"'As much as anything, the First World War turned on the fate of Ukraine...' The decision to go to war in 1914 had catastrophic consequences for Russia. The result was revolution, civil war and famine in 1917-20, followed by decades of Communist rule. Dominic Lieven's powerful and original new book, based on exhaustive and unprecedented study in Russian and many other foreign archives, explains why this suicidal decision was made and explores the world of the men who made it, thereby consigning their entire class to death or exile and making their country the victim of a uniquely terrible political experiment under Lenin and Stalin. Epic in detail and scope, THE END OF TSARIST RUSSIA is a gripping study of why the Russian Revolution happened and why it had such fateful consequences for both Russia and Europe. THE END OF TSARIST RUSSIA is about far more than Russia. By looking at the origins and results of the First World War from a mostly Russian angle, it offers a radically different view of why Europe descended into disaster. Dominic Lieven's interpretation of Europe's great war and Russia's revolution will overturn assumptions about events that still have major implications for world history down to the present day"--Front flap.