An old Bolshevik is roughly someone who joined the Party before the October Revolution. Stalin was an old Bolshevik. So was Molotov. PPeople who joined before 1920 might qualify too. Being an OB was pretty much a death warrant in the 1930s unless you were a super ardent Stalinist, and even then . . .
Murderous frat boys, that's good. Stalin used to call random officials at all hours, and if you were not at your desk when he rang, you weren't ever there again. Played hell with people's sex lives, I'm sure.
--- Chris Doss <lookoverhere1 at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> I have no idea about Litvinov, but what exactly is
> the
> definition of an "Old Bolshevik"? Stalin counts as
> an
> Old Bolshie, doesn't he?
>
> Molotov -- "the hammer." The macho nature of these
> names the Bolsheviks gave themselves is really
> striking. The sound like pro wrestlers. "Man of
> Stone." "Man of Steel." Though supposedly
> Kaganovich's
> original pseudonym was actually something like "The
> Kosher Man," which certainly breaks with the mold.
> (I
> could look this up if I really wanted to.) Stalin
> used
> to mock Molotov by calling him "Molotstein." In
> Montefiore's book, the group around Stalin really do
> come across like a bunch of murderous frat boys.
> Beria
> used to stick tomatoes into Mikoyan's pockets at
> parties and squish them. Ha, ha. Eventually Mikoyan
> had to start bringing an extra suit.
>
> --- Paul <paul_ at igc.org> wrote:
>
>
> >
> > No one clearly explained to me, if this was so,
> how
> > Litvinov survived (he
> > was an "Old Bolshevik"; they mentioned some links
> > with Alexandra Kollentai
> > and, I gather those were the only 2 "Old
> Bolsheviks"
> > to have lived). I
> > haven't been in a position to confirm any of the
> > Litvinov stories but I
> > suspect it might prove to be an profitable line of
> > archival research.
> >
> > Paul
> >
>
>
> =====
> Nu, zayats, pogodi!
>
>
>
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