The Daily Worker Newspaper, August 6, 1927, Page 6

The Story of a British Spy in Russia I" the Autumn of 1926 the G. P. U. learned of the intention of the Russian monarchist organization in Paris to send a group of terrorists to Moscow with a view to carrying out a series of attempts upon the People’s Commissars of the Soviet Union. In the summer of the same year a suspicious looking foreigner had been arrested at a Moscow railway station. He had a Roumanian passport under the name of Pavel and was stated to be a mer- chant. He was armed with a revolver. After brief denials the arrested man was com- pelled under the overwhelming weight of evidence against him, to admit that the passport with which he had entered the Soviet Union was a false one, and that in reality he was the well-known Russian White Guardist Georg Eugenevitch Elvengren, a very well-known member of the leading “White Guardist authorities.” At the same time the ar- rested man admitted that he had come to the Sovy- iet Union with the sole aim of organizing terrorist groups. ; At first Elvengren refused to name his accom- plices, but later his detailed statements were of con- siderable assistance to the G. P. U. in its work of exposing and foiling the terrorist machinations of the Russian White Guardist organizations abroad. Elvengren made an exhuastive statement concern- ing the real instigators of the white terror. In par- ticular he declared that the terrorist group to which he himself belonged was formed with the energetic cooperation of the member of the British Secret Service Sidney George Reilly, and with the assist- ance of the Commerce and Industry Society in Paris which is formed of emigrants, and of the terrorist group of Aubert, the well-known Swiss White Guardist. Who Is Elvengren? Elvengren is one of the most “respected” of the leaders of the bloodiest undertakings of the Russian reaction, counter-revolution and terror. In the past he was Staff Captain of Horse in a Cuirassier Regiment of Guards. From the first mo- ment of the revolution in 1917 he was in the first ranks of those who waited for an opportunity to revenge and utilized the fury of the obstinate mon: archists. He began an active and bloody struggle against everything approaching “revolutionary re- bellion.” Immediately after the March revolution Elven- gren entered the ranks ofthe monarchist military organization, which aimed at the overthrow of the Provisional government and the restoration of the Romanoff monarchy. The organization called itself the “War League,” and Admiral Koltchak was one of its most prominent leaders. After the destruction of the “War League” by Kerensky, Elvengren joined the imtemous Georgian organization of nobles where he was a particular friend of the chairman. In the days of the October revolution, Elvengren entered the organzation led by Boris Sayinkov, Gotz and Avksentiev known as the “Committee for Sal- vation.” The first task which Elvengren received from the committee was to take companies of Cos- sacks, surround the Smolny and arrest all the Bol- shevist members of the Soviets. After the defeat of the counter-revolution in the Crimea in which Elvengren took a leading part, he left with other well-known White Guardists and participated actively in the crushing of the revolu- tionary workingclass movement in Finland by Gen- eral Mannerheim. Upon the conclusion of this “hero- ism” Elvengren began to participate steadily in a number of adventures and he allied himself with the most various Russian organizations and foreign governments and groups whenever he saw the pos- sibility of a bitter struggle against the revolution. Elvengren himself, his activity and at the same time all those forces which carry on a life and death struggle with the Soviet Union, are best character- ized by the personal written statements of Elven- gren. We give him the floor to speak, expose and to accuse: The Conspirative and Espionage Work of Elvengren In Finland. : Elvengren describes a number of counter-revolu- tionary and espionage organizations which were formed in Finland in the years 1918-21 and which sent their agents, spies and murderers to the Soviet Union and then mentions the following details: “Upon the initiative of Count V. Buksgevdyen (at present chairman of the Russian emigrant colony in Finland and delegate to the foreign congress of the monarchists in Paris) who had addressed himself to me, a meeting was called at which it was decided to form a permanent group meeting regularly and sending its repre- sentative to the united session of the chairmen of all organizations. “At this meeting at which, apart from the founders, also Captain Wilken, was present, the chief question discussed was how