ABSTRACT
The Russian people were from time immemorial divided sharply into social classes, each with its separate traditions, manners, and, to a large extent, language. In the first days of the Revolution of February 1917 many Russians who had been living abroad, either because they had exposed themselves to prosecution under the Imperial Government, or because they disliked the political atmosphere of Imperial Russia, returned to their own country full of enthusiasm for the new spirit which seemed to inspire the people. When south Russia fell into the hands of the Bolsheviks, further emigrations took place to Constantinople and to Danubian countries, and colonies of Russian refugees sprang up everywhere. During the period between the Revolution of February 1917 and that of October, the disputes between and within the socialist groups became more and more violent. After the Revolution of October, it was therefore not surprising that professed socialists of different parties were shooting one another in the streets of Petrograd.
