Caught in the Revolution: Petrograd, Russia, 1917—A World on the Edge

Rappaport expands her Russianist oeuvre beyond her four previous works, including The Romanov Sisters, with an inclusive narrative of the 1917 Russian Revolution through the eyes of diplomatic and journalistic European witnesses. A series of devastating revolts in that year saw bolshevism rise out of the ashes of the Romanov monarchy. At the time, Petrograd (now Saint Petersburg) was a cosmopolitan community of expats, journalists, and diplomats. These American, French, and British residents quickly went from a "demi-monde" life of privilege to threats of mortal danger and suffering privations along with the Russian people during the incendiary events of the uprising. Rappaport scoured firsthand accounts to tell the story through these memoirist outsiders who witnessed the birth of a new nation and political ideology, "Bolsheviki." Although citing standard resources such as John Reeds's Ten Days That Shook the World, the research represents the most comprehensive compendium to date of non-Russian perspectives across social classes. Includes a glossary of eyewitnesses along with an extensive bibliography and index.