The Unimaginable Revolution

weight of its cultural, political and economic components. The discussion then moves, in light
of recent historical scholarship, to problems of conceptualizing the revolutionary process that
gave rise to Soviet Communism. A strong emphasis is placed on the singularity of the Russian
revolution, and on the limits to general theories of revolution. Hasegawa’s revised work on the
February revolution of 1917 is discussed at some length, and his interpretation of that event as an
interaction between popular and liberal forces is accepted. The following months saw the emergence
of multiple revolutionary movements, but also the strengthening of an organization and an
alternative leadership with a project different from the main currents of the revolution, but capable
of conquering power through a selective mobilization of revolutionary forces. The presuppositions
of Bolshevism are analyzed, as well as the implications of its victory. The essay finishes with reflections
on Stalinism and its roots in the revolutionary process.