The Russian Revolutions in 1917 ended Russian involvement in WWI, but precipitated a civil war that dragged in outside powers and lasted for years as the Bolshevik forces sought to enforce control over all the former territories of the Russian Empire. The chaos allowed all manner of smaller movements and independent warlords to flourish for a time, and among them was the brutal so called “Bloody” or “Mad” Baron Roman von Ungern-Sternberg.
The “Murder at the Regatta” was a story of jealousy, passion, and some say even madness that shocked and fascinated the nation, and changed the very nature of how murder was seen and prosecuted in the United States.