Michael S. Farbman (also known as Grisha; – 27 May 1933) was a Russian journalist, writer and publisher of books. He was London correspondent for the Russian ''Bourse Gazette'' in the early part of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and returned to Russia in April 1917 to cover the aftermath of the

February Revolution The February Revolution (), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and sometimes as the March Revolution or February Coup was the first of Russian Revolution, two revolutions which took place in Russia ...

for the ''

Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', becoming the first correspondent with connections to the British Press to cover it from Russia. Farbman was in New York in 1918 as correspondent for

Maxim Gorky Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (; – 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (; ), was a Russian and Soviet writer and proponent of socialism. He was nominated five times for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Before his success as an aut ...

's '' Novaya Zhizn'' pro-Menshevik newspaper, and wrote to oppose the

Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War The Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War consisted of a series of multi-national military expeditions that began in 1918. The initial impetus behind the interventions was to secure munitions and supply depots from falling into the German ...

. Returning to Russia he was one of the first correspondents with connections to the British Press to cover the early stages of the

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

. He published a number of books on post-revolution Russia and his study on the

first five-year plan First five-year plan may refer to: * First five-year plan (China) * First Five-Year Plans (Pakistan) * First five-year plan (Soviet Union) The first five-year plan (, ) of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was a list of economi ...

was particularly popular in the United States. Farbman was manager of the Europa book publishing firm and established the ''Europa Annual'', intended to bring coverage of political and economic matters to the masses.

Biography

Michael S. Farbman was born in Russia around 1880, he was also known as "Grisha". He studied at the

University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...

and the

University of Zurich The University of Zurich (UZH, ) is a public university, public research university in Zurich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of the ...

. In the years leading up to the

he worked as a book publisher in Russia, printing a number of classic works of literature from across the world. Farbman travelled to London in 1915 to work as a correspondent for the ''Bourse Gazette'' of

Petrograd Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

. He was still in London for the newspaper during the 1917

which overthrew the Russia tsar and brought about the

Russian Provisional Government The Russian Provisional Government was a provisional government of the Russian Empire and Russian Republic, announced two days before and established immediately after the abdication of Nicholas II on 2 March, O.S. New_Style.html" ;"title="5 ...

. Farbman wrote in the British press to urge the public to support the revolution, which he characterised as largely moderate, and to claim that the events had strengthened Russia as an ally in the

. Farbman returned to Petrograd in April 1917 as a correspondent for the ''

''. Farbman reached the city at around the same time as

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

leader

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

. He reported on the panic in the city caused by Lenin's arrival. Farbman was the first journalist with connections to the British press to report on this stage of the revolution. He returned to London in July but was back in Russia for the winter of 1917–1918, a key period in the

that followed the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

that brought the Bolsheviks to power. His reports were noted by ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'' as "one of the outstanding successes of the time in special correspondence". Later in 1918 Farbman became the New York correspondent for

's '' Novaya Zhizn'' pro-

Menshevik The Mensheviks ('the Minority') were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with Vladimir Lenin's Bolshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903. Mensheviks held more moderate and reformist ...

newspaper. He wrote articles in newspapers to oppose the proposed

. His book ''Russia and the Struggle for Peace'' was published in 1918. A reviewer for the ''Evening News'' said "I would make Michael S. Farbman's ''Russia and the Struggle for Peace'' compulsory in all schools ... we here learn the actual truth for the first time about the Revolution". Farbman's ''Bolshevism in Retreat'' was published in London in 1923 and his ''After Lenin: The New Phase in Russia'' was published the following year. He travelled often to the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, though by 1928 lived in London with his wife Sonia Issayevna and their daughter Ghita. By December of that year they shared a house in

St John's Wood St John's Wood is a district in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden and the City of Westminster, London, England, about 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of Charing Cross. Historically the northern part of the Civil Parish#An ...

with Ukrainian writer S. S. Koteliansky. Farbman's study on the

, ''Piatiletka: Russia's 5 Year Plan'', was published in New York in 1931. It proved very popular in the United States. Farbman was manager of the Europa book publishing firm. He edited ''Masterpieces of Russian Painting'' published by Europa in London in 1930. Farbman also established the ''Europa Annual'', intended to bring coverage of political and economic matters to the masses, and edited the ''Europa Survey''. Farbman died at

University College Hospital University College Hospital (UCH) is a teaching hospital in the Fitzrovia area of the London Borough of Camden, England. The hospital, which was founded as the North London Hospital in 1834, is closely associated with University College Lo ...

, London, on 27 May 1933 after a long illness. He was cremated at

Golders Green Crematorium Golders Green Crematorium and Mausoleum was the first crematorium to be opened in London, and is one of the oldest crematoria in Britain. The land for the crematorium was purchased in 1900, costing £6,000 (the equivalent of £136,000 in 2021), ...

on 30 May. In 1940 Farbman was mentioned in the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

by Representative for Montana Jacob Thorkelson as a possible "subversive" who had operated in the West.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Farbman, Michael S. 1880s births 1933 deaths 20th-century Russian journalists 20th-century Russian non-fiction writers Russian publishers (people)