The True Face of Russia

In the year 1917, the shining civilization of Western Russia crumbled into the dust. The Western powers watched in horror as one of their allies completely disappeared. A Communist government, the Soviet Union, rose from the wreckage. Communism horrified the West because it opposed every belief that the Western powers held dear. The Western opinion of Communism colored their view of the new government. Anti-communist newspapers all over the U.S. and Britain blamed the misery of Russia on the Soviet Union's supposed incompetence. In fact, the misery of Russia had come from the instability that followed the 6 years of war. H. G. Wells was an author of the time who did not stand for the blind bias toward the Russian government. An advocate for world peace, Wells traveled to Russia many times and endeavored to understand the true nature of the issue. In his work, Russia in the Shadows, H. G. Wells recorded his travels and observations of Russia to help bring the Western reader understanding. In the first chapter of his work, Russia in the Shadows, Wells seeks to alter the western bias against the Soviet Union through understanding gleaned from his travels and descriptions of Russia.

In the first chapter of "Russia in the Shadows", Wells strives to change the Western view of the Russian government through sharing his understanding gained from personal observation. When speaking of the fall of Russia, Wells makes an insight: "It was not communism that plunged this huge, creaking, bankrupt empire into six years of exhausting war. It was European imperialism" (Wells, p. 10). He said this to try to communicate to the Westerners that their uneducated and unsupported view of the Soviet Union was incorrect. Through this, he imparts the wisdom he has learned from his experiences to explains how the problems of Russia weren't caused by Communism. Through this, he seeks to help the Western reader lessen their bias against Communism and the Soviet Union.

Wells further seeks to alter the bias of the western reader by using his personal experience to invoke understanding. Directing his pen toward the readers in the West, he writes, "This spectacle of misery and ebbing energy is, you will say, the result of Bolshevist rule" (Wells, p. 11). In this line, he has summarized the feelings of the West: that Russia was a mess because of Communism, and thus the Communist government was evil. Wells opposed this idea with a passion. His personal experience in Russia had led him to understand that this was not the case. In many instances in Russia in the Shadows, Wells works to show that Communist government worked for the good of the people tirelessly. One such example is when Wells speaks of going to the district kitchens: "With the best will in the world the Soviet Government is unable to produce a sufficient ration to sustain a healthy life" (Wells, p. 10) Through this, Wells illustrates that the problem in Russia is not that the government is working against the people. The problem is that there is simply not enough of everything to go around. He seeks to create the understanding that the government is not evil because they are Communist. Instead, he describes them as a government in a time of dire trouble doing all they can to help. Through his personal experiences with the Soviet Union, Wells seeks to alter the West's skewed perception of the Communist government.

Wells additionally attempted to change the Western opinion of the Soviet Union through descriptions of the situation in Russia. He seeks to communicate that there was discord everywhere after the wars, and that it was the Communist Government that had brought some semblance of order: "Amid this vast disorganization an emergency Government…the Communist Party—has taken control" (Wells, p. 4). Through this, Well's endeavors to show the West that the Communist party served Russia greatly by bringing some order where there was chaos before. Not only that, but he strives to impress upon the reader that the creaking mess that Russia had become was caused by the war, not by the Communist Government. Through this fact, Wells hopes to allow the Western reader to understand that the suffering in Russia is not the government’s fault. Thus, their bias against Russia on that point is unfounded.

Wells uses first-hand experiences and evidence to bring an unbiased understanding of Russia to the West. In the first chapter of Russia in the Shadows, his statements reflect the message that he was trying to send out. At the time, the Westerners' view of Communism was incredibly negative, and they had come to the conclusion that the poverty and problems in Russia were due to the Communist factor of the government. Wells attempts to explain, that on the contrary, it was not the Communist government that was ruining Russia. He seeks to reach the understanding that Russia was long ruined by 6 years of war, and the Soviet Union was bringing good where in the past there was only anarchy. However, Well's message is no longer relevant, as Russia has since then left the Soviet Union and is no longer Communist. Therefore, the Western bias against the Communist government is no longer a prevalent problem, because that government no longer exists.