A Gentleman in Moscow

The Bolshevik Party, a faction of the Russian Social-Democratic Workers’ Party, was led by Vladimir Lenin. It later became the Communist Party. The Bolsheviks seized power in the Revolution of 1917 and later executed Tsar Nicholas II and his family. In the aftermath, many aristocrats were killed, arrested, exiled, or thrown from their homes. Many, like the Count’s grandmother, left Russia. The Count is a “Former Person”—a Bolshevik term for an aristocrat who remained. In theory, the Bolsheviks stood for the equality of the classes—the elimination of serfdom and the elevation of the worker. A Gentleman in Moscow shows that the Bolshevik regime, in an attempt to stand for workers and the common man, ultimately became as oppressive as the Tsarist rule they overturned. The novel depicts various and differing examples of those who supported the Bolshevik party. Some Bolshevik sympathizers are earnest in their desire to help the people, while others seek power. The novel suggests the Party deviated from its ideals as its power grew.

Early in the novel, Bolsheviks are derisive or mocking of the Count, showing the disdain of the Bolsheviks for “Former People.” During his trial, the prosecutor comments on the number of buttons on the Count’s jacket, saying “[i]t was not meant as a compliment” (3).