The Bolshevik Myth · Chapters
Chapters explained
Chapter companions for The Bolshevik Myth by Alexander Berkman.
Chapter 1
The Bolshevik Myth
The narrator reflects on the disillusionment with the Bolshevik regime, contrasting revolutionary ideals with the harsh realities of dictatorship, terror, and economic collapse in Soviet Russia.
Chapter 2
The Log of the Transport Buford
The chapter chronicles the journey of the Buford, a ship deporting political radicals from the United States to Soviet Russia in late 1919 and early 1920. The narrator, a deportee, describes the harsh conditions aboard, the camaraderie among the deportees, their interactions with the military guards, and the uncertainty of their destination. Key events include the organization of a committee for distributing warm clothing, the narrator's discussions with the Colonel about socialism and America, the assignment of lifeboat duties, and the growing friendship with the soldiers. The chapter ends with the ship entering the Kiel Canal, repairs underway, and the deportees eager to reach Russia.
Chapter 3
II: On Soviet Soil
The narrator describes the arrival of American deportees in Soviet Russia at Beloostrov, where they are warmly welcomed by soldiers and peasants. A mass meeting features speeches by a woman in black, Zorin, and Bianki, whose confrontational remarks are countered by the narrator's call for unity. The group proceeds to Petrograd amid further celebrations.
Chapter 4
III: In Petrograd
The narrator arrives in Petrograd and observes the transformed city under Bolshevik rule—empty streets, reduced population, and the grim realities of war communism. They attend a Soviet session where Zinoviev, Radek, and Joffe speak, noting the lack of genuine debate. The narrator also deals with friction among the Buford deportees, advocating for efficient organization, and encounters bureaucratic resistance from Zorin.
Chapter 5
IV: Moscow
The narrator travels from Petrograd to Moscow as an interpreter for Lansbury and Barry. The journey is arduous due to poor railroad conditions, fuel shortages, and overcrowding. Upon arrival, the narrator struggles to find lodging in the overcrowded city but is eventually offered a room by a kind stranger named Sergei, a former San Francisco resident who now works with the Bolsheviks.
Chapter 6
V: The Guest House
The narrator describes daily life in the Kharitonensky Guest House, focusing on the diverse group of Ukrainian delegates and other guests. The chapter contrasts the bourgeois decor of the house with the revolutionary spirit of its inhabitants, highlights the scarcity of food and the shared hardship, and recounts the delegates' long revolutionary struggles against Tsarism, the Whites, and various counterrevolutionary forces. The narrator shares a can of condensed milk, which is eagerly consumed, and reflects on the dignity and determination forged by the Revolution.
Chapter 7
VI: Chicherin and Karakhan
The narrator meets with Chicherin and Karakhan, discussing the revolution's prospects abroad, the blockade, and the peasantry. Karakhan justifies requisitions and capital punishment as necessary for the Revolution, while Chicherin shows nervous energy and optimism about international communism. The narrator feels a veil drawn over his anarchist identity.
Chapter 8
VII: The Market
The narrator explores the Moscow marketplace, observing the stark contrast between the revolutionary rhetoric and the harsh realities of economic collapse, state repression, and human suffering. A raid on the market by Cheka and militia reveals the brutal enforcement of anti-speculation policies, targeting desperate individuals including children and the elderly. An evening discussion with Communist friends highlights the ideological justification for such violence, deepening the narrator's disillusionment.
Chapter 9
VIII: In the Moskkommune
The narrator accompanies the House Commissar to the Moskkommune, Moscow's central food supply organization, and observes the complex, hierarchical rationing system that privileges Party officials, soldiers, and key institutions while ordinary workers receive meager portions. A debate about equality and necessity ensues. Later, back at the Kharitonensky Guest House, Sergei asks to share the narrator's room after being ordered to vacate, and the narrator agrees.
Chapter 10
IX: The Club on the Tverskaya
The narrator visits the Universalist Club on Tverskaya Street, encountering Buford deportees struggling with poverty and corruption. The Club hosts a diverse array of revolutionary factions, and the narrator attends an Anarchist Conference where Rostchin defends cooperation with the Bolsheviks. Debates rage over Bolshevik policies, the Cheka, and the persecution of leftist elements. The narrator joins a committee to present a resolution to Krestinsky, the Communist Party secretary, advocating for the release of imprisoned Anarchists and greater cooperation.
