The red heart of Russia by Bessie Beatty
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"The red heart of Russia" by Bessie Beatty is a journalistic eyewitness account written in the early 20th century. It follows an American war correspondent through revolutionary Russia, blending street‑level observation, front‑line reporting, and portraits of peasants, soldiers, workers, and politicians as the old order collapses and new powers contend for control. The opening of the book traces the author’s arrival in Petrograd during the white nights of early summer, where she
finds a city talking nonstop in the first flush of freedom and, after comic lodging misadventures, is helped by three “Good Samaritans” into quarters at the military-run Astoria. She observes preparations to receive the American Root Mission and, listening widely, distills how different groups define “freedom”: civil liberties for intellectuals, land for peasants, workplace control for labor, and peace for soldiers, while the Soviet emerges as the decisive force and German and émigré propaganda cloud Allied aims. She portrays the Mission’s cautious diplomacy and the central truth that Russia needs a compelling cause to keep fighting. Then, traveling to the front with her interpreter Peter, she records life in trenches and staff posts, aëroplane alarms, captured prisoners, and the grinding mud and monotony that sap morale. In a field hospital she contrasts a laughing Cossack with a shattered leg, a gentle amputee’s gratitude, and a tubercular peasant’s quiet death and burial, underscoring the human cost of war. The section closes with leaflets and rumors eroding discipline and the mounting tension between revolution’s push for freedom and the militarism of total war, segueing into the story of Russia’s women soldiers. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Beatty, Bessie, 1886-1947 |
|---|---|
| LoC No. | 18018471 |
| Title | The red heart of Russia |
| Original Publication | New York: The Century co., 1918. |
| Contents | Three good samaritans -- Diplomats: official and otherwise -- Irreconcilable bed-fellows -- Specks on the horizon -- The Battalion of Death -- In the hollow of their hand -- Old rivers and new doctrines -- The man on horseback -- The Centrabalt makes an exception -- The rise of the proletariat -- The fall of the Winter Palace -- The day of shame -- The grave of hope -- Mother Moscow weeps -- Blasting at the established order -- In place of the guillotine -- The great gray wolf -- Tsars and peasants -- Women in the revolution -- Revolution takes a holiday -- On the rocks of uncompromise -- The intelligentzia objects -- The great betrayal -- A message to Mars. |
| Credits | Alan, Peter Becker and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | DK: History: General and Eastern Hemisphere: Russia, Former Soviet Republics, Poland |
| Subject | Soviet Union -- History -- Revolution, 1917-1921 |
| Subject | Saint Petersburg (Russia) -- History -- Revolution, 1917-1921 |
| Category | Text |
| eBook-No. | 77955 |
| Release Date | Feb 16, 2026 |
| Copyright | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 250 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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