the strug- gle against the Soviet Union could be best de- veloped, how it was to be prepared and what should be done, - “I used the opportunity to make the acquaint- ance of*Wilken. He interested me, and I made efforts to become closely acquainted with him and to establish connections with him. . .I was goon able to discover that he was chairman of an active group of English spies, that he was work- EXTRACTS FROM THE STATEMENT. OF THE WHITE TERRORIST ELVENGREN Sergei Druzelowski, forger of false counter-revolu- tionary documents, on trial before the Russian Su- preme Court in June. ing under the instructions of ‘the group and that he participated in the provocations of the English who were striving to force Finland into a war with the Soviet Union. “Before the Kronstadt rising, Captain Wilken went to Kronstadt under the instructions of the English receiving papers, obviously under Eng- lish influencé, (the English had great influence in Finland at that time) from Professor Zeidler (Chairman of the Red Cross in Finland) pur- porting him to be an official of the Interna- tional Red Cross. He was allegedly to take over the supply of Kronstadt. The one time General Yavid who was a friend of Professor Ziedler received a sifnilar document. They both went to Kronstadt, and when I learnet that the Kron- stadt rising was dragging itself out and that connection had been established with Vybord, - I determined to take part in the events also and journeyed from Helsingfros to Vyborg. There I approached Zeidler who as intermediary with Kronstadt was best informed about events.” At the same time when Elvengren was participat- ing in the Kronstadt events, he also took up con- nection with the monarchist organization in Lenin- grad under the leadership of Tagentzev. This or- ganization, as is known, saw ‘its chief task in the carrying out of terrorism. “The Russian monarchist groups in Finland knew of my connection with Savinkov, but in this connection I acted completely independent- ly and did not often speak of the matter, for the monarchists rejected all connection with Savinkov, for the most part. “In Finland I was the representative of the ‘Russian Political Committee in Poland’ led by Savinkov. When I was once in Warsaw,-I par- ticipated in the composition of the so-called ‘Warsaw Document.’ This document contained an appeal for support for the continuation of the struggle. It also contained a point inserted by me attacking the emigration.” The Various “Specialties” of Elvengren. The reactionary Russian monarchist Elvengren was at the same time a “democrat,” almost a social- revolutionary, a supporter of Savinkov and if nec- essary, a rebellious, anarchist, Kronstadt seamen. He attempted to use the supporters of Savinkov and also Kronstadt for the monarchist machinations. At the back of all these activities there was the function of Elvengren as “White Russian Ambas- sador” in Finland and ambassador of the “National White Russian Republic” to the government of Fin- land. Such a government at whose head was the Min- ister Lastovski, existed at that time in various coun- tries, Poland, Esthonia and Latvia. Upon this point Elvengren writes as follows: ae -in the summer of 1920 I arrived in Reval. -where at that time there was a dele- gation of White Russians. They were conduct- ing negotiations with the Esthonian government with the authority of the White Russian Rada and their aim was to bring about the forma- tion of a national White Russian Republic. I was acquainted with this delegation and with the history and situation of the national White Russian movement. I can only remember the leader of this delegation Sakharko with whom I mostly conducted negotiations. The members of the delegation proposed that I should go to Riga and make the cléser acquaintance of their government. Before I left, Sakharko wrote a letter to the head of his government Lastovski, and armed with this letter I went to Riga. “After making the acquaintance of Lastov- ski-and a number of other White Russians, they propesed to me that up to the clarification of the question whether or not it were possible to form a national White Russian government, I should undertake the post of consul of the ite Russian government in Finland. “I accepted this proposal and received the necessary papers, a diplomati¢ passport, seals, etc., and departed for Finland.” The Terrorist Carcer of Elvengren. ee. 1 Elvengren writes the following about the com- mencement of his terrorist activity: “When I was active in Finland as the repre- sentative of Savinkov—I can’t remember the exact year, but it must have been about six months before the Genoa Conference—the rep- resentative of the Commerce and Industry So- ciety in