defenders of the Motherland is the product of deep archival research and wide reading of the contemporary press, and should be required reading for serious students of revolutionary Russia. ― Michael C. Hickey, Canadian Slavonic Papers a scholarly and well-written work ― Dominic Lieven, English Historical Review About the Author I finished my undergraduate degree in history at the University of Exeter in 1998, deciding to stay for a MA in European history and then a PhD. Whilst studying for my MA, I started to learn Russian, later spending nine months at the University of Strathclyde on an intensive Russian language diploma. After remaining at Exeter for a further year in 2003-04 as a part-time teaching fellow, I took up a temporary lectureship in Russian history at Newcastle University in 2004. Finally, in September 2007, I moved to Aberystwyth University to a permanent lectureship in Eastern European history in the Department of History and Welsh History.