Chapter 11
A Visit to Peter Kropotkin
The narrator visits the elderly anarchist Peter Kropotkin in Dmitrov, finding him physically weakened and isolated under Bolshevik rule. Despite receiving a slightly better ration, Kropotkin struggles with fuel, lighting, and intellectual isolation. The narrator reflects on Kropotkin's past refusal to visit America on movement funds, and notes his critical remark that the Bolsheviks have shown 'how the Revolution is not to be made.' The visit ends with a bleak scene of starving children at a Moscow station.
Chapter 12
XI: Bolshevik Activities
The chapter describes the first All-Russian Conference of Cossacks, where the Bolsheviks attempt to win over the traditionally reactionary Cossacks. It also covers a session of the Moscow Soviet, the first anniversary meeting of the Third International, and a visit to Lunacharsky's educational institutions, highlighting the challenges of illiteracy, lack of resources, and the lingering effects of war and revolution on children.
Chapter 13
Sights and Views
The narrator observes the harsh realities of life in Moscow under Bolshevik rule, including the indifference of officials to a sick friend, the brutal tactics of the Cheka, the bustling black market at Okhotny Ryad, the forced labor camps for speculators, the contrast between luxurious living for Party elites and abject poverty for ordinary people, and the desperate conditions of a family living in a bare room.
Chapter 14
XIII: Lenin
The narrator visits Lenin at the Kremlin, observing the guarded atmosphere and reflecting on the Revolution's social and economic achievements. In conversation, Lenin defends the dictatorship of the proletariat, justifies suppression of dissent, and discusses the peasantry, anarchists, and plans for political exiles. The narrator concludes with a complex portrait of Lenin as a fanatical, single-minded revolutionary.
Chapter 15
XIV: On the Latvian Border
The narrator travels toward the Latvian border with a commission to meet American deportees, encountering a Chekist named Drozdov who boasts of the Cheka's brutal methods. The train is held up near Sebezh due to military activity, and the narrator negotiates with Drozdov to avoid searching the deportees at the border. In Sebezh, the narrator visits a Jewish home and speaks with peasants who express deep resentment toward the Bolsheviks, the Cheka, and the economic hardships under the regime.
Chapter 16
I
The narrator, Alexander Berkman, is appointed chairman of a reception committee for American deportees arriving in Russia. During a train journey to the Lettish frontier, he encounters Tovarish Karus, an examining magistrate of the Petrograd Cheka, and Tovarish Drozdov, a young Chekist who enthusiastically describes the Cheka's brutal methods of surveillance, entrapment, and execution. The chapter explores the tension between revolutionary idealism and the harsh reality of state terror, as well as the economic desperation of the countryside where peasants refuse Soviet currency.
Chapter 17
II
The narrator arrives at the border to meet the expected American deportees, but instead encounters a group of Russian war prisoners returning from Denmark. A tense negotiation unfolds with local Bolshevik officials and the Cheka chief Prehde, who insists on executing two alleged spies. The narrator manages to secure the prisoners' transport to Petrograd and averts immediate violence through persuasion, while awaiting the delayed American deportees.
Chapter 18
III
The narrator visits Sebezh, a provincial town, and encounters local peasants and a Jewish family. Through conversations, they express deep disillusionment with the Bolshevik regime, complaining of confiscations, forced conscription, and the brutality of local Communists and Chekists. The peasants distinguish between Lenin and the 'Communists,' whom they see as oppressors. The chapter highlights the economic hardship, fear, and clandestine trade that define daily life under War Communism.
Chapter 19
IV
The narrator, awaiting American deportees at the border in Sebezh, instead encounters a group of war prisoners returning from England and five Russian workers deported under the Alien Act. After convincing the local commander Prehde to spare the workers from summary execution, the narrator learns no American political deportees are en route. Defying Chicherin's orders to wait, the narrator attempts to return to Petrograd but faces delays and a dangerous night in a Cheka car. Upon arrival in Petrograd, the war prisoners remain unprocessed due to lack of orders.
Chapter 20
Back in Petrograd
The narrator returns to Petrograd in April 1920, finding Zinoviev ill after an assault by workers, and learns that Bill Shatov is effectively exiled in Siberia despite his services. The Buford deportees remain idle and demoralized, facing discrimination as non-Communists. A gathering at a friend's home sparks a debate on Bolshevism, dictatorship, and the failures of centralized state control. The chapter covers the Ninth Party Congress's push for militarization of labor and one-man management, opposition from workers, and the narrator's discussions with Zorin and Lilina about reforming corrupt children's reformatories.
