Yashka · Chapters
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Chapter companions for Yashka by Maria Bochkareva.
Chapter 1
Yashka
Maria Bochkareva recounts her early life of poverty and hardship in a Siberian peasant family, her abusive father, and her mother's suffering. She describes her childhood of toil, her lack of education, and her growing desire to escape her circumstances. The chapter ends with her being seduced and abandoned by Lieutenant Lazov, leading to her forced marriage to Afanasy Bochkarev.
Chapter 2
Part I: Youth
This section covers Maria Bochkareva's early life, including her childhood of toil, her abusive family, her seduction and abandonment by Lieutenant Lazov, her forced marriage to Afanasy Bochkarev, her escape from him, her time in Irkutsk and escape from a brothel, her exile with Yasha Buk and his attempted hanging, and her eventual escape from exile.
Chapter 3
My Childhood of Toil
Maria Bochkareva recounts her early childhood, born into extreme poverty in a family of former serfs. Her father, Leonti Frolkov, a decorated veteran of the Russo-Turkish War, becomes abusive and alcoholic. The family migrates to Siberia in search of land, enduring hunger, illness, and homelessness. At age eight, Maria is sent to work as a nursemaid, facing harsh treatment and contemplating suicide. She briefly runs away, is taken to a police station, and is eventually reunited with her mother. The chapter ends with the family renting a basement and Maria encountering the grocer Nastasia Fuchsman.
Chapter 4
II: Marriage at Fifteen
Maria, now fifteen, works for the Lazov family and begins a relationship with Lieutenant Vasili Lazov, who seduces her with promises of marriage. When his regiment is transferred, he abandons her, leading to a violent confrontation. Maria returns home to brutal beatings from her father. Desperate to escape, she marries Afanasy Bochkarev, a coarse soldier, only to find herself trapped in another abusive relationship. After Afanasy steals her savings, Maria attempts to kill him but is stopped by her father. She flees to Irkutsk, stowing away on trains.
Chapter 5
III: A Little Happiness
Maria arrives in Irkutsk penniless and struggles to find stable work, enduring a series of harsh jobs including dishwashing, laundry, and asphalt labor. She eventually finds a measure of peace living with Yasha Buk, supporting herself by making ice cream and caring for the poor. Their quiet life is shattered when a revolutionary fugitive seeks refuge, leading to a police raid, Yasha's arrest and release, and ultimately Maria's own arrest after Yasha helps the fugitive escape.
Chapter 6
IV: The Road to Exile
Maria and Yasha are marched with a thousand other prisoners from Alexandrovsk prison to Katchugo, enduring brutal conditions, filth, and a rigid criminal hierarchy. After a trial among convicts, Maria is separated from Yasha in Yakutsk. She appeals to Governor Kraft to keep Yasha from being sent to Kolymsk, but the Governor propositions her. Maria refuses, but later accepts his help under false pretenses. When Yasha learns the truth, he attacks Maria and attempts to kill the Governor, leading to his arrest and exile to Amga.
Chapter 7
V: Escape from Exile
Maria Bochkareva describes her life in exile in Amga, where she becomes a caretaker for the political exiles, but her partner Yasha's jealousy and gambling lead to violent abuse. After a false accusation and a near-fatal hanging attempt, she escapes by cutting her hair, dressing as a man, and walking over 130 miles to Yakutsk, driven by a calling to serve in the war.
Chapter 8
Part II: War
Maria Bochkareva recounts her harrowing experiences on the front lines of World War I, from her enlistment and first taste of battle to the devastating impact of the Russian Revolution on the army. She describes the chaos, the breakdown of discipline, and her desperate efforts to form a 'Battalion of Death' to inspire the troops and defend the Provisional Government against the Bolsheviks.
Chapter 9
VI: I Enlist by the Grace of the Tsar
Maria Bochkareva returns to Tomsk after nearly two years in exile, reunites with her aging parents and old acquaintances, and decides to enlist in the Russian army despite widespread ridicule and her mother's fierce opposition. After persistent appeals, she receives a personal telegram from the Tsar authorizing her enlistment, is outfitted as a soldier, and departs with her regiment amid patriotic fervor, leaving her grieving mother behind.
