James Kilpatrick's book ‘Russian Interlude’ records his experiences working for Deloitte in pre-revolutionary Russia against a background of rising political tension.
In Russian Interlude James Kilpatrick has provided an account of the establishment of a Deloitte in Russia in 1913. The author describes his experiences working for the firm in the country until the outbreak of war in August 1914. The account given by Kilpatrick forms an important record of the office as the records of the Russian office were destroyed in an air raid on the city on 10 May 1941 which destroyed their storeroom on London Wall.
It was eventually decided to open an office in St. Petersburg, and having been advised by our lawyer, Dr. Vladimir Idelson, that the name of Deloitte could not be used owing to the fact that it was not permissible under Russian Law for the name of a deceased person to form part of the firm's name, the new partnership was styled Plender, Griffiths, Wyatt & Co.
Kilpatrick's book provides a vivid picture of life in St. Petersburg and Moscow at this time, his travels around the country and the work that the Russian office carried out. Alongside this story the political events taking place against this backdrop force themselves into Kilpatrick's narration, such as the event described in the extract below.
A member of the London office, E. D. Job, was in St Petersburg to help with the workload. Whilst at work at an engineering works, Job experienced at first hand the strikes and violence taking place in the country at the time. Kilpatrick describes events:
He was at a window watching the conflict between the Cossacks and the strikers, when some officers detached themselves from the crowd, dashed to the window brandishing their revolvers, and threatened to shoot if he did not close the shutters. Job, of course, did not understand a word of what was being said, but fortunately someone in the room heard what was going on, managed to drag him down from the window and shut the shutters before a shot rang out.
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