Russia in War and Revolution

"Fedor Sergeevich Olfer'ev, a former Imperial Page and officer of the Russian General Staff, has gifted to us a remarkably forthright and captivating account of the first thirty years of his life (which also happened to be imperial Russia's last). Yet, as Professor Gary M. Hamburg reminds the readers in his insightful and lucid prolegomenon, Olfer'ev did not write his memoirs to settle old scores or 'to be understood by his contemporaries.' His goal was loftier—to understand himself and to record his broken life for posterity.' Masterfully translated by his American-born granddaughter and splendidly contextualized in Hamburg's extraordinary learned historical essays, Olfer'ev's reflections on the challenges and choices of his generation, which was groomed to serve the monarch but ended up abandoning His Majesty to save the country, offer an indispensable guide to life and polity of old Russia during its last and most consequential years of wars and revolutions." —Semion Lyandres, professor of modern European/Russian history, University of Notre Dame

"Accurate, clear-eyed, and unsentimental, Fyodor Olferieff's memoirs provide valuable insights into the last years of imperial Russia, World War I, the Revolution, and the civil strife that followed. Gracefully translated and augmented by Gary Hamburg's insightful companion essay, these recollections can be read with pleasure and profit by specialists and the general public." —Richard Robbins, professor emeritus, University of New Mexico

"Fyodor Olferieff's memoir is a fascinating account of a tsarist officer's life and journey through Russia’s revolutionary era. Olferieff was a perceptive observer who witnessed a host of important events and figures, and Gary Hamburg's detailed introduction enhances his memoir's value as historical source." —Sam Ramer, associate professor of history, Tulane University