No matter what one thinks of Bolshevism, it is undeniable that the
Russian Revolution is one of the great events of human history, and the
rise of the Bolsheviki a phenomenon of world-wide importance. Just as
historians search the records for the minutest details of the story of
the Paris Commune, so they will want to know what happened in Petrograd
in November, 1917, the spirit which animated the people, and how the
leaders looked, talked and acted. It is with this in view that I have
written this book.

In the struggle my sympathies were not neutral. But in telling the
story of those great days I have tried to see events with the eye of a
conscientious reporter, interested in setting down the truth.
J. R.
New York, January 1st 1919.


Notes and Explanations

To the average reader the multiplicity of Russian
organisations-political groups, Committees and Central Committees,
Soviets, Dumas and Unions-will prove extremely confusing. For this
reason I am giving here a few brief definitions and explanations.

Political Parties

In the elections to the Constituent Assembly, there were seventeen
tickets in Petrograd, and in some of the provincial towns as many as
forty; but the following summary of the aims and composition of
political parties is limited to the groups and factions mentioned in
this book. Only the essence of their programmes and the general