# Alexander Berkman — My Disillusionment in Russia character guide

> Alexander Berkman in My Disillusionment in Russia by Emma Goldman.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** A. Shapiro, Alexander Berkman

**First appearance:** 0003-i-deportation-to-russia

## Snapshot

Goldman's anarchist comrade and fellow traveler through revolutionary Russia, whose shared disillusionment becomes the emotional spine of her two-year reckoning.

## Who they are

Alexander Berkman is Goldman's closest comrade, the companion with whom she entered Russia possessed by hope and with whom she measured each new link in the fatal chain of disappointment. He shares her anarchist ideals and her growing conviction that the Bolshevik State is crushing every constructive revolutionary effort, and it is alongside him that she reads Landauer's letters on the French Revolution while Bolshevik artillery begins the bombardment of Kronstadt. His presence turns private disillusionment into a shared testimony, anchoring the memoir's movement from faith to departure.

## Relationships

### [Unknown Narrator](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/my_disillusionment_in_russia_se/characters/unknown_narrator)

_friendship_

Alexander Berkman is a fellow anarchist and close comrade who shares the narrator's disillusionment and personal struggles.

### [Unknown Narrator](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/my_disillusionment_in_russia_se/characters/unknown_narrator)

_friendship_

Alexander Berkman is a fellow anarchist and close comrade who shares the narrator's disillusionment and personal struggles.

## In the story

### [I: Deportation to Russia](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/my_disillusionment_in_russia_se/chapters/i-deportation-to-russia)

Fellow deportee who accompanies Goldman to Smolny and shares her early impressions.

### [V: Meeting People](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/my_disillusionment_in_russia_se/chapters/v-meeting-people)

Berkman accompanies the narrator to visit Kropotkin alongside A. Shapiro.

### [Preparing for American Deportees](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/my_disillusionment_in_russia_se/chapters/vi-preparing-for-american-deportees)

Member of the Reception Committee; leaves for the Latvian border to meet the exiles.

### [VII: Rest Homes for Workers](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/my_disillusionment_in_russia_se/chapters/vii-rest-homes-for-workers)

Joins the narrator and Zorin in planning the rest homes project.

### [XI: A Visit from the Ukraine](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/my_disillusionment_in_russia_se/chapters/xi-a-visit-from-the-ukraine)

Implied as one of the recipients of the Ukrainian Anarchists' report, alongside Emma Goldman.

### [XVIII: En Route](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/my_disillusionment_in_russia_se/chapters/xviii-en-route)

Appointed as chairman and general manager of the Museum Expedition; he meets with Krasnoschekov and is invited to visit Chita.

### [Kiev](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/my_disillusionment_in_russia_se/chapters/xxi-kiev)

Referred to as an 'American' along with the narrator when using the 'American amulet' to secure historical material.

### [XXV: Archangel and Return](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/my_disillusionment_in_russia_se/chapters/xxv-archangel-and-return)

Member of the expedition to Archangel, traveling with the narrator and the Secretary.

### [XXVII: Kronstadt](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/my_disillusionment_in_russia_se/chapters/xxvii-kronstadt)

Co-signs the anarchist letter to the Petrograd Soviet of Defence proposing a peaceful commission to resolve the Kronstadt conflict.

### [XXXII: The Socialist Republic Resorts to Deportation](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/my_disillusionment_in_russia_se/chapters/xxxii-the-socialist-republic-resorts-to-deportation)

Deported alongside Emma Goldman and A. Shapiro to attend the International Anarchist Congress in Berlin.

### [Endnotes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/my_disillusionment_in_russia_se/chapters/endnotes)

Referenced in endnote regarding trial and speeches.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/my_disillusionment_in_russia_se/characters/alexander_berkman
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/my_disillusionment_in_russia_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/my_disillusionment_in_russia_se/characters