In 1917, the world was turned upside down by a popular uprising and then a Bolshevik coup d'etat in Russia. Suddenly the socialist revolution that many had hoped for and had expected was underway. Capitalism was morally and materially exhausted by war and history seemed to be on the side of communism at last. But as Michael Occleshaw brilliantly shows in this startling new appraisal of the revolution and Civil War in Russia, the clash between communism and capitalism was never as clear-cut as later historians sought to claim. Far from putting their faith in historical inevitability, the Bolsheviks were shrewd and flexible operators. They used an alliance with the Kaiser's Germany to protect their infant regime and to destroy domestic challengers to their government. The British, the French and the Americans meanwhile, actively sought ways to cooperate with the new government regardless of their deep ideological differences. Occleshaw has discovered a wealth of new information that deepens and enriches our understanding of this crucial period in world history. In revolutionary Russia, he reveals a teeming underground of espionage, double dealing and adventurism. From the secret negotiations between the Bolsheviks and the capitalist powers to Britain's plans for a separate Cossack state, Occleshaw reveals a history darker, more dangerous and more exciting than anyone could have imagined.