Comments on: Trotsky Clips

By: Chris Brooke

Chris Brooke — Sun, 26 Nov 2006 11:48:13 +0000

I’m delighted Stoa-readers have such finely-honed Bolshevik-identification skills. Congratulations to all.

Dave: Haven’t seen Casino Royale yet. I might see it soon, or I might try to see it with Josephine when I get to California in a few weeks’ time.

Jim: Oh, I’m only a sort-of history academic. My research work is on themes in the history of 17th and 18th century political thought, but I’ve always been in Politics departments. And, yes, I suppose I’m quite interested in the history of socialism.

By: Roger

Roger — Sun, 26 Nov 2006 02:08:11 +0000

Depends which pictures of Kamenev you are comparing the film to – he’s certainly in the later clip addressing the crowd but that looks like well after the Civil War when he was a lot greyer – earlier photos show him with a dark beard and sidewhiskers (so we’re back to Marxism and pilosity again – excellent)

Compare the images at http://www.marxists.org/archive/kamenev/images/index.htm

However on balance agree it’s more likely to be Joffe, who certainly was the proud possessor of what Eddie Izzard would describe as a big fuck-off beard.

http://web.mit.edu/people/fjk/Books/N-Joffe.jpg

Agree that the clean-shaven guy just before B-L appears to be Zinioviev.

By: Jim Miles

Jim Miles — Sun, 26 Nov 2006 00:33:22 +0000

Before this entry, I cynically thought that Dead Socialist Watch was some kind of running joke a la every sketch in Dare To Believe. After this entry (which is fascinating by the way; it takes me back to A-level History – I will have to look back at my books to play the identification game) I now suspect you are a History academic perhaps specialising or with a great interest in socialism. Or possibly just a…socialist! Who will now berate my use of the lower case s in the word.

Enjoyable blog.

By: Backword Dave

Backword Dave — Sat, 25 Nov 2006 20:40:49 +0000

Not entirely relevant, but in an earlier post you said you were waiting for the release of Casino Royale. Can we expect a review post?

Tenuous link explanation: in the book, SMERSH (from Smerty-something, my damn cat’s asleep on me so I can’t get up to check, Spionam – Death to Spies) was behind Le Chiffre *and* the murder of Trotsky. Shame they bowdlerised that for the film – as it’s so relevant today. What, KGB murderesh? Shurely not.

Moved idiot feline, only dozing anyway. ‘Smyert Shpionam’. “It is thought that SMERSH was responsible for the assassination of Trotsky in Mexico (22 August 1940) and indeed have made its name with this successful murder after attempts by other Russian individuals and organisations had failed.” (Chapter 2; ‘Russian’ not ‘Soviet’ in original.)

By: josh

josh — Sat, 25 Nov 2006 20:28:19 +0000

Impressive-black-beard guy looks like Joffe to me; Kamenev I think is shown giving a speech somewhat later on, between Trotsky and another speaker whom I can’t identify. And surely that’s Zinoviev in the fur hat, immediately before the Brest-Litovsk clip?

By: Roger

Roger — Sat, 25 Nov 2006 18:43:34 +0000

Defintely Brest Litovsk – only German staff officers wore those pointy pickelhaube helmets that late in the war.

The guy with the impressive black beard who gets off the train after Trotsky must be either Kamenev or Joffe.