Nelson Fell: Eyewitness to the February Revolution

Abstract

The following extracts from the diary and letters of Nelson Fell provide an insight into the revolutionary events taking place between February and May 1917 from the perspective of an overseas eyewitness. After detailing his visit to the Romanov family in Tsarskoe Selo, Fell outlines the gradual unfolding of the events of the revolution as they took place on the streets of Moscow and, later, in Petrograd. One of his letters details his experience of train travel during his trip to Kazan’ in March 1917. In the final extract from May 1917, Fell considers the fate of Tsarism and the future prospects for further revolution in Russia.