The centennials of the Russian revolution and civil war in the European-wide context of the history of revolutions, counter-revolutions and ideological conflicts: the methodology of the comparative approach

The centennials of the Russian revolution and Civil War offer Russian and foreign historians wide possibilities of investigating the revolution and civil war in the European-wide context of the history of revolutions, counter-revolutions, and ideological conflicts. This article examines the author’s methodology for a comparative analysis of the Russian Revolution and Civil War in the context of the classical European revolutions beginning with the French and other revolutions of the late XVIII century. The comparative approach to studying revolutions has a long history. In fact, Russian revolutionaries in 1917 often compared their revolution with the French revolution and drew their own conclusions about the progress of the revolution in Russia. The comparative approach does not diminish the significance of the Russian revolution and Civil War. On the contrary, this approach helps us determine elements of uniqueness in the Russian revolution. One can suggest that, in many ways, the Russian revolution and Civil War were turning points in the European history of revolutions. On the one hand, the revolution and Civil War mark the culmination and completion of the stage of classical European revolutions. On the other hand, the events of 1917-1921 opened a new stage in the history of ideological conflicts in Europe.