# Unknown Narrator — The Bolshevik Myth character guide > Unknown Narrator in The Bolshevik Myth by Alexander Berkman. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Your, myself, yourself, me **First appearance:** 0001-the-bolshevik-myth ## Snapshot An anarchist newly arrived in Soviet Russia, hungry, watchful, and torn between revolutionary hope and the evidence of his own eyes. ## Who they are He comes to Soviet Russia exultant, ready to ignore doctrinal differences and work for the Revolution, and finds himself instead learning its daily texture: surrogat tea, thin soup, and the anxious glance at an empty chair that means more for the rest. His American crackers and condensed milk make him briefly a benefactor at a communal table where Ukrainians hoard salo wrapped in Tsarist police circulars. His growing doubt is the book's engine, turning a pilgrimage into a reckoning. ## Relationships ### [Chicherin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bolshevik_myth_se/characters/chicherin) _professional_ Chicherin interacts frequently with the narrator as a Soviet diplomat, engaging in formal political exchanges. ### [Tovarish Karus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bolshevik_myth_se/characters/tovarish_karus) _professional_ Tovarish Karus is a Bolshevik comrade who works alongside the narrator in revolutionary activities. ### [Alexander Berkman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bolshevik_myth_se/characters/alexander_berkman) _friendship_ Alexander Berkman is a fellow anarchist and close ally of the narrator, sharing ideological camaraderie. ### [Nestor Makhno](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bolshevik_myth_se/characters/nestor_makhno) _friendship_ Nestor Makhno is a fellow anarchist commander and comrade-in-arms with the narrator. ### [Tovarish Drozdov](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bolshevik_myth_se/characters/tovarish_drozdov) _professional_ Tovarish Drozdov is a Bolshevik functionary who interacts with the narrator in party and military contexts. ### [Lenin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bolshevik_myth_se/characters/lenin) _rivalry_ Lenin is the Bolshevik leader whose political path conflicts with the narrator's anarchist beliefs. ### [The Chekist](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bolshevik_myth_se/characters/the_chekist) _rivalry_ The Chekist is a secret police agent who interrogates and threatens the narrator. ### [Moishe](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bolshevik_myth_se/characters/moishe) _friendship_ Moishe is a fellow revolutionary and personal friend of the narrator, sharing hardships. ### [Zinoviev](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bolshevik_myth_se/characters/zinoviev) _rivalry_ Zinoviev is a Bolshevik leader who opposes the narrator's anarchist faction politically. ### [Yossif](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bolshevik_myth_se/characters/yossif) _friendship_ Yossif is a close comrade and fellow anarchist fighter alongside the narrator. ### [The Colonel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bolshevik_myth_se/characters/the_colonel) _rivalry_ The Colonel is a White Army officer who is a military enemy of the narrator. ### [Ethel Bernstein](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bolshevik_myth_se/characters/ethel_bernstein) _friendship_ Ethel Bernstein is a fellow anarchist and supportive friend to the narrator. ## In the story ### [The Bolshevik Myth](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bolshevik_myth_se/chapters/the-bolshevik-myth) The narrator recounts personal observations and growing disillusionment with the Bolshevik regime. ### [The Log of the Transport Buford](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bolshevik_myth_se/chapters/i-the-log-of-the-transport-buford) The narrator serves as the chosen spokesman for the deportees, organizing committees, negotiating with authorities, and assisting the ship's physician. He reflects on his longing to join the Russian Revolution and his commitment to the cause. ### [III: In Petrograd](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bolshevik_myth_se/chapters/iii-in-petrograd) Observes Petrograd's transformation, attends Soviet session, and mediates for the Buford deportees. ### [V: The Guest House](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bolshevik_myth_se/chapters/v-the-guest-house) The narrator observes life in the guest house, interacts with Ukrainian delegates, and shares a can of condensed milk. ### [VI: Chicherin and Karakhan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bolshevik_myth_se/chapters/vi-chicherin-and-karakhan) Feels his anarchist identity is deliberately obscured in official documents, discusses labor and revolution with Soviet officials, requests documents. ### [VII: The Market](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bolshevik_myth_se/chapters/vii-the-market) Walks through Moscow, observes the market, intervenes during the raid, and debates with Communist friends. ### [VIII: In the Moskkommune](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bolshevik_myth_se/chapters/viii-in-the-moskkommune) Accompanies the House Commissar to the Moskkommune, debates the fairness of the rationing system, and later agrees to let Sergei share his room. ### [IX: The Club on the Tverskaya](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bolshevik_myth_se/chapters/ix-the-club-on-the-tverskaya) Attends the Anarchist Conference at the Club, participates in the committee to present a resolution to Krestinsky, and expresses surprise at the imprisonment of leftists. ### [A Visit to Peter Kropotkin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bolshevik_myth_se/chapters/x-a-visit-to-peter-kropotkin) The narrator, a longtime admirer of Kropotkin, recounts the visit and his own youthful anarchist activism in New York. ### [Sights and Views](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bolshevik_myth_se/chapters/xii-sights-and-views) The narrator navigates Moscow, helping a sick friend Sergei, witnessing Cheka brutality, and visiting the home of a young cigarette seller. ### [XIII: Lenin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bolshevik_myth_se/chapters/xiii-lenin) Visits Lenin at the Kremlin, reflects on the Revolution, and discusses political plans. ### [XIV: On the Latvian Border](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bolshevik_myth_se/chapters/xiv-on-the-latvian-border) The narrator travels to the Latvian border as Chairman of the Reception Commission, negotiates with Drozdov, and converses with locals in Sebezh. