Benjamin Tromly. “The Making of a Myth. The National Labour Alliance, Russian Émigrés, and Cold War Intelligence Activities”. Diplomatic History 18:1, 80-111

This is an elec onic ep in o he o iginal a icle. This ep in may di e om he o iginal in pagina ion and ypog aphic de ail. Au ho (s): Ti le: Yea : Ve sion: Please ci e he o iginal e sion: All ma e ial supplied ia JYX is p o ec ed by copy igh and o he in ellec ual p ope y igh s, and duplica ion o sale o all o pa o any o he eposi o y collec ions is no pe mi ed, excep ha ma e ial may be duplica ed by you o you esea ch use o educa ional pu poses in elec onic o p in o m. You mus ob ain pe mission o any o he use. Elec onic o p in copies may no be o e ed, whe he o sale o o he wise o anyone who is no an au ho ised use . Benjamin T omly. “The Making o a My h. The Na ional Labou Alliance, Russian Émig és, and Cold Wa In elligence Ac i i ies”. Diploma ic His o y 18:1, 80-111 Mikkonen, Simo Mikkonen, S. (2016). Benjamin T omly. “The Making o a My h. The Na ional Labou Alliance, Russian Émig és, and Cold Wa In elligence Ac i i ies”. Diploma ic His o y 18:1, 80-111. H-Diplo, 23 No 2016, A icle 663. h ps://ne wo ks.h- ne .o g/node/153559/pd 2016 H-Diplo Ci a ion: Geo ge Fujii. H-Diplo A icle Re iew 663 on “The Making o a My h. The Na ional Labou Alliance, Russian Émig és, and Cold Wa In elligence Ac i i ies.” Diploma ic His o y 18:1. H-Diplo. 11-23-2016. h ps://ne wo ks.h- ne .o g/node/28443/discussions/153559/h-diplo-a icle- e iew-663-%E2%80%9C-making-my h-na ional-labou -alliance Licensed unde a C ea i e Commons A ibu ion-Noncomme cial-No De i a i e Wo ks 3.0 Uni ed S a es License. 1 H-Diplo A icle Re iew 663 on “The Making o a My h. The Na ional Labou Alliance, Russian Émig és, and Cold Wa In elligence Ac i i ies.” Diploma ic His o y 18:1 Discussion published by Geo ge Fujii on Wednesday, No embe 23, 2016 H-Diplo @HDiplo A icle Re iew No. 663 23 No embe 2016 A icle Re iew Edi o s: Thomas Maddux and Diane Lab osse Web and P oduc ion Edi o : Geo ge Fujii Commissioned o H-Diplo by Thomas Maddux Benjamin T omly. “The Making o a My h. The Na ional Labou Alliance, Russian Émig és, and Cold Wa In elligence Ac i i ies.” Diploma ic His o y 18:1 (Win e 2016): 80-111. DOI: h ps://doi.o g/10.1162/JCWS_a_00620 URL: h p:// iny.cc/AR663 Re iew by Simo Mikkonen, Uni e si y o Jy äskylä (Finland) In “The Making o a My h,” Benjamin T omly ackles lesse known pages o Cold Wa poli ics, in igue, and in elligence. Wi h he collapse o i s wa ime alliance wi h he So ie Union, he Uni ed S a es was ac i ely seeking allies ha could help i o ca ch up o he So ie lead in in elligence and p opaganda. One impo an g oup ha U.S. o icials app oached was Russian émig és, e ugees o he Russian Re olu ion and Ci il Wa , joined by ens o housands o new e ugees who had managed o escape So ie epa ia ion e o s in he a e ma h o Wo ld Wa Two. While he g ea majo i y o Russian émig és we e i ed o poli ics and shunned poli ical o ganiza ions, he e we e nume ous g oups anging om social democ a s o oyalis s o ascis s who we e no . T omly has chosen o shed ligh on one o he mos sec e i e and cu ious poli ical g oups, he Na ional Labou Alliance (NTS), which was es ablished in Yugosla ia in he ea ly 1930s, imi a ing I alian ascis s and mixing