Revolution Goes East is an intellectual history that applies a novel global perspective to the classic story of the rise of communism and the various reactions it provoked in Imperial Japan. Tatiana Linkhoeva demonstrates how contemporary discussions of the Russian Revolution, its containment, and the issue of imperialism played a fundamental role in shaping Japan's imperial society and state.
In this bold approach, Linkhoeva explores attitudes toward the Soviet Union and the communist movement among the Japanese military and politicians, as well as interwar leftist and rightist intellectuals and activists. Her book draws on extensive research in both published and archival documents, including memoirs, newspaper and journal articles, political pamphlets, and Comintern archives. Revolution Goes East presents us with a compelling argument that the interwar Japanese Left replicated the Orientalist outlook of Marxism-Leninism in its relationship with the rest of Asia, and that this proved to be its undoing. Furthermore, Linkhoeva shows that Japanese imperial anticommunism was based on geopolitical interests for the stability of the empire rather than on fear of communist ideology.
Thanks to generous funding from New York University and its participation in TOME (Toward an Open Monograph Ecosystem), the ebook editions of this book are available as Open Access (OA) volumes from Cornell Open (cornellpress.cornell.edu/cornell-open) and other repositories.
Tatiana Linkhoeva is Assistant Professor of Japanese History at New York University. Follow her on X @linkhoeva.
Table of Contents
Introduction: Two Russias 1. Before 1917 2. Revolution and Intervention 3. The Anti-Western Revolution 4. Anticommunism Within 5. Anarchism against Bolshevism 6. The Japanese Communist Party and the Comintern 7. National Socialism and Soviet Communism Conclusion: Imperial Japan and Soviet Communism in the 1930s
What People are Saying About This
Janis Mimura
Revolution Goes East is a carefully researched and thoughtful study of the impact of the Russian revolution and Soviet communism on Japanese intellectual thought and imperial strategy during the 1920s.
Louise Young
Linkhoeva's book brings a new line of analysis and new material to modern Japanese history, and will impact histories of the left, of the interwar period, of prewar politics and of Russo-Japanese relations.