A Diary of the Russian Revolution

A Diary of the Russian Revolution offers a rare firsthand account of the 1917 overthrow of the Romanov monarchy, as seen through the eyes of James L. Houghteling Jr., one of the few Americans in Petrograd.

This book presents Houghteling’s original account along with explanatory notes and an introduction that sets the diary in the wider context of American interpretations and misinterpretations of the revolutions of 1917 that did so much to shape the twentieth century."

"When an astonishing revolution toppled the Russian autocracy early in 1917, James L. Houghteling Jr., a special attaché to the US embassy in Russia, was one of the very few Americans present who daily recorded the striking events he witnessed and the comments he heard from both Russian and foreign observers. The diary of the thirty-three-year-old Chicago native therefore provides a rare and valuable record of dramatic developments in the streets of the wartime capital, Petrograd. It also offers unusual insights into how Russian elites and foreign diplomats, journalists, and business owners viewed the actions of soldiers, workers, and political leaders who shaped the revolution.