Posted by Duncan on July 23, 2002 at 14:24:45 from 64.12.96.103 user Duncan.
In Reply to: Re: Arthur Ransome - A Spy, again posted by Alan Hakim, for Ted Alexander on July 22, 2002 at 22:41:29:
Just thought I'd dive in on this one. I've just read Phil's article which is MUCH better than the Observer one even though, as Phil pointed out, the latter was 'lifted' from the former. Phil makes AR's motivations much clearer although I would still suggest that he might make a bit much of certain aspects. For example, and no doubt Phil will answer this, did AR know he had an SIS codename or were his briefings simply assigned to this codename? Was he not just transferring information that both sides wanted each other to know? When he was suspected of spying by the Soviets on applying to travel into Russia from Sweden, how were they satisfied? I can't help suspecting that his connections with British officials were known to some - but not all - of the bolsheviks, and so while some were suspicious others were able to put their minds at rest (perhaps only partially so in a way that could mirror quite clearly the different attitudes of British officials). I also have a bit of bother about the picture of Evgenia 'buying' her freedom by taking the jewels to help finance overseas CPs. As there was never any suggestion that Evgenia 'defected' (indeed such language was some 20 years away) it seems apparent that Evgenia was allowed (expected, by those that knew them well) to go where AR went, and therefore if she took any jewels with her, she did so because she supported that cause. No biographical information from that time suggests that Evgenia had abandoned her socialism (indeed some letters would suggest she was still quite firm in her opinions).
If you take the Observer article as true it's potentially quite frightening. If AR was a British spy - an anti-Soviet spy - who do you decide knew about it? Evgenia? Was Trotsky's secretary a secret anti-bolshevik? What about Trotsky or Radek? When AR movingly lists his bolshvik friends who were purged and killed by Stalin is anyone really considering going down the road of the possibility that they may ACTUALLY have been the 'enemies of the revolution' that they were painted by Stalin? I trust not.
Is York Memberly a real person? It sounds like a pen-name.