"Although much has been written about the political history of the Russian revolution, the human story of what the revolution meant to ordinary people has rarely been told. This book gives voice to the experiences, thoughts, and feelings of the Russian people - workers, peasants, soldiers - as expressed in their own words during the vast political, social, and economic upheavals of 1917." "The documents in the volume include letters from individuals to newspapers, institutions, or leaders; collective resolutions and appeals; and even poetry. Selected from the State Archive of the Russian Federation in Moscow, nearly all the texts are published here for the first time."--Jacket.

Introduction : the language of popular revolution -- pt. 1. Liberty, desire, and frustration : the first months of the revolution -- pt. 2. Crisis and upheaval : from the July days to Bolshevik power -- pt. 3. Soviets in power : from the October Revolution to the closing of the Constituent Assembly -- Afterward : style in lower-class writing in 1917.