Part 4/11:
The handling of political dissidents reveals a disturbing dichotomy. While the inner workings of the Soviet regime were marked by terror and repression, Western intellectuals often extolled the virtues of the Russian Revolution and its leaders. Figures on the left, particularly in Britain, embraced socialist ideals while downplaying the details of Soviet policies to preserve what they perceived as a fragile experiment in governance. The idea of the “useful idiot”—those who would willingly defend the regime despite its transgressions—took root among Western circles.