It has long been a cliché to argue that Russian revolutionary movements have been inspired by varieties of 'utopian dreaming' – claims which, although not wrong, are too often used uncritically. With Russian Utopia: A Century of Revolutionary Possibilities (Bloomsbury, 2021), Mark D. Steinberg asks what utopia meant at the level of ideas, emotions, and lived experience by looking at the work of a wide range of actors, from political leaders to workers and peasants. Mark D. Steinberg is Professor Emeritus within the Department of History at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. He specialises in the cultural, intellectual, and social history of Russia and the Soviet Union in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In addition to Russian Utopia: A Century of Revolutionary Possibilities, his recent books include The Russian Revolution 1905-1921 (Oxford University Press, 2017) and the extensively revised ninth edition of A History of Russia with Nicholas Riasanovsky (Oxford University Press, 2018). Iva Glisic is a historian and art historian specialising in modern Russia and the Balkans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/russian-studies