The Bolshevik Myth
by Alexander Berkman
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When Alexander Berkman (1870-1936) - a leading American anarchist of Russian origin - returned to Russia in 1919, he was welcomed as a hero by the Bolshevik regime. Berkman and his companion and comrade Emma Goldman - having been deported from the United States for their anti-war activities, and fired with revolutionary enthusiasm - were determined to work for the Russian Revolution. The Bolshevik Myth--first published in 1925--is Berkman's account of the two years he spent in the Soviet show more Union, his meetings with Lenin, Trotsky, Kropotkin, and above all with the Russian people, the ordinary men and women who were suffering hunger, disease and persecution. It is the story of chaos, bureaucratic incompetence and economic ruin. A story of warring revolutionary factions, barbarism, repression and fear, leading to the author's complete disillusionment with the Bolshevik system. In his new biographical introduction, Nicolas Walter, quoting from contemporary publications and unpublished manuscript sources, compares The Bolshevik Myth with Berkman's diary from the period - on which the published book is based - and examines some of the complications of Berkman's relationship with Emma Goldman, whose writings he edited. This edition includes too, the conclusion to the book, left out of the original publication, as the publisher deemed it an 'Anti-Climax'. show lessTags
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Based on Berkman's Dairy 1920-1922. Includes the final chapter, "Lessons of the Bolshevik Myth," which had been deleted by Boni & Liveright in their 1925 edition. "The present edition is the first publication of the complete work as Berkman wrote it." -- Nicolas Walter
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Author Information
34+ Works 1,243 Members
Alexander Berkman (1870-1936) was born of a well-to-do Jewish family in Russia and emigrated to America as a young man. Deported for political reasons from the United States in 1919, he moved to the Soviet Union, from which he was in turn expelled.
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Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 1925
Classifications
- Genres
- Nonfiction, History, Biography & Memoir, General Nonfiction, Travel
- DDC/MDS
- 947.0841 — History & geography History of Europe Eastern European Counties and Russia Russian & Slavic History by Period 1855- 1917-1953 ; Communist period 1917-1924 (Kerensky, Lenin)
- LCC
- DK265 — History of Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania Russia. Soviet Union. Former Soviet Republics – Poland History of Russia. Soviet Union. Former Soviet Republics History Revolution, 1917-1921
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 56
- Popularity
- 547,457
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (4.19)
- Languages
- English, French, German, Spanish
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 9
- ASINs
- 2
