The World of Commissar

Dora (Fanny) Kaplan

One of many factual events in the novel Commissar is the attempted assassination of the Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin. In the evening of August...

Allied Intervention in Russia: Siberia

One of the events in the novel Commissar is the Allied intervention in Russia. Overshadowed by World War I, this is an often-forgotten episode...

Weapons of Commissar: Armored Trains

During the Russian Civil War, both the Reds and the Whites relied on trains to move troops and equipment across Russia's vast expanses. Many...

Weapons of Commissar: Mark V Tank

The British heavy tanks are probably some of the most recognizable machines of WWI. Manufactured by the Metropolitan Carriage and Wagon Company in Birmingham,...

Weapons of Commissar: Mauser C96

The iconic Mauser "broom handle" pistol was popular on both sides of the Russian civil war. Although not as ubiquitous as the Nagant revolver,...

Characters of Commissar

Commissar is based largely on real historical events and people. Here is a handy reference to who is a real historical person and who...

William’s World

When we meet William in the novel, he is back in the US after spending a year on the frontlines of Europe. Having maintaining...

Anna’s World

The plot of Commissar starts in the summer of 1918. As Anna begins her service in the newly-formed CHEKA state security agency, Russia is...

The World of Commissar

The novel Commissar spans the vast territories of the former Russian Empire, from Vladivostok in the far east to Petrograd (now St. Petersburg) in...