Chapter 10
VII: My First Experience of No Man's Land
Maria Bochkareva (Yashka) arrives at the front with her regiment, facing initial skepticism from officers like Colonel Stubendorf about a woman soldier. After proving her competence in drill, she is permitted to stay. The regiment moves into the trenches under shellfire and gas attack, and Maria participates in her first night assault. She is wounded and paralyzed, captured by Germans for eight hours, and later rescued. After recovery, she returns to her unit to a hero's welcome, then endures grueling swamp conditions and listening-post duty, including a close encounter with a German raiding party.
Chapter 11
Wounded and Paralysed
Maria Bochkareva recounts the horrific Battle of Postovy in August 1916, where she endures a night trapped among corpses in a collapsing dugout, suffers a severe leg wound during a retreat, and spends six months recovering in a hospital. She is visited by Daria Maximovna Vasilieva, the mother of a fellow soldier, and slowly relearns to walk. The chapter also describes a later assault where a treacherous order from General Walter halts a promising breakthrough, leading to immense casualties.
Chapter 12
IX: Eight Hours in German Hands
Maria Bochkareva recounts her return to the front after a medical commission, her brief stay with Daria Maximovna, a harrowing train journey where she helps a soldier's wife, and her reunion with the Polotsk Regiment. She captures the growing disillusionment and dark rumors among the troops in early 1917, foreshadowing the coming revolution.
Chapter 13
Part III: Revolution
This chapter covers the period of the Russian Revolution as experienced by Maria Bochkareva and her Battalion of Death. It details the collapse of discipline at the front, the rise of Bolshevik influence, the political maneuvering in Petrograd, and the final disillusionment as the revolution fails to deliver on its promises of order and victory.
Chapter 14
X: The Revolution at the Front
The chapter describes the arrival of news of the Russian Revolution at the front, the initial ecstasy and hope among the soldiers, the reading of the manifesto and Order No. 1, the subsequent breakdown of discipline, the rise of fraternization with German soldiers, and Maria Bochkareva's growing disillusionment as she witnesses the army's paralysis and the erosion of military order. She eventually decides to leave the front, receiving a farewell from her regiment and an invitation from Rodzianko to come to Petrograd.
Chapter 15
I Organize the Battalion of Death
Maria Bochkareva recounts the founding of the Women's Battalion of Death in Petrograd in May 1917. After proposing the idea at a conference of the State Duma, she gains the support of Rodzianko, Brusilov, and Kerensky. A public meeting at the Mariinsky Theatre draws 1,500 volunteers, and the number swells to 2,000. Bochkareva imposes strict discipline, no committees, and a pledge of absolute obedience. The women are housed at the Kolomensk Women's Institute, outfitted, and begin training under male instructors from the Volynski Regiment.
Chapter 16
My Fight Against Committee Rule
Maria Bochkareva faces a mutiny in her Battalion when Bolshevik agitators persuade a majority of the women to form a committee and reject her strict discipline. Only about three hundred loyalists remain. She refuses Kerensky's direct order to form a committee, leading to a confrontation. The loyalists arm themselves and confront General Polovtzev, who ultimately supports Bochkareva. She reorganizes the remnant of her Battalion, determined to maintain discipline and sacrifice for Russia.
Chapter 17
The Battalion at the Front
The Battalion of Death is consecrated and departs for the front amid patriotic fervor and public adulation. Upon arrival at Molodechno, they are quartered near a barracks of deserters and Bolshevik agitators who harass and stone the women. Maria Bochkareva confronts the mob, but the military authorities are powerless due to the abolition of the death penalty. The chapter ends with the women enduring a night of siege, revealing the disintegration of the Russian army.
