Berkman .:. The Bolshevik Myth

Berkman, Alexander,
The Bolshevik Myth. (Diary 1920-1922). London, Winchester: Pluto-Press, 1989. 342 Seiten. Broschur. 340 g

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* Libertarian Critique. - Including the 'Anti-Climax'. New introduction by Nicolas Walter. - Obere Ecke bestossen.
Bestell-Nr.156460 | ISBN: 1-85305-032-6 | 9781853 050329

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Berkman | Anarchismus | Autobiographie | Russland | Sowjetunion | Bolschewismus

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ALEXANDER BERKMAN
THE BOLSHEVIK MYTH
When Alexander Berkman (1870-1936) — a leading American anarchist of Russian origin — returned to Russia in 1919, he was welcomed as a hero by the Bolshevik regime. Berkman and his companion and colleague Emma Goldman — having been deported from the United States for their anti-war activities, and fired with revolutionary enthusiasm — were determined to work for the Russian Revolution.
The Bolshevik Myth — first published in 1925 — is Berkman's account of the two years he spent in the Soviet Union, his meetings with Lenin, Trotsky, Kropotkin, and above all with the Russian people, the ordinary men and women who were suffering hunger, disease and persecution. It is the story of chaos, bureaucratic incompetence and economic ruin. A story of warring revolutionary factions, barbarism, repression and fear, leading to the author's complete disillusionment with the Bolshevik system.
In his new biographical introduction Nicolas Walter, quoting from contemporary publications and unpublished manuscript sources, compares The Bolshevik Myth with Berkman's diary from the period — on which the published book is based — and examines some of the complications of Berkman's relationship with Emma Goldman, whose writings he edited.
Nicolas Walter is a British writer, speaker and editor who specialises in the theory, practice and history of anarchism and humanism.

Cover photograph: Alexander Berkman in Russia in 1920.
Design: Adrian Yeeles/Artworkers
Pluto Press 345 Archway Road 404 London N6 5AA

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CONTENTS
NEW INTRODUCTION BY NICOLAS WALTER vii
AUTHOR'S PREFACE
I. THE LOG OF THE TRANSPORT "BUFORD" 13
II. ON SOVIET SOIL 28
III. IN PETROGRAD 32
lv. MOSCOW 42
v. THE GUEST HOUSE 46
TCHICHERIN AND KARAKHAN 50
VII. THE MARKET 55
VIII. IN THE MOSKKOMMUNE 61
THE CLUB ON THE TVERSKAYA 65
x. A VISIT TO PETER KROPOTKIN 72
BOLSHEVIK ACTIVITIES 76
XII. SIGHTS AND VIEWS 82
XIII. LENIN 89
XIV. ON THE LATVIAN BORDER 93
xv. BACK IN PETROGRAD ...114
REST HOMES FOR WORKERS ...125
WII. THE FIRST OF MAY ...129
XVIII. THE BRITISH LABOR MISSION ...133
XIX. THE SPIRIT OF FANATICISM ...142
OTHER PEOPL E ... 152
XXI. EN ROUTE TO THE UKRAINA ...158
XXII. FIRST DAYS IN KHARKOV 163
>oall. IN SOVIET INSTITUTIONS ...174
xxrv. YOSSIF THE EMIGRANT ...182
xxv. NESTOR MAKHNO ...190
xxvl. PRISON AND CONCENTRATION CANfP ...197
xxvll. FURTHER SOUTH ...204
wull. FASTOV THE POGROMED ...207
XXIX. KIEV ...218
xxx. IN VARIOUS WALKS ...225
xxxl. THE TCHEKA ...240
xxxll. ODESSA• LIFE AND VISION ...245
XXXIII. DARK PEOPLE 260
xxx1V. A BOLSHEVIK TRIAL 268
xxxv. RETURNING TO PETROGRAD 272
xxxvl. IN THE FAR NORTH 281
XXXVII. EARLY DAYS OF 1921 ...286
xxxvlll. KRONSTADT ...291
XXXIX. LAST LINKS IN THE CHAIN ...304
THE ANTI-CLIMAX ...321
IN EXPLANATION ...322
PREFACE ...323
THE LESSONS OF THE BOLSHEVIK MYTH 327

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