Sand and Snow: Legitimacy, Peasantry, and the Historiography of the Russian and Mexican Revolutions
Abstract:
The early 20th century was a time of unprecedented political violence that reshaped the contours of global politics. The Mexican and Russian Revolutions were two of the most important of these conflicts in terms of changing both national and global politics. These two revolutions were chosen because of their similarities in cause, political dynamics, and results, leading to a rich comparison. This study will analyze the historiographies of these revolutions through the writings of several revisionist and conservative historians. The historiography of these works, particularly the way in which authors connect the concept of legitimacy and the role of the peasantry, will be the focus of this paper. Additionally, after outlining the way in which historians of the Mexican or Russian Revolution characterize the role of the peasants and their tie to legitimacy, the historiography across both Revolutions will be compared. Many interesting parallels exist between these historiograph ies, in particular the way in which an author’s interpretation determines their assessment of the relationship between peasants and legitimacy. This study concludes that revisionist histories of the Mexican and Russian Revolutions create a more informed, accurate, and rich account of the role peasants played in these conflicts by connecting the peasantry to the actions of other social classes, creating an interpretation of legitimacy that places greater emphasis on working, professional, and elite class actors.