Chapter 18
XIV: An Errand from Kerensky to Kornilov
Maria Bochkareva recounts her mission from Kerensky to Kornilov, witnessing the growing rift between the two leaders. She visits a disreputable women's battalion in Moscow, is nearly lynched by a mob, and is saved by General Verkhovsky. She returns to the front, where her battalion prepares for an offensive that is ultimately thwarted by the cowardice and indecision of the male soldiers. She then travels with Kornilov and Rodzianko to Petrograd, where a stormy meeting with Kerensky reveals the deep political divisions threatening Russia.
Chapter 19
XV: The Army Becomes a Savage Mob
Maria Bochkareva confronts a mob of soldiers who have just lynched Colonel Belonogov, defending his honor and challenging their revolutionary rhetoric. She later returns to the front with her Battalion of Death, only to find fraternization with the Germans and growing Bolshevik influence. After she wounds a German soldier to prevent fraternization, the mob turns on her, leading to a violent struggle where a loyal female soldier is killed. Bochkareva is rescued by her defenders and sent to Molodechno, while her battalion faces constant harassment.
Chapter 20
Part IV: Terror
The chapter depicts the aftermath of the Bolshevik Revolution, the disintegration of the Russian army, and the rise of terror and chaos. Maria Bochkareva witnesses the collapse of discipline, the murder of officers, and the spread of Bolshevik propaganda. She attempts to rally her Battalion of Death but is ultimately arrested by the Bolsheviks, interrogated, and imprisoned. The chapter ends with her escape and the grim realization that the revolution has devoured its own.
Chapter 21
XVI: The Triumph of Bolshevism
Maria Bochkareva faces a crisis when Bolshevik soldiers demand the surrender of her Battalion's arms. She defiantly orders her women to fire a warning volley, then swiftly marches the unit into the woods to escape the enraged mob. Later, she returns to the front, is promoted to captain by General Valuyev, and reconnects with her troops. Through a simple game, she bridges the hostility between her women and the male soldiers, fostering a new respect. The chapter ends with her maintaining a war footing despite the revolutionary chaos.
Chapter 22
XVII: Facing Lenin and Trotsky
Maria Bochkareva travels from Tutalsk to Petrograd in January 1918, witnessing the disillusionment of soldiers and the terror of Bolshevik rule. She is arrested by Red Guards upon arrival and taken to the Smolny Institute, where she is detained in a cellar. The next day she is brought before Lenin and Trotsky, who attempt to recruit her. She refuses, arguing that their policies are destroying Russia. After her release, she makes her way toward Kornilov's forces, disguising herself as a peasant woman to cross the front.
Chapter 23
XVIII: Caught in a Bolshevik Deathtrap
Maria Bochkareva, traveling to Kislovodsk for medical treatment, is captured by Bolshevik forces and narrowly escapes execution through the intervention of Ivan Petrukhin. She later disguises herself as a sick peasant woman to cross into Kornilov's territory, where she meets with General Kornilov to discuss the dire state of the anti-Bolshevik resistance.
Chapter 24
XIX: Saved by a Miracle
Maria Bochkareva is imprisoned by Bolsheviks and faces execution. Through the intervention of Daria Maximovna Vasilieva and her son Stepan, and later a soldier named Peter whose life she saved, she is spared and eventually released.
Chapter 25
XX: I Set Out on a Mission
Maria Bochkareva leaves her mother and the invalids of her Battalion of Death in the village of Tutalsk, then travels eastward with her sister Nadia toward Vladivostok. Along the way she encounters former acquaintances, evades Red Guard searches, and is briefly detained in Khabarovsk. During a train journey she witnesses a remarkable change in the soldiers, who now curse Bolshevism and express willingness to fight the Germans again, leading her to conceive the idea of going to America to seek Allied help.
Chapter 26
Endnotes
This chapter contains endnotes providing translations and clarifications for terms used in the main text.
Chapter 27
List of Illustrations
A portrait of Maria Bochkareva in military uniform, with a sombre expression and medals, accompanied by her signature.
