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| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1947|10|29}} | birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1947|10|29}}
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| major_works = Biographies of Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, and Leon Trotsky}} | major_works = Biographies of Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, and Leon Trotsky}}


'''Robert John Service''' (born 29 October 1947) is a British historian, academic, and author who has written extensively on the history of the ], particularly the era from the ] to Stalin's death. He is currently a professor of ] at the ], a Fellow of ], and a senior Fellow at ]'s ]. Service has published biographies of ], ] and ] in 2000, 2004, and 2009, respectively. '''Robert John Service''' (born 29 October 1947) is a British historian, academic, and author who has written extensively on the history of the ], particularly the era from the ] to Stalin's death. He is currently a professor of ] at the ], a Fellow of ], and a senior Fellow at ]'s ]. As an author Service is known for his 2000, 2004, and 2009 biographies of ], ], and ], respectively.


==Career== ==Career==
Service spent his undergraduate years at ], where he studied Russian and ]. He went to ] and ] universities for his postgraduate work, and taught at ] and the ], which later joined ], before joining ] in 1998, where he currently teaches. Service spent his undergraduate years at ], where he studied Russian and ]. He went to ] and ] universities for his postgraduate work, and taught at ] and the ], which later joined ], before joining ] in 1998, where he currently teaches.


==Work== ==Work and critical reception==
Between 1986 and 1995, Service published a three-volume biography of ]. He wrote several works of general history on 20th-century Russia, including ''A History of Twentieth-Century Russia''. His trilogy of Bolsheviks and ]s leaders biographies include ''Lenin'' (2000), ''Stalin'' (2004) and ''Trotsky'' (2009). Between 1986 and 1995, Service published a three-volume biography of ]. He wrote several works of general history on 20th-century Russia, including ''A History of Twentieth-Century Russia''. His trilogy of Bolsheviks and ]s leaders biographies include ''Lenin'' (2000), ''Stalin'' (2004) and ''Trotsky'' (2009).


⚫ His biography of Trotsky was favourably reviewed in the British and American press on its publication, but two years later was strongly criticised by Service's ] colleague Bertrand Patenaude in a review for the '']''.<ref name="mclemee">McLemee, Scott. . '']''. 8 July 2011</ref> Patenaude, reviewing Service's book alongside a rebuttal by the Trotskyite ] (''In Defence of Leon Trotsky''), charged Service with making dozens of factual errors, misrepresenting evidence, and "fail to examine in a serious way Trotsky's political ideas".<ref>{{cite journal |title=Robert Service. ''Trotsky: A Biography''. David North. ''In Defense of Leon Trotsky'' |author=Bertrand M. Patenaude |format=book review |journal=] |volume=116 |date=June 2011 |pages=900–902 |doi=10.1086/ahr.116.3.900 |issue=3}}</ref> Service responded that the book's factual errors were minor and that Patenaude's own book on Trotsky presented him as a "noble martyr". In July 2009, prior to the publication of his own book, Service had written a review of Partenaude's publication '']'' which he applauded for being "vividly told" but also criticised for neglecting Trotsky's crimes while sharing power in the USSR.
==Criticism==
⚫ Two years after the release of Service's biography of Trotsky, it was strongly criticised by Service's ] colleague Bertrand Patenaude in a review for the '']''.<ref name="mclemee">McLemee, Scott. . '']''. 8 July 2011</ref> Patenaude, reviewing Service's book, charged Service with making dozens of factual errors, misrepresenting evidence, " numerous distortions of the historical record and outright errors of fact to the point that the intellectual integrity of the whole enterprise is open to question", and "fail to examine in a serious way Trotsky's political ideas". The review concluded by stating that " book fails to meet the basic standards of historical scholarship".<ref>{{cite journal |title=Robert Service. ''Trotsky: A Biography''. David North. ''In Defense of Leon Trotsky'' |author=Bertrand M. Patenaude |format=book review |journal=] |volume=116 |date=June 2011 |pages=900–902 |doi=10.1086/ahr.116.3.900 |issue=3}}</ref> Service responded that the book's factual errors were minor and that Patenaude's own book on Trotsky presented him as a "noble martyr".


The book was harshly criticised by the German historian of communism Hermann Weber, a former ] member, who led a campaign to prevent ] from publishing it in Germany. Fourteen historians and sociologists signed a letter to the publishing house. The letter cited 'a host of factual errors,' the 'repugnant connotations' of the passages in which Service deals with Trotsky's Jewish origins, and Service's recourse to 'formulas associated with Stalinist propaganda' for the purpose of discrediting Trotsky.<ref> The World Socialist Web Site. Retrieved 28 November 2011</ref><ref>http://wsws.org/articles/2011/nov2011/intr-n23.shtml</ref> Suhrkamp announced in February 2012 that it would publish a German translation of Robert Service's ''Trotsky'' in July 2012.
On October 2009, Service declared "There’s life in the old boy Trotsky yet—but if the ice pick didn't quite do its job killing him off, I hope I've managed it", referencing the fact that Trotsky was murdered with an ice pick and drawing criticism from ], according to whom the statement revealed that Service's intentions tended more towards a "political assassination" of Trotsky than historical research.<ref>{{cite news |last=North |first=David |date= 15 December 2009 |title=Historians in the Service of the “Big Lie”: An Examination of Professor Robert Service’s Biography of Trotsky |url=http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2009/12/serv-d15.html |newspaper=] |access-date=March 20, 2015}}</ref> ]'s book ''In Defense of Leon Trotsky'' was written partly as a rebuttal of Service's biography of Trotsky.