Chapter 21
Rest Homes for Workers
The narrator describes their involvement in Zorin's project to create summer rest homes for Petrograd's workers on Kameny Island, transforming former noble villas into proletarian resorts. Despite initial enthusiasm, the project is mired in Soviet bureaucracy, material shortages, and the Cheka's control over supplies. The narrator refuses to evict bourgeois families without alternative housing, leading to their removal from the work. Forced labor from camps is used instead of voluntary worker participation, and the narrator's proposal to form a committee of Buford deportees is lost in red tape.
Chapter 22
XVII: The First of May
The narrator describes the May Day celebrations in Petrograd, contrasting the revolutionary fervor of the parade with the physical exhaustion and apathy of the participants. He reflects on a past May Day in New York, where police brutality crushed a demonstration, and contrasts it with the present spectacle. Despite the impressive display, the narrator notes the lack of enthusiasm among the marchers, symbolized by a young workman's question, 'What's the use of it all!'
Chapter 23
XVIII: The British Labor Mission
In May 1920, the arrival of the British Labor Mission in Petrograd and Moscow sparks a mix of hope and skepticism among the Russian populace and Communist officials. The chapter details the official festivities, military displays, and banquets organized to impress the delegates, while revealing underlying tensions: workers express naive hopes for aid, Communist leaders like Radek and Petrovsky push a diplomatic facade, and delegates like Bertrand Russell chafe at the surveillance and 'prison atmosphere.' Angelica Balabanova and the narrator advocate for honesty, but the official policy of exaggeration and control threatens to undermine the Mission's purpose.
Chapter 24
The Spirit of Fanaticism
The narrator attends a tumultuous meeting at the Universalist Club, where anarchists and left revolutionaries protest the harsh imprisonment of 45 anarchists in Butirki prison, who have initiated a hunger strike. The narrator reflects on failed attempts to mediate between the Communists and left factions, recalling meetings with Lenin, Krestinsky, Zinoviev, and Chicherin. He visits the hidden Maria Spiridonova and learns of the persecution of left revolutionaries. Later, Radek asks him to translate Lenin's 'The Infantile Sickness of Leftism,' but he refuses, straining his relations with the Communists. The chapter ends with the narrator feeling increasingly unwelcome and preparing to leave for Petrograd, while Bertrand Russell laments the surveillance and sabotage of their visit to Peter Kropotkin.
Chapter 25
XX: Other People
The narrator observes the disillusionment and chaos of post-revolutionary Russia, witnessing the gap between revolutionary ideals and the harsh realities of bureaucracy, war, and starvation. Through encounters with intellectuals, workers, and common people, the chapter highlights the growing despair and the betrayal of revolutionary promises.
Chapter 26
En Route to the Ukraine
The narrator describes the chaotic journey south to Ukraine in July 1920, with desperate crowds besieging the train at every station. The region has suffered fourteen regime changes since 1917, leaving it in a state of perpetual uncertainty, fear, and primitive survival instincts. The expedition travels in a conspicuous red car marked as the 'Extraordinary Commission of the Museum of the Revolution,' carrying supplies from the Winter Palace. The population lives in dread of White terror, Red terror, pogroms, and famine, with ethical values dissolved and only hunger and fear as guiding forces.
Chapter 27
First Days in Kharkov
The narrator describes the initial days of the expedition in Kharkov, detailing the division of labor among members, the intense nationalism and anti-Bolshevik sentiment in Ukraine, and the oppressive methods of the Kremlin. He encounters a local woman, Nadya, and her mother, who share their tragic experiences under the regime. Through meetings with Left Social Revolutionists, including N⸺, the narrator hears critiques of Bolshevik dictatorship, inequality, and terror. The chapter ends with a visit to G⸺, a former bourgeois engineer, who recounts personal losses and the dehumanization of the intelligentsia.
Chapter 28
XXIII: In Soviet Institutions
The narrator visits Petrovsky, Chairman of the All-Ukrainian Central Executive Committee, who discusses the situation in Ukraine, the threat of Makhno, and the need for strong central authority. A peasant woman pleads for help finding her husband, a Red Army soldier arrested as a deserter. At labor union headquarters, workers complain about low wages, food shortages, and disappearances of relatives. The Secretary of the Soviet of Labor Unions explains the purge of Menshevik leadership, while the Chairman is besieged by desperate petitioners.
Chapter 29
XXIV: Yossif the Emigrant
The narrator recounts meeting Yossif, a Jewish anarchist emigrant who returned from America to participate in the Russian Revolution. Yossif passionately defends the Makhno movement as the true spirit of October, arguing that the Bolsheviks have betrayed the revolution and become a despotic government. He describes Makhno's anti-pogrom stance and his own work organizing anarchist groups in Ukraine, while expressing bitter disillusionment with Communist rule.
