This groundbreaking book brings to life a forgotten chapter in the history of Canada and Russia – the journey of 4,200 Canadian soldiers from Victoria to Vladivostok in 1918 to help defeat Bolshevism. Combining military and labour history with the social history of BC, Quebec, and Russia, Benjamin Isitt examines how the Siberian Expedition exacerbated tensions within Canadian society at a time when a radicalized working class, many French-Canadians, and even the soldiers themselves objected to a military adventure designed to counter the Russian Revolution. The result is a highly readable and provocative work that challenges public memory of the First World War while illuminating tensions – both in Canada and worldwide – that shaped the course of twentieth-century history. Isitt's work is new, innovative, and important. He deftly weaves the Canadian working class opposition to war and the rising leftist sentiment among workers with the inner life of the Siberian Expedition itself. That inner life included opposition to the Siberian venture among a substantial section of the contingent. No less important, he melds a national story with an international one. He reveals new aspects of international cooperation in the attempt to suppress the Bolshevik revolution as well as international rivalries among the countries that intervened in Russia. - Larry Hannant, editor of The Politics of Passion: Norman Bethune's Writing and Art "From Victoria to Vladivostok" sheds new light on a part of Canadian history that previous scholars have written off as a mere sideshow, a rather embarrassing episode that had no impact on the First World War. In contrast, Isitt sees the problems that befell the Expedition as being rooted in conflicting views of Bolshevism in Canada, and different perceptions of the logic behind an intervention in Russia. In this, his contribution is both significant and original. - Jonathan Vance, author of Unlikely Soldiers: How Two Canadians Fought the Secret War Against Nazi Occupation "Isitt's work is new, innovative, and important. He deftly weaves the Canadian working class opposition to war and the rising leftist sentiment among workers with the inner life of the Siberian Expedition itself. That inner life included opposition to the Siberian venture among a substantial section of the contingent. No less important, he melds a national story with an international one. He reveals new aspects of international cooperation in the attempt to suppress the Bolshevik revolution as well as international rivalries among the countries that intervened in Russia."―Larry Hannant, editor of The Politics of Passion: Norman Bethune's Writing and Art " From Victoria to Vladivostok sheds new light on a part of Canadian history that previous scholars have written off as a mere sideshow, a rather embarrassing episode that had no impact on the First World War. In contrast, Isitt sees the problems that befell the Expedition as being rooted in conflicting views of Bolshevism in Canada, and different perceptions of the logic behind an intervention in Russia. In this, his contribution is both significant and original."―Jonathan Vance, author of Unlikely Soldiers: How Two Canadians Fought the Secret War Against Nazi Occupation "Short, inglorious, hugely unpopular at the time and largely forgotten now: most Canadians probably have no idea that, once upon a time, this country invaded Russia . . . Isitt’s extensive analysis of why we were there - mostly trying to deprive revolutionary workers at home of an international beacon - is convincing, as is his ironic conclusion: the blatant class warfare of the expedition did more to incite radicalism at home than it did to suppress it in Russia. Less than six months after the Victoria mutiny, a rising tide of industrial unionism would spark the Winnipeg General Strike."―Brian Bethune, Macleans.ca A highly readable and provocative book that brings to a life a forgotten chapter in the history of Canada and Russia – the journey of 4,200 Canadian soldiers from Victoria to Vladivostok in the wake of the Russian Revolution. Benjamin Isitt is a lawyer, historian, and legal scholar based in Lekwungen territory (Victoria, British Columbia). He is the author of From Victoria to Vladivostok: Canada's Siberian Expedition, 1917–19 and Militant Minority: British Columbia Workers and the Rise of a New Left, 1948–72 ; co-author, with Ravi Malotra, of Able to Lead: Disablement, Radicalism, and the Political Life of E.T. Kingsley ; and coauthor, with Bob Williams and Thomas Bevan, of Using Power Well: Bob Williams and the Making of British Columbia. Used Book in Good Condition