Petrograd, 1917: Witnesses to the Russian Revolution

Synopsis

It's Damned Hard Lines Asking For Bread And Only Getting A Bullet! The Dramatic And Chaotic Events Surrounding The Russian Revolution Have Been Studied And Written About Extensively For The Last Hundred Years, By Historians And Journalists Alike. However, Some Of The Most Compelling And Valuable Accounts Are Those Recorded By Eyewitnesses, Many Of Whom Were Foreign Nationals Caught In Petrograd At The Time. Drawing From The Bodleian Library's Rich Collections, This Book Features Extracts From Letters, Journals, Diaries And Memoirs Written By A Diverse Cast Of Onlookers. Primarily British, The Authors Include Sydney Gibbes, English Tutor To The Royal Children, Bertie Stopford, An Antiques Dealer Who Smuggled The Vladimir Tiara And Other Romanov Jewels Into The Uk, And The Private Secretary To Lord Milner In The British War Cabinet. Contrasting With These Are A Memoir By Stinton Jones, An Engineer Who Found Himself Sharing A Train Compartment With Rasputin, A Newspaper Report By Governess Janet Jeffrey Who Survived A Violent Confrontation With The Red Army, And Letters Home From Labour Politician, Arthur Henderson. Accompanied By Seventy Contemporary Illustrations, These First-hand Accounts Are Put Into Context With Introductory Notes, Giving A Fascinating Insight Into The Tumultuous Year Of 1917. Timeline -- Introduction -- The Key Witnesses -- Eyewitness Accounts. Petrograd In 1914: A Workman's View -- Nicholas And Alexandra -- Encounters With Rasputin -- The Outbreak Of War -- The Murder Of Rasputin -- The February Revolution -- A Bolshevik View Of The Revolution -- The First Eyewitness Accounts To Be Published In England -- Experiences Of A Jockey In Moscow -- Burying The Victims Of Revolution -- Adjusting To The New Society -- The Fate Of The Imperial Family -- The Arrival Of Lenin -- With Kerensky At The Front -- The Henderson Mission -- All-russia Conference Of The Council Of Workers' And Soldiers' Delegates -- The July Days -- Bolshevik Propoganda And Demoralization At The Front -- The Disillusionment Of A Social Democrat -- The Kornilov Affair -- The Bolshevik Uprising -- Living Under Bolshevism -- The Dissolution Of The Constituent Assembly -- A Prisoner Of War's Experience Of The Revolution -- Instruction In The Tenets Of Bolshevism -- Leaving Russia And Looking To The Future -- British Supporters Of The Bolshevik Revolution -- Petrograd In 1918: A Workman's View -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Picture Credits -- Index. John Pinfold.