Rua on MacNeill on Rua on Trotsky

Like the mole the Trotskyist trails dirt and suffers from acute myopia. Hector MacNeill is no exception. He makes great play of the fact that the class composition of the Kronstadters in 1921 differed entirely from that of 1918, and that the famed sailors of the 'October Revolution' were no more. A 50% pass Mr MacNeill! Many of the revolutionary sailors did perish, but a large number survived. One need only consider the 15 member Provisional Committee of Kronstadt which comprised 7 long service sailors, 5 industrial workers, a school master, a harbour pilot and a male nurse.

Trotsky's apologists state that the Kronstadt sailors in 1921 were mainly peasants. But given the miniscule working class during the Civil War period, one would assume a large proportion of peasant backgrounds throughout the Red Army. As mentioned in my article "Blood on Trotsky's Toga", disaffection was widespread in the ranks even before 1921.

Regarding the rest of Mr MacNeill's soiled epistle, I can only express amazement at his capacity for deceit. Trotsky's signature as Red Army chief was affixed to all military orders relating to Kronstadt, and he happily spread stories of White generals leading the Commune, which even Stalin would have been hard put to better. The Kronstadters' determination to resist both Bolshevik attacks and capitalist offers of food etc. has been well documented by Ida Mett, Victor Serge, the anarchist Voline and many others.

If Mr MacNeill wants to smear Russia's most famous anarchist, Nestor Makhno, he should advance his facts. One line from Footman's "Civil War in Russia" (Fabers 1961) should help Mr MacNeill on his way. "He (Makhno) wrote that while the rich Jews would naturally side with the invaders (Austrian insurgents), the poorer Jews were the peasants' friends and allies".

In the interests of a world without servants,

Graham Rua (Abridged — Eds)