Baleful Smile of the Crocodile 
Neal Ascherson
- D.S. Mirsky: A Russian-English Life 1890-1939 by G.S Smith
They came for Comrade Prince D.S. Mirsky, ‘aristocrat of critics’, some time in the night of 2 to 3 June 1937. He lived in a high, bare room which had a fine view over Moscow. It was five floors up, with no lift, so he had plenty of time to hear them climbing towards him. Many Soviet citizens slept little that year, listening for the boots on the stairs.
Subscribers to the print edition can log in to view the entire article. For information about subscribing to the London Review of Books click here. This article is available for purchase online. Buy this article.
Neal Ascherson’s books include The Struggles for Poland and Black Sea. He is an honorary lecturer at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London.
Other articles by this contributor:
Oo, Oo! · Khrushchev the Stalinist
On with the Pooling and Merging · The Incomparable Tom Nairn
Victory in Defeat · Trotsky
What Sort of Traitors? · the British Spy Opera
After the Revolution · Neal Ascherson reports from Georgia
Gazillions · Organised Crime
Diary · Neal Ascherson among the icebergs
Hitler’s Teeth · Berlin 1945
print layout
tell a friend