Paris, Pavel Tixton, arrived one day from Riga. I learned from him that leading circles of the Russian monarchist emigrants in the west were of the opinion that the only pos- sibility for the continuation of the active strug- gle was a wide-spread and well organized cam- paign of terrorist acts both inside Russia and abroad. I thought over the matter and came to the conclusion that terorism was the only salva- tion of the struggle and agreed with Tixton. Tixton complained that the matter was very difficult chiefly because the affair was very confidential and delicate and one could therefore speak with hardly anyone about it, for there were hardly any people who could be trusted to such an extent. With regard to means, Tix- ton expressed the opinion that for such under- takings, money would always be available. Tix- ton left me an address in Paris and we agreed to correspond upom the matter. His object in coming to Finland under the instructions of the Commerce and Industry Society was to examine the possibility for terrorist activity. “When afterwards I went to Warsaw for the last time and saw that Savinkov’s work there was coming to an end, I expressed my opinion for the first time in the presence of Savinkov and Derental, that the only possibility for the continuation of the struggle was terrorism, and T suggested that Savinkov should take the mat- ter up as he had had experience in just such a connection in the past. I also mentioned that if he would decide to organize such an action, money for the purpose could be obtained from the Comrade and Industry Society in Paris. “I afterwards met Savinkov in Paris and learned that up to then he had been able to do nothing With regard to the organization of ter rorism. I also met Tixton who declared that havirfg regard to the coming conference in Gen- oa it would be particularly interesting to organ- ize acts of terrorism, and he would provide nec- essary means. Tixton told me that he had made the acquaintance of an inventor who had in- vented a very interesting little mechanism. By means of this invention, the lighting of a cigar- ette would release notwithstanding the small size of the apparatus, poison gas sufficient to kill everyone in the room He said that he was very itnerested in the invention ,and intended to be present at an experiment with it on the following day and he invited me to accompany him which I agreed to do.” At this time of active preparation for the carry- ing out of the terror, in the society of Elvengren, the Englishman Tixton and the honorable Naptha industrialists there was an experienced terrorist who was used in the Lockhart conspiracy and in a series of murders, the member of the British Secret Ser- vice, Captain Sidney George Reilly, mentioned in the report of the Soviet government. Reilly, who was informed *about the new terrorist organization, did not hestitate to go to Paris and took with him the moral support of the British government and, what was more important still, the financial means from the British treasury. The Role of the British Spy Reilly. “T told Reilly that I had a strong organiza- tion at my disposal in Finland, that good con- nections had been established with Petersburg and that the action there was developing well. _ I reported about the organization of Zeidler in Finland which was prepared if necessary to support St. Petersburg with food and other as- sistance. I also told Reilly about my participa- tion in the Kronstadt rising. At later meetings with Reilly we discussed the plan for terrorism which Savinkov, Derental and myself had come to Paris to prepare.” In this way the machinery of terrorist conspiracy which was regulated and fed by the British agent Reilly, was put into movement. “Finally Tixton told me that he had decided to draw Savinkov into ‘the matter, but that there could be no question of the sum which had been mentioned before (one and a half million francs), but that money would be supplied ac- cording to the success achieved and as a first trial 100,000 francs to finance the first action. If we were able to do’ anything with that sum, we would be able to reckon on ‘more, I in- formed Savinkov of this who be ume very ex- cited and declared that he wa; no paid mur- derer, ete. We also met Nobel. He told us that the action interested him from the ‘commercial point of view. He was not itnerested, he said, in the devolpement of the political and party organizations Savinkov answered that he con- sidered the terror to be the only salvation for the struggle, but that the mutual relations be- tween them would have to be based on something other than pure business. He, Savinkov, acted from motives of idealism. Nobel gave us 80,- (Continued on Page 3)