# I: Deportation to Russia explained — My Disillusionment in Russia

> Chapter companion for My Disillusionment in Russia by Emma Goldman.

## 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.

## Character check-ins

### 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 lines

> 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._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/my_disillusionment_in_russia_se/chapters/i-deportation-to-russia
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/my_disillusionment_in_russia_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/my_disillusionment_in_russia_se/chapters