# IV explained — The Bolshevik Myth

> Chapter companion for The Bolshevik Myth by Alexander Berkman.

## What happens

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.

## Themes in this chapter

### Revolutionary Idealism vs. Reality

Prehde's sincere but harsh revolutionary duty contrasts with the arbitrary arrest and potential execution of harmless deportees, highlighting the gap between ideals and brutal practice.

### Terror and Violence

The constant threat of execution, the Cheka's armed readiness, and the drunken quarrels and gunfire illustrate the pervasive violence of the period.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown Narrator

The narrator negotiates with Prehde for the lives of the arrested workers, defies Chicherin's orders, and endures a perilous night in a Cheka car.

### Chicherin

Chicherin orders the narrator to wait at the border for American emigrants, but the narrator decides to ignore his directives.

### Tovarish Karus

Karus accompanies the narrator and Ethel, helps navigate the dangerous night, and confronts the Cheka Commissar.

### Ethel Bernstein

Ethel is present during the border incident and the night in the Cheka car, expressing fear of typhus.

## Key lines

> The taking of human life he considers a personal tragedy, a harsh ordeal his conscience is subjected to by revolutionary exigency.

Prehde views killing as a tragic duty forced upon him by revolutionary necessity.

_Reveals the moral conflict within a revolutionary official._

> Feeling certain that Chicherin was misinformed about the 'American emigrants,' I decided to ignore directions from 'the center' and return to Petrograd.

Convinced Chicherin's information was wrong, the narrator chose to disobey central orders.

_Shows the narrator's willingness to act independently against bureaucratic authority._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_bolshevik_myth_se/chapters/iv
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_bolshevik_myth_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_bolshevik_myth_se/chapters