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bolshevik_myth_se/chapters/ii) The narrator acts as the Chairman of the Reception Commission of the Petro-Soviet, negotiating with border officials and the Cheka to ensure the safe passage of war prisoners and awaiting American deportees. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bolshevik_myth_se/chapters/iii) The narrator travels to Sebezh, observes the market, and engages with locals, including a young peasant and a Jewish family. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bolshevik_myth_se/chapters/iv) The narrator negotiates with Prehde for the lives of the arrested workers, defies Chicherin's orders, and endures a perilous night in a Cheka car. ### [Rest Homes for Workers](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bolshevik_myth_se/chapters/xvi-rest-homes-for-workers) Enthusiastically accepts Zorin's offer to manage the rest home project, works out detailed plans, but refuses to execute unjust evictions and is gradually eliminated from the work. ### [XVIII: The British Labor Mission](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bolshevik_myth_se/chapters/xviii-the-british-labor-mission) Observes the British Mission's arrival and the reactions of workers and officials; serves as translator and informal liaison, noting the gap between propaganda and reality. ### [XX: Other People](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bolshevik_myth_se/chapters/xx-other-people) The narrator reflects on the confusion and decay of revolutionary ideals, and decides to join the Museum of the Revolution expedition. ### [En Route to the Ukraine](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bolshevik_myth_se/chapters/xxi-en-route-to-the-ukraine) Chairman of the expedition, traveling to Ukraine to collect revolutionary museum materials. ### [First Days in Kharkov](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bolshevik_myth_se/chapters/xxii-first-days-in-kharkov) The narrator serves as chairman of the expedition, collecting material from labor unions and revolutionary organizations in Kharkov. ### [XXIII: In Soviet Institutions](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bolshevik_myth_se/chapters/xxiii-in-soviet-institutions) Visits Petrovsky and labor union headquarters, observing the bureaucratic and human struggles in Soviet Ukraine. ### [XXIV: Yossif the Emigrant](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bolshevik_myth_se/chapters/xxiv-yossif-the-emigrant) The narrator who visits Yossif at the Volnoye Bratstvo bookstore and engages in debate about Makhno and the Bolsheviks. ### [XXV: Nestor Makhno](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bolshevik_myth_se/chapters/xxv-nestor-makhno) The first-person narrator who seeks to understand Makhno and agrees to meet him. ### [XXVII: Further South](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bolshevik_myth_se/chapters/xxvii-further-south) Narrates the journey, observes conditions, and interacts with the commissar. ### [XXVIII: Fastov the Pogromed](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bolshevik_myth_se/chapters/xxviii-fastov-the-pogromed) The narrator walks through Fastov, observing the destruction and speaking with survivors, learning about the pogroms. ### [XXIX: Kiev](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bolshevik_myth_se/chapters/xxix-kiev) Observes Kiev's beauty, Soviet bureaucracy, and antisemitism; gathers documents for the Museum; interacts with T⸺. ### [In Various Walks](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bolshevik_myth_se/chapters/xxx-in-various-walks) The narrator walks through Kiev, meets Gallina, and engages with Jewish intellectuals and families. ### [XXXI: The Cheka](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bolshevik_myth_se/chapters/xxxi-the-cheka) The narrator recounts the story of Kolya and the Pirro affair, and describes a visit from a Cheka executioner. ### [XXXII: Odessa: Life and Vision](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bolshevik_myth_se/chapters/xxxii-odessa-life-and-vision) Arrives in Odessa with the Expedition, witnesses the arrest of Alsberg, interacts with a requisitioned peasant woman, and attends a secret Menshevik meeting. ### [Dark People](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bolshevik_myth_se/chapters/xxxiii-dark-people) The narrator observes the plight of peasants and soldiers, records conversations about Makhno and Mariusa, and experiences the fear and hostility of villagers. ### [A Bolshevik Trial](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bolshevik_myth_se/chapters/xxxiv-a-bolshevik-trial) Observes the trial and speaks with Burov, questioning the validity of the testimony and the fairness of the proceedings. ### [In the Far North](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bolshevik_myth_se/chapters/xxxvi-in-the-far-north) Travels through Yaroslavl, Vologda, and Archangel, observing conditions and interviewing local officials and workers. ### [Early Days of 1921](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bolshevik_myth_se/chapters/xxxvii-early-days-of-1921) The narrator intercedes for imprisoned anarchists, appeals to Lenin, and later helps organize Kropotkin's funeral and memorial. ### [Last Links in the Chain](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bolshevik_myth_se/chapters/xxxix-last-links-in-the-chain) The narrator observes the Congresses, interacts with delegates, mourns Fanya Baron, and decides to leave Russia. ### [XL: The Lessons of the “Bolshevik Myth”](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bolshevik_myth_se/chapters/xl-the-lessons-of-the-bolshevik-myth) The narrator recounts their personal journey from revolutionary hope to disillusionment with Bolshevik rule. ### [I: My Personal Attitude and Reactions](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bolshevik_myth_se/chapters/i-my-personal-attitude-and-reactions) The narrator reflects on their personal journey from revolutionary hope to disillusionment with the Bolsheviks. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bolshevik_myth_se/characters/unknown_narrator - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bolshevik_myth_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bolshevik_myth_se/characters