A Russian businessman in Washington: P. P. Batolin and U.S.-Russian relations in late 1918

Abstract

Based on archival materials from Russia and the United States, this article uses the experience of P. P. Batolin (1880–1939), a member of tsarist Russia's business elite, to investigate U.S.-Russian relations during Russia's revolution and civil war. Focusing on Batolin's campaign in the autumn of 1918 to persuade the Wilson administration to utilize economic assistance to Russia to weaken the Bolsheviks, this article explores Batolin's political views, the ways in which he promoted and mobilized support for his ideas, his recommended tactics to oust the Bolsheviks, and his attempts to persuade the government of the United States to adopt these strategies. I argue that through his interaction with political figures in Washington in the autumn of 1918, Batolin and his general ideas exerted influence on later U.S. policy towards Soviet Russia.