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

Location: Microfilm E 183.8 S65 F73 1985

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.

How to search the collection

The guide has a subject index which refers you to the reel number and frame number on the microfilm.  For example 3:0975 means reel 3 frame 0975. There is also a reel index which lists everything on a reel.

Guides

Russia in Transition: The Diplomatic Papers of David R. Francis, U.S. Ambassador to Russia, 1916-1918. Microfilm E 183.8 S65 F73 1985 Guide

For more information about this subject in our Library Catalog, check out these
Subject Categories:

Francis, David Rowland, 1850-1927 -- Archives.

United States -- Foreign relations -- Soviet Union -- Archives.

Soviet Union -- Foreign relations -- United States -- Archives.

Soviet Union -- History -- Revolution, 1917-1921 -- Archives.


Time Period: 20th Century  

Subject keywords: Military History