The Margin of Evil! (55 page)
Others saw him as
'The' outstanding Russian detective of his generation. Indeed comparisons had been made between him and Conan Doyle's fictional detective; both enjoyed vices, the Baker Street detective enjoyed cocaine and it was no secret that the St Petersburg one the loved Datura plant.
During the early days of the war he carried on, as before, working out of
'The Petrograd' office. Unlike most of his colleagues, and some did indeed question his motives, he chose not to be taken-in by the wave of hysteria that had swept through the Russia of August 1914. He stayed in the city for 'The Duration'.
What is not known until now, due to the release of old
'Bolshevik' papers post the collapse in 1991 of 'The Soviet State', is that it was long suspected by colleagues that Gerhardt had not only been expecting the collapse of the Tsarist state, he had actually plotted against it. With this in mind, he had furiously networked with the 'Red' and 'White' factions, in the hope that when the collapse came, he would just carry on as before, but albeit under a new set of political masters. In this case it was Lev Trotsky, and to a lesser extent Vladimir Lenin. What also had not been known until papers were released in the early 1990`s is that he was also in the pockets of the British, the French, the Germans, the Japanese and any other power that was prepared to pay him. It was said by close colleagues, that Gerhardt was completely without scruple; he would sell his services to the highest bidder.
However after 1921, along with Lenin
's health, his star appears to have gone into decline. Not much is known about him after that time, for example date of death is unknown. It is assumed that he died during the purges of the mid to late 1930's, but of course, and this is partly down to his careful nature, he may have died a lot later.
Appendix D: The East End of London and The Battle of Stepney.
In the early 1900's 'The East End of London' was home, as it is today, to many émigré groups. There were large Jewish and Irish communities but, it is fair to say, that it was also home to many other nationalities. They came in large numbers to escape pogroms and persecution, some of them simply hoped to make better lives for themselves. Whatever their reasons or motives, others came to plot and organise and, it's fair to say, that, as long as they didn't make too many waves, they were tolerated by the local authorities. But, and it was widely known at this time, these immigrants could simply disappear into 'The East End'. Many a wanted person could hide from 'Foreign Agencies' and find protection from the disparate peoples already living there. The 'Gardstein Gang' knew this only too well, they just wanted, and this was to be their undoing, a 'slice of the cake'.
The
'Battle of Stepney' has written itself well and truly into the folklore of the 'East End'. For a few days in 1911 everybody was talking about it. It brought such people as the then Home Secretary, Winston Churchill, and 'The Gardstein' gang into the public domain. Not only that, questions were raised in 'The House of Commons' and inadequacies into the way the Metropolitan police had handled the situation came to light. But there were other questions that were not asked; principally, how could it be that a handful of 'Tooled-up' crooks could pin down the Metropolitan Police and why was it that 'Agencies' of foreign powers could roam about the area, operating outside the law, seemingly without impunity. The survivors of the Gardstein gang went to court and were all acquitted. Questions have to be asked as to 'Why' the survivors were freed. Had some shady deal been struck between 'The Okhrana' and the 'British Authorities'? The answer to that one is a resounding yes but, without the necessary evidence we can only assume.
Be that as it may, the whole incident soon blew over, remember today
's newspaper is tomorrows fish rapper, the whole saga was eventually consigned to the annals of history. When all was said and done, some people had written themselves into local myth and folklore, others simply had made political capital out of it. Indeed some had strengthened their shadowy careers because of it, but one thing is for certain, nearly all failed to recognise the importance of it at the time, because the events that took place in Sidney Street would play a significant part in shaping Twentieth century world events. If you apply the subversive 'What if' to it all I'll let the reader decide for themselves. Just think about it, if 'they' had been killed, a world without Stalin, things in Russia might have taken an altogether more different and humane course; or even a world without Winston especially in that long summer of 1940?
Notes:
[1]
The Cheka was founded on the direct orders of Lenin in December 1917. The Cheka's first director was none other than Lenin's close friend Felix Dzerhinsky. From the outset The Cheka was considered a legitimate organ of the state its sole purpose was to deal with all opposition to Bolshevik rule.
[2]
The Militsiya was the 'Peoples' police force. Back in 1917, when it was founded, it was considered to be 'Bourgeois' free, you could say it was a people's police force run by the people.
[3]
See Appendix C.
[4]
Aleksei Brusilov (1853 – 1926). Born in Tbilisi in Georgia, he joined the army and rose up through the ranks to become its most famous commander. The Brusilov offensive shattered the Austro Hungarian armies and nearly brought The Central Powers to its knees. During the Russian Civil War he joined 'The Red' army and helped, at Trotsky's request, to reorganise and restructure it into the formidable fighting force it became. Like Georgii Radetzky he was no great lover of 'Bolshevism' but believed that something better would come after it.
[5]
The Okhrana was the Tsarist secret police. It dealt with all opposition to 'The Autocracy'. Unlike its successor, 'The Cheka', it operated inside the law. Most captives were handed over to the judiciary for sentencing. The Okhrana was dissolved by the Provisional Government in 1917. However in its early days, and short of the necessary expertise, 'The Bolsheviks' made good use of some its former detectives. Auguste Gerhardt and Georgii Radetzky spring to mind.
[6]
Rasputin 'Mad Monk' of the Imperial Court, advised his Royal Highnesses on affairs of state; which only served to antagonize others in the Royal household. Rasputin was murdered at a party in 1916. Lenin said of him, 'If there had been no Rasputin, there would have been no Revolution!'
[7]
Trotsky was the architect of War Communism. In short it was the complete mobilisation of the population, to either fight or work, so the Bolsheviks could win the Civil War.
[8]
The man was none other than Ismail Enver Pasha, who was in Moscow meeting senior Bolsheviks at the time.