Chapter 30
XXV: Nestor Makhno
The chapter explores the figure of Nestor Makhno, the Ukrainian peasant revolutionary leader, through discussions among anarchist comrades. It details Makhno's background, his guerrilla warfare against both White and Red forces, his anarchist principles of autonomous communes and free Soviets, and the complex, often treacherous relationship between the Makhnovist movement and the Bolsheviks. The narrative includes a plan for the narrator to meet Makhno and debates over the revolutionary significance of the Makhnovstchina.
Chapter 31
Prison and Concentration Camp
The narrator visits a compulsory labor camp in Kharkov and the Cold Hill Prison, witnessing horrific conditions, starvation, disease, and the suspension of food packages (peredatcha). Political prisoners, including Communists, Anarchists, and Mensheviki, are held without trial, and the death house evokes memories of past executions. The chapter contrasts the initial revolutionary promise of prison abolition with the brutal reality of the Bolshevik prison system.
Chapter 32
XXVII: Further South
The narrator describes a train journey through southern Russia in August 1920, witnessing devastation, poverty, and the gradual establishment of Soviet rule. In Poltava, a primitive Revkom governs; in Krementchug and Znamenka, market life continues with Soviet money scorned. Pogrom stories and hunted looks among Jews are prevalent. Henry Alsberg loses his purse; the Museum car is mistakenly sent to Kiev. Stranded, the group boards a military supply train, where a Communist commissar espouses Trotsky's 'iron broom' methods and predicts imminent revolution in Western Europe. They reunite with their Expedition in Fastov.
Chapter 33
XXVIII: Fastov the Pogromed
The narrator arrives in Fastov, a town devastated by repeated pogroms. Walking through the deserted, ruined streets, they encounter survivors, including an old woman who leads them to Reb Moishe. The market is sparse, with only a few stalls trading by barter. The narrator meets a man whose daughter has been traumatized into silence after a brutal attack, and Reb Moishe recounts the horrors of the pogroms under Petlura, Denikin, and the Poles, culminating in a four-day massacre where many were killed in the synagogue despite promises of safety.
Chapter 34
XXIX: Kiev
The narrator describes Kiev's beauty and recent violent history under various occupying forces. The city appears peaceful, but Soviet institutions are chaotic, inefficient, and plagued by bureaucracy and antisemitism. Ukrainian Communists criticize Moscow's centralization and ignorance of local conditions. The economy is in collapse, with factories idle and sugar refineries operating at a loss. Labor unions have been stripped of power and replaced by Communist appointees. Rumors of military reverses and Makhno activity circulate. A Ukrainian Communist, T⸺, expresses frustration with Moscow's domination and the alienation of the local population.
Chapter 35
In Various Walks
The narrator observes the dire conditions of Jewish intellectuals and the broader population in Kiev under Bolshevik rule, including systematic requisitions, housing abuses, and the suppression of Jewish culture. A chance meeting with Gallina, Makhno's wife, reveals the peasant rebel movement's opposition to both Whites and Bolsheviks. Conversations with Jewish families and the Kulturliga highlight the destruction of Jewish life and the dream of Zion.
Chapter 36
XXXI: The Cheka
The narrator describes the terror of the Cheka through the story of Kolya, a tailor arrested for his involvement in a strike. A neighbor recounts the Pirro affair, where a false Brazilian ambassador lured anti-Bolshevik intellectuals to their deaths. The narrator also recalls a visit from a Cheka executioner who boasted of torture. The chapter ends with rumors of Red Army defeats and the abandonment of a plan to meet Makhno.
Chapter 37
XXXII: Odessa: Life and Vision
The narrator arrives in Odessa to find a city in decay, under strict Communist control, and gripped by fear of the Cheka. The Expedition's friend Alsberg is arrested en route, and the narrator witnesses the brutal requisitioning of a peasant woman's horse, attends a secret Menshevik 'oral newspaper' meeting, and learns of the arrest of the socialist leader Astrov. The chapter contrasts the revolutionary idealism of the workers with the oppressive reality of Bolshevik dictatorship, highlighting the deep rift between the Communists and other revolutionary factions.
