Posted by Adam Quinan on March 16, 2001 at 02:48:25 from 24.112.158.236:
In Reply to: AR as Cheka (KGB) Informant posted by Kurt Cylke on March 15, 2001 at 18:17:35:
Calling AR a Cheka informant seems a bit prejudicial given hindsight of history. I don't think AR was particularly a Cheka informant as the Cheka was not a spy agency like the KGB but an organization dedicated to getting rid of counter-revolutionaries. He certainly discussed politics with Lenin and other leaders of the Bolshevik party and also the Mensheviks and other factions that still existed in the early days of the Revolution. I have just finished reading the two short volumes obtainable from the TARS shop (members only) written by AR in 1919 and 1920. He writes that he considered the Cheka to be ineffective in silencing Russians who were inveterate in discussing politics and not intimidated. He seems to have admired the revolution and certainly considered that its early manifestation was far better than the Tsarist or Kerensky governments. It is notable that although AR knew all the important revolutionaries in the early days, nowhere does he mention Stalin. This was probably why he later showed no particular support for the Soviet Union or its politics. His friends and acquaintances were the ones who were rooted out by Stalin.