My Disillusionment in Russia

My Disillusionment in Russia is a work by Emma Goldman, an influential anarchist. The book details her experiences and subsequent disappointment with the Soviet Union after her deportation from the United States in 1919.1

Goldman, who had previously been a prominent activist in the U.S. advocating for various social causes including birth control and opposing war, initially held hopes for the Bolshevik Revolution. However, her time in Russia led her to observe and critique the growing bureaucratization, suppression of dissent, and the concentration of power within the Communist Party and state apparatus. Her disillusionment stemmed from the perceived betrayal of revolutionary ideals and the emergence of authoritarian control, which contrasted sharply with her anarchist principles of freedom and self-governance.123