The book “Peasant Russian, Civil War: The Volga Countryside in Revolution (1917-1921)” was the first one authored by Orlando Figes. This was actually derived from his dissertation made during his graduate studies of history at Trinity College in Cambridge. When he was writing the book, Figes was much influenced by Professor Teodor Shanin that he was encouraged to work in Moscow with Viktor Danilov to gain unique access to the Soviet archives. Much of the historical accounts in Figes’ first book were obtained in the said archives, but he still pursued thorough analysis on his the unrevealed facts he discovered before he drew out conclusions from them. On the other hand, Figes also served as a Research Fellow at the Trinity College while he was doing his research and analysis in Moscow. Among his students who later on became famous professionals were Tristram Hunt, Andrew Roberts, Bee Wilson, James Harding, and Tanya Seghatchian. He was then appointed as a University Lecturer before he moved to London University where he worked as a Chair of History.

In the said book, Figes paid attention to the autonomous nature of the 1917-1918 Agrarian Revolution to show how it formed with respect to the notions of social justice. He also included a discussion on how the purpose of the rural Soviets was transformed in the Civil War course. Moreover, many book critics stated that this Figes’ first book is one of the most important books that focus on some iconic moments during the Russian Revolution era. It was in 1989 when Orlando Figes published the book with Weidenfeld & Nicolson Publishing. Since then, the book has achieved impressive sales. In 1996, he was able to release his second book titled “A People’s Tragedy: The Russian Revolution (1891-1924)”.