Moscow explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Counterrevolution and Civil War

  The chapter details the armed conflict in Moscow, including the bombardment of the Kremlin and the surrender of White Guards, highlighting the violent struggle between Bolsheviks and their opponents.

• Class Conflict and Polarization

  Reed observes the deep divide between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, with all propertied classes and other socialist parties united against the Bolsheviks, while workers, sailors, and landless peasants support the Soviets.

• Struggle for Legitimacy and Power

  The demand for Kerensky's arrest and the debate over his accountability to the Constituent Assembly versus a revolutionary tribunal illustrate the ongoing contest for political authority.

Characters to notice

• John Reed

  Narrator and observer; travels to Moscow to assess the true feeling of the Russian people about the Revolution.

• Anatoly Lunacharsky

  Commissar of Education; resigns in protest over the bombardment of the Kremlin and destruction of art treasures.

• Viktor Nogin

  Seceding Commissar encountered on the train to Moscow, returning to present grievances to his Soviet.

• Alexei Rykov

  Seceding Commissar traveling with Nogin to Moscow.

• Pavel Dybenko

  People's Commissar; signs the demand for Kerensky's arrest and tribunal.

• Nikolai Bukharin

  Described as a short, red-bearded man with fanatical eyes, 'more Left than Lenin'; seen on the train.

Key passages

• “The Military Revolutionary Committee, with a fierce intensity, followed up its victory: November 14th. To all Army, corps, divisional and regimental Committees, to all Soviets of Workers’, Soldiers’ and Peasants’ Deputies, to all, all, all. Conforming to the agreement between the Cossacks, yunkers , soldiers, sailors and workers, it has been decided to arraign Alexander Feodorvitch Kerensky before a tribunal of the people.”

  On November 14th, the Military Revolutionary Committee aggressively pursued its victory by issuing a proclamation to all military and soviet organizations, announcing that, in accordance with an agreement among Cossacks, yunkers, soldiers, sailors, and workers, Alexander Kerensky would be brought before a people's tribunal.

  This shows the Bolsheviks' determination to hold Kerensky accountable and their effort to legitimize the tribunal through broad support.

• “On November 15th, Lunatcharsky, Commissar of Education, broke into tears at the session of the Council of People’s Commissars, and rushed from the room, crying, “I cannot stand it! I cannot bear the monstrous destruction of beauty and tradition.””

  On November 15th, Lunacharsky, the Commissar of Education, wept during a meeting of the Council of People's Commissars and fled the room, exclaiming that he could not endure the horrific destruction of cultural heritage.

  This highlights the internal conflict within the Bolshevik leadership over the cost of revolution, particularly the loss of cultural treasures.

• “In the morning, hours late, we looked out upon a snowy world. It was bitter cold. About noon a peasant woman got on with a basket-full of bread-chunks and a great can of luke warm coffee-substitute.”

  The next morning, the train was hours behind schedule, and the landscape was covered in snow. Around noon, a peasant woman boarded carrying a basket of bread pieces and a large can of lukewarm coffee substitute.

  This depicts the harsh conditions and improvisation during travel in revolutionary Russia.

• “Here in this holy place, holiest of all Russia, we shall bury our most holy. Here where are the tombs of the Tsars, our Tsar—the People—shall sleep.”

  A student with a wounded arm explained that in this sacred site, the holiest in Russia, they would inter their most sacred dead; where the Tsars are buried, the new Tsar—the People—would now rest.

  This symbolizes the revolutionary redefinition of sacred space, replacing the monarchy with the proletariat as the central authority.