Vladimir Lenin MI5 British Intelligence Files

Description

Lenin: British Intelligence Files, 1915-1921

Timeline of Main Events (Based on the Provided Source)

This timeline is based solely on the information provided in the excerpts from “Vladimir Lenin MI5 British Intelligence Files” and related materials. It focuses on the period covered by these files.

• 1915: Earliest date of the British intelligence files on Vladimir Lenin. This suggests MI5 began actively monitoring Lenin and his activities around this time, likely due to the unfolding events of World War I and the increasing activity of socialist and revolutionary movements.
• 1917:The Bolsheviks, a faction of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party founded by Vladimir Lenin and Alexander Bogdanov, are mentioned as being active.
• July 1917 – August 1918: The period covered by the separate “Bolsheviki Party MI5 Files.” This indicates intensified British intelligence interest in the Bolsheviks following the February Revolution and leading up to and during the early stages of their consolidation of power.
• September 27, 1917: Date of a message from the British Russian Mission in Paris containing a list of suspects in contact with Lenin. This highlights British efforts to identify Lenin’s network and potential collaborators.
• Mention of the 1917 Russian Revolution, led by the Bolsheviks under Lenin.
• May 1919: Date of a memo from the Political Intelligence Department of the British Foreign Office detailing “Lenin’s Internal Program.” This shows British intelligence actively analyzing and understanding the Bolsheviks’ policies and goals within Russia.
• 1920: A young MI5 desk officer makes a handwritten annotation in the margins of a report, stating that “LENIN has no actual powers but serves as some kind of ‘figure-head.’” This reflects a potential underestimation or misunderstanding of Lenin’s true influence within the Bolshevik party and the Soviet state by at least one intelligence officer at the time.
• 1921:An intercepted letter from Lenin to a friend in Zurich reportedly admits the failure of his Bolshevistic theories. This suggests a moment of potential doubt or acknowledgment of difficulties faced by the Bolshevik regime, as perceived by British intelligence.
• Date of the latest documents explicitly mentioned within the collection of Lenin’s MI5 files. The overall collection dates from 1915 to 1921.

Ongoing Activities Throughout the Period:

• MI5 collection and analysis of reports, memos, newspaper extracts, photos, and Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) documents related to Lenin and his associates.
• SIS reports, including one from Claude Dansey, assistant chief of SIS, alleging that Czarist military intelligence had proof of Lenin being a paid German agent.
• SIS memos on Lenin’s strategy.
• British intelligence gathering on the movements and activities of Lenin and his circle.
• Analysis of the Bolshevik party, including their political ideologies and internal dynamics, as evidenced by the “Bolsheviki Party MI5 Files.”

Cast of Characters with Brief Bios

This list includes the principal individuals explicitly named in the provided source excerpts:

• Vladimir Lenin: (1870-1924). Marxist theoretician and revolutionary, leader of the Bolshevik faction of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party. He played a central role in the 1917 Russian Revolution and became the first premier of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). British intelligence files cover his activities and perceived influence from 1915 to 1921. He is variously described as a “well known Russian social democratic pacifist” and, by one MI5 officer, as a “figure-head” with no actual power. An intercepted letter allegedly shows him admitting the failure of his Bolshevistic theories.
• Alexander Bogdanov: (1873-1928). A physician, philosopher, science fiction writer, and revolutionary. He co-founded the Bolshevik faction of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party with Vladimir Lenin. While mentioned as a founder, the source does not provide further details about his role in the period covered by the files.
• Winston Churchill: (1874-1965). A prominent British statesman who held various influential positions throughout his career, including during the period covered by these files. The mention of a “short hand-written minute from Winston Churchill” indicates his awareness of and possible involvement in the monitoring of Lenin. The context of this minute is not provided in the source.
• Claude Dansey: (1876-1947). Assistant chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS). A SIS report attributed to him purports that Czarist military intelligence possessed proof that Lenin was a paid agent of the Germans. This highlights the intelligence assessments and allegations being considered by British authorities.
• Leon Trotsky: (1879-1940). A Russian Marxist revolutionary, theorist, and Soviet politician. While not mentioned in the main description of Lenin’s files, he is named in the description of the “Bolsheviki Party MI5 Files” as one of the individuals on whom these files contain “comments.” He was a key figure in the Bolshevik movement alongside Lenin.

Vladimir Lenin MI5 British Intelligence Files

457 pages of British intelligence files on Marxist theoretician Vladimir Lenin, leader of the 1917 Russian Revolution, and first premier of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).
The Bolsheviks (Bolshevists, Bolsheviki) were a segment of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party founded by Vladimir Lenin and Alexander Bogdanov. Their beliefs and practices were often referred to as Bolshevism. They ultimately became the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

These files date from 1915 to 1921. The material contains reports and memos, newspaper extracts, photos, reports on the movements and activities of Lenin and his associates, and Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) documents. The files include a hand-written annotation by one young MI5 desk officer in 1920 who wrote in the margins of a report “LENIN has no actual powers but serves as some kind of ‘figure-head.’” Elsewhere in the file, he is also described by a Home Office official as a “well known Russian social democratic pacifist”.

Highlights include:

A short hand-written minute from Winston Churchill.

An intercepted letter written in 1921 from Lenin to a friend in Zurich admitting failure of his Bolshevistic theories.

A SIS report from Claude Dansey, assistant chief of the Secret Intelligence Service, purporting that Czarist military intelligence had proof that Lenin was a paid agent of the Germans.

A copy of a message from the British Russian Mission in Paris dated 27/09/1917 with a list of suspects in touch with Lenin.

A Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) memo on Lenin’s strategy.

A May 1919 memo from the Political Intelligence Department of the British Foreign Office on Lenin’s Internal Program.

Bolsheviki Party MI5 Files

In addition to the 457 pages above are 134 pages of MI5 Files covering the Bolsheviki Party. This collection of papers dating from July 1917 to August 1918, covers Soviet political parties, particularly the Bolsheviki, including comments on Lenin, Trotsky and others. A highlight from the material is a document listing the 51 most important things to know about the Bolshevikis including anti-Semitic remarks about Jewish control of the party. Other statements include; “Bolshevists number amongst themselves about 4% of idealists, 46% reactionaries working for the restitution of the Old Tsarist regime and 50% of hooligans and German agents combined,”; and “Bolshevik policy is one based on extremes and that such policy cannot last and is bound to be followed by a severe re-action.”