Russia in transition : the diplomatic papers of David R. Francis, U.S. Ambassador to Russia

Scope

David Francis was U. S. Ambassador to Russia from 1916-1918.  The diplomatic reporting of Francis and his staff provides an almost daily flow of news summaries and analyses on the volatile state of Russian politics. There are reports on the policies of Lenin, anarchist movements, the All-Russian Congress of Soviets, the Council of the Workingmen’s Deputies, Trotsky, Kerensky, Kornilov, political parties, the revolution in Siberia, peasant and labor unrest, living conditions, elections, counter-revolutionary activities—and many other topics. Moreover, as historian Robert Chadwell Williams notes in his introduction to Russia in Transition, the David R. Francis papers are not only “a valuable record of the Russian Revolution”; they also “contain vast amounts of material for the historian on American diplomacy in a troubled age.”

For additional diplomatic records concerning Russia see:
Confidential U.S. Diplomatic Post Records Russia: from Czar to Commissars, 1914-1981.

It should also be noted that after returning to the United States, Ambassador Francis wrote a book about his experiences in Russia called, Russia From the American Embassy, April, 1916-November, 1918 (Rare Books DK 265 .F65). While there is no direct connection between the book and this collection, Russia From the American Embassy may be useful in putting some of the material in the Russia in Transition microfilm collection in context. The Pickler Memorial Library copy of Russia From the American Embassy is autographed by the author.