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1920 Diary

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The journal Isaac Babel kept when he rode with the Cossacks in the 1919-20 war the Soviet Union waged against Poland served as source material for the stories in his brilliant collection, RED CALVARY. The diaries are a gem in themselves, displaying Babel's immediate response to the situation at hand, later to be transmuted by the writer's alchemy into the gold of the stories. It is a little slice of history in the raw, viewed through the eyes of a great writer, a writer who refused to conform to "socialist realism," a writer who 20 years later would be executed by the State Security Apparatus of the USSR.

For those readers with even a remote interest in Russian or Jewish history, Isaac Babel's 1920 Diary is definitely worth adding to your library.

Some are destined to experience frustration as they initially delve into the reading. The style of Babel's diary resembles something more akin to shorthand notes - a few words separated by endless commas - as opposed to the free-flowing prose one might expect to find in a personal journal. As Babel's story progresses, however, his descriptions inspire the reader's imagination to fill in the gaps and produce a favorable, even enjoyable rhythm.

His descriptions of his travels during the Soviet-Polish war with the Red Army offer a remarkable insight into the Communists' earliest attempts to propagate and establish their new doctrine in the territories immediately surrounding Russia. For instance, he writes, "An order comes from the Southwest Army Group: when we enter Galcia - the first time Soviet troops cross the frontier - we are to treat the population well. We are not entering a conquered country, the country belongs to the workers and peasants of Galicia, and to them alone, we are going there to help them establish Soviet rule." While, some of Babel's entries seem to espouse his belief in new Communist ideologies, most ridicule the terrifying, violent means used by the Cossacks to attain this supposedly utopian end.

However, the diary serves a much greater purpose than simply offering up some interesting history on Russia. Babel, although traveling under a Russian pseudonym to mask his Jewish heritage, sees many of his experiences through the enhanced prism of his own strong Jewish self-consciousness. From his pleasant descriptions of majestic Jewish synagogues to his harrowing accounts of merciless, war-time pogroms against entire Jewish communities, Babel masterfully transports his readers into the paradoxical realities of peace, intermixed with the atrocities of war.

Finally, the editor of this edition has effectively supplemented the diary with an authoritative introduction as well as an informative appendix, both of which add needed context to Babel's diary so that, even if you have no former knowledge of this period of Russian history, you'll be able to enjoy the book nonetheless.