Russian Revolution: Hope, Tragedy, Myths

Fascinating exhibition at the British Library marking the centenary of the Russian Revolution and looking at its causes and consequences.

The show told the story really well using the objects and books to illustrate it rather than letting the story be driven by the objects. The commentary was clear and interesting. It felt a bit wordy in places but this was needed as so many of the books and posters were in Russian so they couldn’t explain themselves. I loved the entrance hall with opulent red velvet curtains and chandeliers but with a copy of the Communist Manifesto displayed in it.

The section on the Tsar and the period before the Revolution was wonderful and packed full of stories. There was a good section on the coronation and the stampede following it to get free souvenirs which was rumoured to have killed 1389 people. They had one of the original tin souvenir mugs nicknamed since the “Cup of Sorrows”. It was a lovely touch to include Lenin’s application form for the British Museum Reading Room, issued under a false name.

I thought is was a shame there was so little on the events in October 1917 but I guess they were so swift and short that they didn’t leave much behind. There were just a couple of objects and photographs then we seemed to be in the midst of the Civil War. The show was good at leading you to realise that the Bolsheviks were trying to set up a new style of government while also fighting a war. Artefacts included a Red Flag now ironically faded to white and some good examples of constructivism art.

It was a nice touch to have the displays on the deaths of the Tsar and of Lenin in back to back cases.

There were good sections on how the events affected the rest of the world. The British Museum library was given a sack of Bolshevik literature in 1921 but initially denied access to it. Also a good display of books written about the revolution both factual such as John Reed’s “Ten Days that Shook the World” and fictional including of course “Dr Zhivago”.

This was a good historic overview of this period which complimented earlier shows I’d seen on the art and design of the period. It’s a shame it won’t still be on for the anniversary.

Closes on 29 August 2017

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