# Angelica Balabanova — My Disillusionment in Russia character guide

> Angelica Balabanova in My Disillusionment in Russia by Emma Goldman.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Balabanova, Angelica

**First appearance:** 0004-ii-petrograd

## Snapshot

Secretary of the Third International with sad, luminous eyes, the first Communist who answered the narrator's questions without the usual excuses.

## Who they are

The narrator finds her huddled on a sofa in a small, cheerless room, gracious as an old friend, ordering the inevitable samovar. Where others recite the old refrain, Balabanova admits that life itself is mean and limited, a rock on which the highest hopes are shattered. She gives away her own rations to the stranded Italians and anyone else in need, and her comrades call her a sentimentalist who wastes her time in philanthropy.

## Relationships

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

_friendship_

Angelica Balabanova is a close ally and fellow socialist who shares ideological camaraderie and personal support with the narrator.

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

_friendship_

Angelica Balabanova is a close ally and fellow socialist who shares ideological camaraderie and personal support with the narrator.

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

_friendship_

Angelica Balabanova is a close ally and fellow socialist who shares ideological camaraderie and personal support with the narrator.

## In the story

### [Moscow: First Impressions](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/my_disillusionment_in_russia_se/chapters/iv-moscow-first-impressions)

Secretary of the Third International, living in a small cheerless room, she is compassionate and selfless, often giving away her own rations to help others.

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

Balabanova arranges the narrator's meeting with Lenin and is described as one of the most simple and unassuming leading Communists.

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

Referenced as a symbol of the ideals the narrator still holds onto despite her doubts.

### [X: The British Labour Mission](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/my_disillusionment_in_russia_se/chapters/x-the-british-labour-mission)

Arrives in Petrograd to prepare quarters for the British Labour Mission, shows care for the narrator when ill, and is visibly distressed by the disparity between revolutionary ideals and reality.

### [XIII: Joining the Museum of the Revolution](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/my_disillusionment_in_russia_se/chapters/xiii-joining-the-museum-of-the-revolution)

Arrives in Petrograd with the Italian Mission, expresses distress over the plight of the former princess Narishkin, and is bound by party discipline.

### [XIV: Petropavlovsk and Schlüsselburg](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/my_disillusionment_in_russia_se/chapters/xiv-petropavlovsk-and-schl-sselburg)

Encountered in the enclosure of the Peter-and-Paul Fortress, walking with the Italians, absorbed in her own thoughts.

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

Mentioned as accompanying the Italian Mission; the narrator wonders what she would think of the soldiers' discontent.

### [XXIX: Travelling Salesmen of the Revolution](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/my_disillusionment_in_russia_se/chapters/xxix-travelling-salesmen-of-the-revolution)

Resented superficial visitors; rebuffed Mrs. Clare Sheridan's request to sculpt her, stating Lenin did not make the Revolution—the Russian people did.

## Links

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