[9]
The 'Broomstick' Mauser C96 was Georgii Radetzky's weapon of choice. The C96 was widely used in Russia at this time and had been extensively used by the Military since the mid 1900's. The pistol was magazine fed and the 'Broomstick' attachment, which also served as a holster, gave the weapon a deadly accuracy when used in combat.
[10]
Street children, 'Besprizorniki', were either abandoned by parents who could no longer support them or orphaned by war. Throughout the 1920's gangs of, Feral, children roamed the streets of Russian towns and cities. The authorities of the 1920's - 30's treated them in the same way as the Brazilians did in the 1980's – 90's as vermin. In today's Russia it is estimated that there are at least one million children roaming the streets; others say that this is a conservative estimate, that it's more like two.
[11]
Lefortovo Prison, built in 1881 is situated in the Lefortovo district of Moscow. It has been used extensively by Russian security services before and after 1917. During the purges of the 1930's it was used, almost exclusively by the NKVD.
[12]
Felix Dzerhinsky, (1877 – 1926), was the first director of the Cheka. Even though he only joined the Bolsheviks in 1917, his rise to prominence was meteoric, in so much as, he soon gained the trust and confidence of Lenin. It is fair to say that Dzerhinsky was a work-a-holic, totally devoting himself to the 'Red' cause. He died at the relatively young age of 48 of sudden heart failure and there has been some speculation, of late, over the exact cause. But what can be in no doubt whatsoever is Felix Dzerhinsky was a Bolshevik through and through and as a result his dedication to the 'Red' cause was widely respected by the rank and file of the party.
[13]
Mikhail Bakunin (1814 – 1876). Charismatic Russian revolutionary and Anarchist; Bakunin devoted his whole life to Revolution and was a major proponent of 'Collective Anarchy'. Politically active from the early 1830's right on through to his death, there was a time in 1848 when Bakunin could be found near or on top of most of the German barricades. He spent long periods of his life in prison, at times he was also under sentence of death. On release he was exiled to Siberia but escaped, finishing his life in Switzerland. Some see Bakhunin as a revolutionary who was simply way ahead of other contemporary revolutionary thinkers. It is also fair to say that modern day 'Anti Globalism' supporters owe Bakhunin a massive debt. After all, it was he who coined the phrase/ concept of 'Direct Action'.
[14]
The 'Lewis Gun' was the standard issue machine gun used by the allies in World War 1. It was so reliable that some armies still used it right up until the Korean War. The gun was a multi-purpose weapon and could be used on land or in the air. The 'Lewis' was mounted on a tripod and fired a .303 bullet and the barrel was cooled by gas.
[15]
Sometime around 1930, after his rise to power, Stalin authorised an investigation into the 'Covert' activities of 'The Okhrana' in Georgia. It is also widely believed that the real nature of the investigation was to investigate the circumstances surrounding the priest's mysterious death. What its conclusions were nobody knows. If anything was found Stalin, and Stalin alone, seems to have taken it with him to his grave.
[16]
Fanya Kaplan (1890 – 1918) was a Socialist Revolutionary. Her claim to fame is the shooting of Lenin in 1918. She shot him on August 30
th
of that year. Apparently she felt that the Bolsheviks and Lenin especially had betrayed the revolution; so she decided to kill him. Kaplan was arrested at the scene of the crime. She was tried and executed on September 3
rd
1918. Recent evidence has cast doubt on her being the assassin. It is now believed that Kaplan suffered from bouts of mental illness; she may have been at the scene of the crime but some say that she was not the killer, but was made to take the rap for somebody else. Either way she was tried and executed. Three days after her death the 'Terror' was inaugurated. Whichever way you look at it, Kaplan may not have killed Lenin, but she certainly shortened his life. The Bolshevik leader was never the same afterwards and was dead within six years.
[17]
Peter Piaktow is one of history's mysterious characters and, as such, is of great interest to historians. Although not much is known about him what is, even though it is somewhat unreliable, is that he was believed to be a Latvian national. Another is that it is also believed that he was an art student from Riga, hence Peter 'The Painter' nickname of East End legend. The other thing is, his weapon of choice was the Dreyse M 1907 automatic pistol. Also he was most definitely a member of 'The Gardstein' gang. After the 'Siege of Sidney Street' (See Appendix D), he seems to disappear into 'East End' myth and legend along with 'Jack The Ripper'. Extensive research has been conducted and recent opinion has suggested that after the siege he made it back to Russia. Others suggest that after 'The Bolsheviks' seized power that he, now known as Jackob Peters, might have worked for 'The Cheka' and later the NKVD. All assessments are incorrect as this book intends to set the record straight. He died near the Vistula in 1920. If it wasn`t Piaktow then who was it?
[18]
Sara Trassjohnsky, one of 'The Gardstein Gang'. (See, Appendix D).
[19]
'Turned', better known as 'Turning', in espionage-speak, is where an agent or informant is 'Persuaded', subtly of course, to come and work for the other-side.
[20]
Joseph Stalin was exiled to the Siberian town of Solvychegodsk between the years of 1909 – 1911. It's no secret that every time he was sent there he escaped.
[21]
Many, many years later Stalin, especially when he was drunk, boasted to several confidents, about his involvement in 'The Sidney Street Siege' and, on some occasions, when he was nine sheets to the wind, boasted of killing George Gardstein. Although never proven, 'Stalinologist's' have suspected this fact for years because it seems that all the main protagonists by the time we enter into the era of 'High Stalinism' (1929) were either dead or had, mysteriously, disappeared. More than a coincidence don't you think!
[22]
Without saying too much about it here; when all the dust after the siege eventually settled, there was a strange denouement to the case. In so much as the survivors were all released without charge. East End criminologists have argued that there was a lot more at stake here than the simple robbing of a jewelers shop. You decide...