Module manager: Dr Rachel Lin
Email: Y.R.Lin@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2025/26
This module is not approved as a discovery module
The Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 ushered in five years of bloody Civil War, an ideological, political, and military contest between Reds and Whites. Yet the conflict drew in a host of unlikely participants of international origin – Ukrainian nationalists, Korean partisans, Central Asian Basmachi fighters, American doughboys – who contributed to some of the most important theatres of war. This, in turn, had a profound impact on the Bolsheviks’ wartime policy towards Russia’s ethnic groups, gender and religion, and international diplomacy. Even as the Civil War reached its conclusion in 1922, famine and mass emigration brought Bolshevik Russia back into international society, this time as the focal point of humanitarian aid. And today, controversies persist over the historical memory of the Civil War, from the military intervention of foreign troops in Russia to the suppression of nationalist movements in Eastern Europe. This module examines the Russian Civil War through an international lens, uncovering the origins and impact of the conflict in Eurasia and the world. <p>Content note: to cover the module content effectively it is necessary for us to read/look at/discuss material which addresses topics that may be challenging for you. These topics include: scenes of death and violence, including gender-based and sexual violence; racist and sexist views and language; and depictions of torture and emotional distress. The module tutor can provide more information on this if required.</p> <p>Please note this is an optional module and runs subject to enrolments. If a low number of students choose this module, then the module may not run and you may be asked to choose another module.</p>
This module introduces you to an in-depth study of the Russian Civil War, with a particular emphasis on its international dimensions. Moving beyond the domestic contours of the Civil War, it examines how Russia’s entanglements with its neighbours in Europe and Asia shaped the War’s origins, development, and long-term impact. It explores how the War was influenced by tsarist Russia’s imperial rivalries, by the aspirations for autonomy among its subject peoples in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and by the Bolsheviks’ changing position in international diplomacy. It approaches the crises of famine and refugeedom with reference to the emerging international infrastructure for humanitarian relief. Finally, it investigates some of the legacies of the Civil War in the historical memories of Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia. These questions will be analysed through a broad range of primary sources – both written and non-written – including those of non-Russian origin.
On successful completion of the module you will have demonstrated the following learning outcomes relevant to the subject:
1. Evaluate key events, personalities, and themes of the Russian Civil War and its international aspects;
2. Critically interpret a range of primary sources across several genres, including non-written ones;
3. Assess the historiographical debates surrounding the Russian Civil War;
4. Sensitively apply the knowledge acquired in this module to understand the contemporary debates surrounding historical memory in Russia and its neighbouring states;
5. Communicate ideas effectively and persuasively in writing;
6. Select, analyse, and synthesise primary sources and secondary scholarship to develop independent and creative arguments.
Skills Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module you will have demonstrated the following skills learning outcomes:
7. Apply critical thinking to historical problems;
8. Communicate historical materials sensitively and accurately;
9. Plan, research, and write assignments.
Details of the syllabus will be provided on the Minerva organisation (or equivalent) for the module
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Workshop | 4 | 1 | 4 |
| Fieldwork | 1 | 6 | 6 |
| Seminar | 20 | 2 | 40 |
| Private study hours | 350 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 50 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 400 | ||
You will be expected to submit non-assessed essay plans a day in advance of certain seminars. Although these plans will not be formally marked, they will form the basis of in-class discussion and provide opportunities for collaborative learning and formative feedback from the tutor. On weeks where plans are not submitted in advance, in-seminar group work is assigned to facilitate tutor-led and peer-to-peer feedback. Further personalised formative feedback will also be provided through consults with the tutor.
Assessed essay: You are entitled to a one-to-one meeting with the tutor to discuss your essay plan . In advance of this consult, you may submit a draft or plan for feedback.
Portfolio: As with the essay, you can schedule a personalised meeting with the tutor to go over their work towards the middle of Semester 2. This can be accompanied by written draft or plan.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | Essay | 50 |
| Coursework | Portfolio | 50 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
The reading list is available from the Library website
Last updated: 28/04/2025
Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team