Expounding on the Techniques Utilized by Communists to Dismiss Anti-Communists
In the tumultuous aftermath of the Russian Revolution and the subsequent Russian Civil War, the Soviet Union employed various strategies to weaken opposition forces critical of Bolshevism. One such strategy was the use of disinformation, as revealed in the intricate web of events involving Henry Ford, Boris Brasol, and Moscow's disinformation apparatus.
The details of Brasol's search for incriminating documents could potentially incriminate Ford, as he sought to prove allegations against Herman Bernstein, author of a defamatory article published in the New York Evening Journal in 1921. Brasol, Ford's attorney, turned to Vladimir G. Orlov, a White Russian with ties to the Cheka, for assistance. Orlov introduced Brasol to Mikhail Karpov, a chief functionary of Moscow's disinformation apparatus in Berlin, who provided Brasol with documents to prove Bernstein worked for Moscow.
Among these documents was a third set containing eight incriminating letters supposedly written in 1921-22. However, chemical tests revealed that the ink in these letters was ten to fourteen days old in 1926, indicating they were forgeries. Despite this, Ford paid Karpov the sum of $7,000 (equivalent to over $100,000 today) for the documents.
This tactic of portraying White Russian emigres as anti-Semitic was part of a broader Soviet strategy of psychological warfare to weaken opposition forces critical of Bolshevism after the Russian Civil War. Such portrayals also exploited existing European fears and prejudices to isolate these emigres socially and politically.
The White Russian emigres, numbering about a million people in the 1920s, with approximately 135,000 still under arms, were considered a potential anti-Communist armed force. Moscow's efforts to discredit them internationally were aimed at undermining their influence among Western governments and publics, as part of a broader Soviet strategy of active measures aimed at weakening anti-communist opposition abroad.
In addition to these events, Moscow published information about Ford in the pages of Izvestiya, linking him and White Russian emigres to fake documents alleging a Jewish conspiracy. These sinister letters, written by Karpov to Brasol, are part of a collection at the Library of Congress. The actions of these Soviet agents, with their exceedingly low cultural and moral level, employed intrigue, lack of principle, crude manipulations, and lies to achieve their objectives.
This brief account provides a glimpse into the Soviet Union's use of disinformation during the interwar period, targeting White Russian emigres—many of whom opposed the Bolshevik regime—by accusing them of various ideological failings, including anti-Semitism, to discredit them internationally and undermine their influence among Western governments and publics. For a deeper understanding of this historical period, further research into scholarly sources and historical analyses is recommended.
- The Soviet Union's strategy during war-and-conflicts, such as the Russian Civil War, extended to employing disinformation as a tactic to weaken opposition forces critical of Bolshevism.
- One example of this strategy was the manipulation of Henry Ford through disinformation agents, as evidenced by the forged documents involving Herman Bernstein in the 1920s.
- These events showcase how politics, specifically the politics of Russia and the United States during this time, were influenced by disinformation, leading to policy-and-legislation implications.
- General news from this period also highlight the broader use of psychological warfare and disinformation by the Soviet Union against groups, like the White Russian emigres, perceived as a threat to communism, thereby manipulating public perception and international relations.