Chapter 38
Dark People
The narrator travels through the Ukrainian countryside, witnessing the suffering and confusion of peasants caught between warring factions. Conversations reveal the brutal realities of the razvyorstka tax, the terror of punitive expeditions, and the complex figure of Makhno, who is both admired and feared. The chapter highlights the deep distrust of the 'dark people' toward all authorities—Red, White, or Green—and the pervasive violence that leaves them hopeless.
Chapter 39
A Bolshevik Trial
The narrator attends a trial at the Revolutionary Tribunal where a young man is accused of counterrevolutionary activities by a woman who is a Cheka member. The prosecutor Burov intimidates witnesses and disregards evidence, revealing the corrupt and vengeful nature of the Bolshevik judicial system. The narrator also witnesses a private exchange between the accuser and an old woman who pleads for mercy, highlighting the human cost of revolutionary justice.
Chapter 40
XXXV: Returning to Petrograd
The narrator and the Expedition, including Emma Goldman, face increasing difficulties as they travel through war-torn Ukraine and Russia. They learn of the Bolsheviks' betrayal of Makhno, the arrest of anarchist comrades, and the military setbacks of the Red Army against Poland and Wrangel. After being robbed and facing dwindling supplies, they decide to return to Petrograd to deliver their collection to the Museum.
Chapter 41
In the Far North
The narrator travels to Yaroslavl, Vologda, and Archangel in December 1920, observing the devastation from the 1918 counterrevolutionary uprising and the lingering terror among the populace. In Archangel, they find relative order and efficiency, attributed to the influence of the American Mission and the cooperative policies of local Communist officials like Kulakov. The chapter highlights the pragmatic governance of the Northern workers, the story of Betchin, and the abandonment of the planned trip to Murmansk due to severe snowstorms.
Chapter 42
Early Days of 1921
The chapter describes the end of the civil war, the economic reconstruction debates in Soviet Russia, and the ongoing repression of anarchists. It covers the death and funeral of Peter Kropotkin, the efforts to secure the release of imprisoned anarchists for the funeral, and the narrator's decision to leave the Museum of the Revolution to work for the Kropotkin Memorial Commission.
Chapter 43
Kronstadt
The chapter details the Kronstadt uprising of March 1921, where sailors and workers demanded free elections, freedom of speech, and an end to Communist Party monopoly, leading to a violent government crackdown. The narrator describes the political tension, the failed arbitration attempt by anarchists including Alexander Berkman and Emma Goldman, and the eventual fall of Kronstadt with mass executions.
Chapter 44
Last Links in the Chain
The chapter depicts the disillusionment of foreign delegates at the Third International and Red Trade Union Congresses, the hunger strike of political prisoners in Taganka prison, the broken promises of Lenin and Lunacharsky, the execution of Fanya Baron, and the narrator's decision to leave Russia after witnessing the death of revolutionary ideals under Bolshevik dictatorship.
Chapter 45
XL: The Lessons of the “Bolshevik Myth”
The narrator reflects on their initial faith in the Bolsheviks and the October Revolution, describing how they came to Soviet Russia eager to work alongside the Communists despite theoretical differences. Over eighteen months, they witnessed growing inequality, repression, and the betrayal of revolutionary ideals, culminating in the brutal suppression of the Kronstadt uprising, which shattered their remaining hope.
Chapter 46
I: My Personal Attitude and Reactions
The narrator recounts their journey from early revolutionary idealism to disillusionment with the Bolshevik regime. Initially inspired by the October Revolution, they arrived in Soviet Russia eager to support the Bolsheviks despite anarchist principles. Over eighteen months, they witnessed inequality, repression, and betrayal of revolutionary ideals, culminating in the Kronstadt Uprising, which shattered their faith and led to a final break with the Communists.
Chapter 47
II: The Communist Dictatorship and the Russian Revolution
This chapter analyzes the Bolshevik dictatorship's betrayal of the Russian Revolution's original anarchist and popular tendencies. It argues that the October Revolution was not a Marxist inevitability but a product of unique circumstances, and that the Bolsheviks, driven by a distrust of the masses and a fanatical faith in state centralization, replaced popular initiative with party dictatorship and terror. The chapter contrasts the spontaneous, federative, and anti-statist path of the revolution with the Bolsheviks' imposition of a centralized, authoritarian state that exploited labor, created privileged groups, and crushed creative freedom, ultimately concluding that true social revolution requires non-governmental, anarchist communism.
Chapter 48
Endnotes
This chapter provides endnotes and explanatory references for terms, events, and individuals mentioned throughout the book, including historical figures, political organizations, and key incidents such as the Kronstadt uprising and the Cheka's actions.
