My Disillusionment in Russia · Chapter
I: Deportation to Russia explained
Emma Goldman recounts her deportation from the United States on December 21, 1919, along with 248 other political prisoners aboard the Buford.
What happens
Emma Goldman recounts her deportation from the United States on December 21, 1919, along with 248 other political prisoners aboard the Buford. After a twenty-eight-day journey through Finland, she arrives in revolutionary Russia, where she is met by a Soviet committee. She experiences a series of receptions and encounters with Bolshevik officials, including Zorin and Bill Shatov. Her initial idealism is tempered by early signs of authoritarianism, such as the military guard placed over the deportees and Zorin's comparison of Bolshevik political organization to Tammany Hall.
Themes in this chapter
Disillusionment with Revolution
Goldman's initial euphoria is undercut by the military guard over deportees and Zorin's Tammany Hall remark, foreshadowing her growing doubts.
State Power vs. Individual Freedom
The Bolshevik government's use of military guard and political control clashes with Goldman's anarchist ideals of freedom.
Betrayal of Revolutionary Ideals
Shatov's exile and the treatment of political deportees as prisoners suggest a betrayal of the revolution's promise of liberation.
Characters to notice
- Emma Goldman
Narrator and deportee, reflecting on her departure from America and arrival in Russia.
- Alexander Berkman
Fellow deportee who accompanies Goldman to Smolny and shares her early impressions.
- Bill Shatov
Old comrade found in Petrograd despite being ordered to Siberia; shares his story of the Revolution.
- Zinoviev
Head of the Department of the Third International at Smolny, observed by Goldman.
- Lisa Zorin
Host and guide for the deportees; provides initial explanations and arrangements.
Key passages
“It was my first lesson in Bolshevik methods.”
Goldman sees the military guard over the deportees as an early example of Bolshevik authoritarianism.
Reflects her initial disillusionment with the new regime's practices.
“Tammany Hall has nothing on us, and as to Boss Murphy, we could teach him a thing or two.”
Zorin compares Bolshevik political organization to the corrupt Tammany Hall machine, shocking Goldman.
Highlights the gap between revolutionary ideals and political reality.
“I had not come to Russia to teach: I had come to learn, to draw sustenance and hope from her, to lay down my life on the altar of the Revolution.”
Goldman expresses her humble and idealistic intention to absorb revolutionary spirit rather than impose her views.
Captures her initial reverence for the Russian Revolution.