Known as 'the prison novel', this is one of the most extraordinary
pieces of writing to have come to light following the opening up of
Soviet archives. This is the first English edition of Bukharin's
semi-autobiographical tale of Russian childhood and youth, and it
has a fascinating introduction by the man whose perseverance
unearthed the script. The cruel irony of the novel, pulsating with
the energy of a young, gifted life, is that it was written while
Bukharin was imprisoned in a tiny cell for one year, awaiting
execution on false charges. His show trial of 1938 (after which
Stalin had him executed) ended a brilliant career in which he had
been a favourite of Lenin. He wrote many letters from his cell
begging Stalin to spare his work. It was saved from destuction by
being cast deep into the Russian Presidential Archive, and was
retrieved in 1992. In its own right, the novel is a brilliant piece
of writing, and in the context of its creation, quite amazing.
(Kirkus UK)
Here at last in English is Nikolai Bukharin's autobiographical
novel and final work. Many dissident texts of the Stalin era were
saved by chance, by bravery, or by cunning; others were
systematically destroyed. Bukharin's work, however, was
simultaneously preserved and suppressed within Stalin's personal
archives.
At once novel, memoir, political apology, and historical
document, "How It All Began," known in Russia as "the prison
novel," adds deeply to our understanding of this vital intellectual
and maligned historical figure. The panoramic story, composed under
the worst of circumstances, traces the transformation of a
sensitive young man into a fiery agitator, and presents a revealing
new perspective on the background and causes of the revolution that
transformed the face of the twentieth century.
Among the millions of victims of the reign of terror in the
Soviet Union of the 1930's, Bukharin stands out as a special case.
Not yet 30 when the Bolsheviks took power, he was one of the
youngest, most popular, and most intellectual members of the
Communist Party. In the 1920's and 30's, he defended Lenin's
liberal New Economic Policy, claiming that Stalin's policies of
forced industrialization constituted a "military-feudal
exploitation" of the masses. He also warned of the approaching tide
of European fascism and its threat to the new Bolshevik revolution.
For his opposition, Bukharin paid with his freedom and his life. He
was arrested and spent a year in prison. In what was one of the
most infamous "show trials" of the time, Bukharin confessed to
being a "counterrevolutionary" while denying any particular crime
and was executed in his prison cell on March 15, 1938.
While in prison, Bukharin wrote four books, of which this
unfinished novel was the last. It traces the development of Nikolai
"Kolya" Petrov (closely modeled on Nikolai "Kolya" Bukharin) from
his early childhood though to age fifteen. In lyrical and poetic
terms it paints a picture of Nikolai's growing political
consciousness and ends with his activism on the eve of the failed
1905 revolution. The novel is presented here along with the only
surviving letter from Bukharin to his wife during his time in
prison, an epistle filled with fear, longing, and hope for his
family and his nation. The introduction by Stephen F. Cohen
articulates Bukharin's significance in Soviet history and reveals
the troubled journey of this novel from Stalin's archives into the
light of day.
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