On July 2011, fourteen scholars, including historians and political scientists, signed a letter against the publication of Service's biography of Trotsky. The letter cited 'a host of factual errors,' and the 'repugnant connotations' of the passages in which Service deals with Trotsky's Jewish origins. The list of signatories included Helmut Dahmer, Bernhard Bayerlein, Heiko Haumann, Wladislaw Hedeler, Andrea Hurton, Mario Kessler, Oskar Negt, Oliver Rathkolb, Hans Schafranek, Peter Steinbach, Reiner Tossdorf, and Rolf Wörsdörfer. One statement in the letter said: "Service's sources are unreliable. Sources that are very difficult to access and hardly verifiable for most readers often have nothing to do with the claims made, or demonstrate the opposite. Contrary to the announcement made by Suhrkamp, Service has not sought to deal with Trotsky and Stalin in an ‘impartial and genuine’ manner. Instead, the aim of his work is to discredit Trotsky, and unfortunately he often resorts to the formulas associated with Stalinist propaganda".<ref>{{cite news |last= Wolfgang |first=Weber|date= 23 November 2011 |title=European historians oppose publication by Suhrkamp of Robert Service’s Trotsky biography|url=http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2011/11/intr-n23.html|newspaper=] |access-date=March 20, 2015}}</ref>


== Works == == Works ==

Revision as of 19:05, 26 March 2015

Robert Service
Service speaking at the Tallinn Literature Festival HeadRead in May 2011
BornRobert John Service
(1947-10-29) 29 October 1947 (age 77)
United Kingdom
Academic work
Main interestsRussian history (1917–53)
Notable worksBiographies of Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, and Leon Trotsky

Robert John Service (born 29 October 1947) is a British historian, academic, and author who has written extensively on the history of the Soviet Union, particularly the era from the October Revolution to Stalin's death. He is currently a professor of Russian history at the University of Oxford, a Fellow of St Antony's College, Oxford, and a senior Fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution. As an author Service is known for his 2000, 2004, and 2009 biographies of Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, and Leon Trotsky, respectively.

Career

Service spent his undergraduate years at King's College, Cambridge, where he studied Russian and classical Greek. He went to Essex and Leningrad universities for his postgraduate work, and taught at Keele and the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, which later joined University College London, before joining Oxford University in 1998, where he currently teaches.

Work and critical reception

Between 1986 and 1995, Service published a three-volume biography of Vladimir Lenin. He wrote several works of general history on 20th-century Russia, including A History of Twentieth-Century Russia. His trilogy of Bolsheviks and Mensheviks leaders biographies include Lenin (2000), Stalin (2004) and Trotsky (2009).

His biography of Trotsky was favourably reviewed in the British and American press on its publication, but two years later was strongly criticised by Service's Hoover Institution colleague Bertrand Patenaude in a review for the American Historical Review. Patenaude, reviewing Service's book alongside a rebuttal by the Trotskyite David North (In Defence of Leon Trotsky), charged Service with making dozens of factual errors, misrepresenting evidence, and "fail to examine in a serious way Trotsky's political ideas". Service responded that the book's factual errors were minor and that Patenaude's own book on Trotsky presented him as a "noble martyr". In July 2009, prior to the publication of his own book, Service had written a review of Partenaude's publication Stalin's Nemesis: The Exile and Murder of Leon Trotsky which he applauded for being "vividly told" but also criticised for neglecting Trotsky's crimes while sharing power in the USSR.

The book was harshly criticised by the German historian of communism Hermann Weber, a former KPD member, who led a campaign to prevent Suhrkamp Verlag from publishing it in Germany. Fourteen historians and sociologists signed a letter to the publishing house. The letter cited 'a host of factual errors,' the 'repugnant connotations' of the passages in which Service deals with Trotsky's Jewish origins, and Service's recourse to 'formulas associated with Stalinist propaganda' for the purpose of discrediting Trotsky. Suhrkamp announced in February 2012 that it would publish a German translation of Robert Service's Trotsky in July 2012.

Works

References

  1. McLemee, Scott. "The Re-Assassination of Leon Trotsky". Inside Higher Ed. 8 July 2011
  2. Bertrand M. Patenaude (June 2011). "Robert Service. Trotsky: A Biography. David North. In Defense of Leon Trotsky". The American Historical Review. 116 (3): 900–902. doi:10.1086/ahr.116.3.900. {{cite journal}}: |format= requires |url= (help)
  3. “Robert Service has written a diatribe, not a scientific polemic!” The World Socialist Web Site. Retrieved 28 November 2011
  4. http://wsws.org/articles/2011/nov2011/intr-n23.shtml
  5. "Review of Robert Service's Stalin: A Biography–Part One". Wsws.org. Retrieved 31 August 2011.
  6. "John Gray on Trotsky by Robert Service". Literary Review. Retrieved 31 August 2011.
  7. "Review: A 'dis-Service' to Leon Trotsky". socialistworld.net. Retrieved 31 August 2011.
  8. A book that fails to meet the basic standards of historical scholarship The American Historical Review discredits Robert Service’s biography of Leon Trotsky
  9. "The Penguin History of Modern Russia – Robert Service – Penguin Books". Penguin.co.uk. 24 September 2009. Retrieved 31 August 2011.

External links

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