An American diplomat in Bolshevik Russia

Abstract

An American diplomat in Bolshevik Russia, by DeWitt Clinton edited by Lorraine M. Lees and William S. Rodner, Madison WI, University of Wisconsin Press, 2014, xxiii + 332 pp., US $26.95 (pbk), ISBN 978-0-299-30224-5DeWitt Clinton Poole was an American diplomat who began his service in the American consulate office in Russia in September 1917. He remained in the Soviet Union operating as a representative of American interests until the summer of 1919, when he returned to Washington. As a result of Poole's timely entry into Russia and the months spent there, he not only was witness to the Bolshevik Revolution, but also was involved in discussions with Bolshevik diplomats and the Allied Intervention.Thanks to the efforts of Lorraine M. Lees and William S. Rodner, the portions of Poole's reminiscences that are most relevant to scholars of the Bolshevik Revolution or of early diplomacy with the nascent Bolshevik government have been edited and published. An American Diplomacy in Bolshevik Russia is based on The Reminiscences of DeWitt Clinton Poole, the result of several interviews of Poole by Wendell H. Link in 1952. Lees and Rodner have attempted to remove the less relevant portions, to omit repetition, and to provide a more concise edition of Poole's memoirs for the benefit of the academic community.The memoirs proceed chronologically, beginning with Poole's recollections of the Revolution, before including his memories of trips to the Don Region, the beginning of the Allied Intervention, the development of the Russian Civil War, and the trials and tribulations in northern Russia. memoirs are not, however, your typical review of one man's memories. Instead, who continued to be involved in the State Department after 1919 and who read widely on the Russian Revolution, is looking back at what could have been along with the events he recalls. He frequently makes connections to his own papers and documents of the State Department and directs the audience to certain studies he believes are necessary to understand Bolshevik Russia. editors should also be commended for maintaining the storytelling of Poole. While there are moments where he repeats himself, this publication reads as if Poole is telling a story to an eager audience, covering his own memories, relating stories he recalls, and helping the reader understand the events he describes. It flows well and one wants to keep reading to the conclusion.While his memories of the Revolution itself are unique, his recollections of the Allied Intervention may be more important to scholars. Poole is clear in his position that the Allies wanted to merely reopen the Eastern Front. …