The Bolshevik Myth - Aftermath

Aftermath

Berkman and Goldman left Russia in December 1921. Almost immediately, Berkman began to write a series of pamphlets concerning the Russian Revolution. "The Russian Tragedy", "The Russian Revolution and the Communist Party", and "The Kronstadt Rebellion" were published during the summer of 1922.

At the same time, Goldman began writing a book about her experiences in Russia, using material collected by Berkman as sources and with his editorial assistance. Berkman's plans for a book of his own were postponed. He wrote of his concerns to a friend:

What troubles me most is the writing and publication of my diary and book on Russia.... I have consented, willingly and cheerfully, that EG make use of all the data, material, documents, etc., which I had accumulated (and translated), for her book. Moreover, EG's forte is the platform, not the pen, as she herself knows very well. Therefore my days and weeks are now taken up, really entirely, as editor. It is not only that I get no time for my own work, but my diary and my book (if I ever get to it) must of necessity contain the very same things, data and documents, in exactly the same wording even, as EG's book, for the translations are all mine. As her book will be out first, what interest could my book (or even the diary) have on the very same subject, covering the same period, speaking of the same events, of the same places, even, since we visited them together in our work for the Museum of Petrograd, and—worst of all—containing the very same documents, etc., etc.

Work on Goldman's book, My Two Years in Russia, was completed in December 1922, and the book was published in two parts with titles not of her choosing: My Disillusionment in Russia (1923) and My Further Disillusionment in Russia (1924). Berkman worked on The Bolshevik Myth throughout 1923 and it was published in January 1925.

According to Nicolas Walter, The Bolshevik Myth did suffer from being published after Goldman's book but it received positive reviews nonetheless. American anarchist Harry Kelly wrote a long review in which he described The Bolshevik Myth as "a great piece of literature". British philosopher Bertrand Russell wrote to Berkman that he had read The Bolshevik Myth "with the greatest interest", adding that "y judgment of the Bolsheviks is substantially the same as yours; I went through the same disenchantment, having come with the same hopes".