The Bolshevik Myth · Chapter
XXXI: The Cheka explained
The narrator describes the terror of the Cheka through the story of Kolya, a tailor arrested for his involvement in a strike.
What happens
The narrator describes the terror of the Cheka through the story of Kolya, a tailor arrested for his involvement in a strike. A neighbor recounts the Pirro affair, where a false Brazilian ambassador lured anti-Bolshevik intellectuals to their deaths. The narrator also recalls a visit from a Cheka executioner who boasted of torture. The chapter ends with rumors of Red Army defeats and the abandonment of a plan to meet Makhno.
Themes in this chapter
Terror and Violence
The chapter details the Cheka's arbitrary arrests, torture, and executions, exemplified by the Pirro affair and the executioner X⸺.
Betrayal of Revolutionary Ideals
The Cheka's methods betray the revolution's promise of justice, as workers are labeled counterrevolutionists and innocent people are lured to their deaths.
Human Suffering and Dehumanization
Kolya's family suffers from neglect and hunger, and the executioner's cold, savage behavior illustrates the dehumanization wrought by the Cheka.
Characters to notice
- Unknown Narrator
The narrator recounts the story of Kolya and the Pirro affair, and describes a visit from a Cheka executioner.
- Kolya
A tailor arrested by the Cheka after a strike at his clothing factory; his family suffers in his absence.
- Count Pirro
Allegedly a Brazilian ambassador but actually a Cheka provocateur who lured anti-Bolshevik intellectuals to their deaths.
- Peters
Cheka official from Moscow whose presence in Kiev signaled renewed arrests; suspected of being involved in the Pirro affair.
- X⸺
A notorious Cheka executioner who visited the narrator's Expedition car, boasting of torture and brandishing a bloody dagger.
- Yossif
Informs the narrator that Makhno has retired from the province, making a meeting impossible.
- Gallina
The narrator expresses anxiety about her safety amid the new military developments.
Key passages
““They call the strikers counterrevolutionists,” Kolya’s sister said. “They have made a list of the ‘opposition’ in the shop, and every day someone is missing.””
Kolya's sister reports that the Cheka labels strikers as counterrevolutionaries and is systematically arresting opposition members from the factory.
Highlights the Cheka's suppression of dissent and the arbitrary labeling of workers as enemies.
““It’s the old Pirro methods,” remarked a neighbor... “Don’t you know the Pirro affair? It was of a piece with the usual methods of Latsis, then head of the All-Ukrainian Extraordinary Commission.””
A neighbor explains that the Pirro affair exemplifies the Cheka's standard tactic of using provocateurs to entrap and execute anti-Bolshevik intellectuals.
Illustrates the Cheka's systematic use of deception and betrayal to eliminate perceived threats.
““Look at it—it’s bloody to the hilt.” Then he fell back into a chair, exhausted, and with a touch of sentimentality he muttered: “I’ve had enough—I’m tired—I want a rest.””
The Cheka executioner brandishes a bloody dagger and confesses his weariness with killing, revealing the psychological toll of his work.
Shows the brutal reality of the Cheka's violence and the conflicted humanity of its perpetrators.
