The Revolt of the Potemkin

The ship that became an iconic symbol of the Soviet revolution



The Potemkin was a Russian pre-dreadnought battleship built for the Imperial Navy's Black Sea Fleet. Some of its crew, but by no means the majority, rebelled against their officers in June 1905 and this act is considered to be a precursor to the Russian Revolution of 1917. The ship's wider fame became assured with Sergei Eisenstein's classic motion picture of 1925, 'Battleship Potemkin'. Following the rebellion, the crew fled to Romania to escape inevitable reprisals and the ship was recovered, but it was ill fated as it accidentally sunk a Russian submarine in 1909. With no sense of sentimentality for what it symbolised the Potemkin was scrapped by the Soviets in 1923. This book was written by a participant in the aftermath of the rebellion which may have effected its objectivity, but it remains a relevant and interesting account.

Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket.