# II: Petrograd explained — My Disillusionment in Russia

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

## What happens

The narrator arrives in Petrograd in 1920 and finds a city devastated by war, famine, and political repression. Initially skeptical of anarchist accounts of Bolshevik betrayal, she attends a Soviet meeting where she witnesses the suppression of dissent. Through encounters with Zorin, Zinoviev, John Reed, and underground anarchists, she begins to confront the gap between revolutionary ideals and the brutal reality of state control, censorship, and suffering.

## Themes in this chapter

### Disillusionment with Revolution

The narrator hears firsthand accounts of Bolshevik betrayal from workers and Kronstadt sailors, and witnesses prostitution and censorship, shaking her faith in the revolution.

### State Power vs. Individual Freedom

Zorin declares free speech a 'bourgeois superstition'; anarchists meet in secret; the Petro-Soviet meeting silences a Menshevik speaker.

### Suffering of the People

Petrograd is described as a city of living corpses, with emaciated citizens searching for bread and wood, and women selling themselves for food.

### Betrayal of Revolutionary Ideals

Anarchists accuse the Bolsheviks of betraying the revolution; the narrator reflects on the contrast between revolutionary promises and the reality of repression.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown Narrator

Arrives in Petrograd, struggles with doubt and disbelief as she hears anarchist accounts of Bolshevik repression.

### Lisa Zorin

Pregnant, lives in poverty with her husband; provides the narrator with early interpretations of the revolution.

### Zinoviev

Presides over the Petro-Soviet meeting; appears tired and lacking depth to the narrator.

### Karl Radek

Speaks at the Petro-Soviet meeting; described as clever, witty, and sarcastic.

### Joffe

Reports on the peace treaty with Estonia; appears well-fed and out of place.

### Jack Reed

Living in the Astoria, preparing to return to the US; insists the dark sides of Bolshevik rule are inevitable.

### Nestor Makhno

Mentioned by Zorin as a former ally turned counterrevolutionary leading a bandit army in Ukraine.

## Key lines

> Free speech is a bourgeois superstition

Zorin argues that during a revolution, freedom of speech cannot be permitted.

_Illustrates the Bolshevik justification for suppressing dissent._

> The people walked about like living corpses; the shortage of food and fuel was slowly sapping the city; grim death was clutching at its heart.

The inhabitants of Petrograd appeared half-dead due to severe shortages of food and heating fuel.

_Highlights the extreme deprivation in the city._

> I felt something snap within me.

The narrator experiences a moment of profound emotional and ideological rupture upon seeing prostitutes in revolutionary Russia.

_Marks the beginning of her disillusionment._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/my_disillusionment_in_russia_se/chapters/ii-petrograd
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/my_disillusionment_in_russia_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/my_disillusionment_in_russia_se/chapters