The Bolsheviks and Britain during the Russian Revolution and Civil War, 1917-24

Book excerpt: This book analyses the principal aspects of the relations between Soviet Russia (USSR) and Britain in the crucial phase of their formation, namely the period from 1917 to 1924. Using previously unavailable and largely unknown archival records and memoirs published by statesmen, diplomats and military commanders directly involved in the events, Evgeny Sergeev not only reconstructs the dynamics of the interaction between Moscow and London, but also strips its key episodes of common myths and stereotypes. The most debatable issues, to which this study draws its primary attention, include Britain's role in the Entente armed intervention against the Bolshevik regime as well as a series of reciprocate attempts to avoid political controversies, and London's contribution to humanitarian aid and the economic recovery of post-revolutionary Russia. Special consideration is also given to the impact of British diplomacy on the recognition of the USSR by other great powers like France, Italy, and Japan in the mid-1920s.