in elemen s o Russian impe ial conse a ism and an i-semi ism. A e he wa , NTS made i sel appealing by claiming o be a wo ld-wide an i-Communis o ganiza ion wi h housands o igh e s behind he I on Cu ain (80). T omly begins by quo ing Kons an in Boldy e , he head o NTS, a a p ess con e ence in which he boas ed abou his o ganiza ion’s abili y o opple he cu en leade ship o he So ie Union i only i we e suppo ed inancially. (80-81) While Boldy e was ha dly alone in ying o bene i om he si ua ion o he ea ly Cold Wa , he case o he NTS is pa icula ly in e es ing in ha he o ganiza ion H-Diplo Ci a ion: Geo ge Fujii. H-Diplo A icle Re iew 663 on “The Making o a My h. The Na ional Labou Alliance, Russian Émig és, and Cold Wa In elligence Ac i i ies.” Diploma ic His o y 18:1. H-Diplo. 11-23-2016. h ps://ne wo ks.h- ne .o g/node/28443/discussions/153559/h-diplo-a icle- e iew-663-%E2%80%9C-making-my h-na ional-labou -alliance Licensed unde a C ea i e Commons A ibu ion-Noncomme cial-No De i a i e Wo ks 3.0 Uni ed S a es License. 2 was no only sec e i e, bu i s size and clou we e s ongly exagge a ed by he NTS, he Cen al In elligence Agency (CIA), and possibly e en he So ie Commi ee o S a e Secu i y (KGB). The aim o he a icle is o desc ibe he complex ne wo k in which he NTS ope a ed. T omly success ully desc ibes how NTS, an o ganiza ion ha had ubbed shoulde s i s wi h ascism, and hen wi h Nazi Ge many, managed o b ing i sel in o he a en ion o U.S. o icials and he CIA a e he wa by using media a en ion and he So ie sca e in he U.S. as i s main ools. Claims o NTS o ha ing an ex ensi e ne wo k o unde g ound agen s and e olu iona y subjec s wi hin he So ie Union we e p ac ically lies, e en i some membe s o he NTS migh ha e belie ed hem. The mos in e es ing pa o T omly’s a icle begins when he CIA, despi e ealizing ha he NTS did no ha e eal means o in luence public opinion in he So ie Union, decided o con inue and e en inc ease i s suppo o he NTS. (100) I does no become ully clea whe he T omly belie es ha he CIA e e eally had ai h in he NTS’s abili y o in luence public opinion in he So ie Union, o whe he i was me ely exploi ing NTS as a on o ganiza ion om he beginning. Based on he e idence p esen ed by T omly, i would seem as i he CIA had a leas some ai h in he NTS and i s abili y o pene a e he I on Cu ain be o e mid- 1950s, e en i i seemed o su e om So ie in il a ion e o s. A e mid-1950s, he ela ionship appa en ly changed and he NTS seems o ha e become a me e ool o he CIA. (102-104) A chi al sou ces used o he a icle mos ly consis o CIA iles loca ed a he Na ional A chi es and Reco ds Adminis a ion (NARA), combined wi h he Vik o Baidalako (Vic o Baydalako , o me head o NTS) collec ion a Geo ge own Uni e si y A chi es and Special Collec ions. Apa om ew e e ences, So ie a chi al ma e ials ha e no been used, which e lec s he choice o ocusing on NTS-CIA- ela ions a he han on eal ac ions o in luence in he So ie Union. Agains his backg ound some o he claims made in he a icle abou he So ie esponses a e no ully con incing. T omly’s a gumen s abou he scale o he So ie esponse o he p esumed h ea posed by he NTS a e no based on a e y con incing body o e idence. He uses, o example, CIA epo s s a ing ha “’ i ually e e y de ec o ’ om he So ie a med o ces in Eas Ge many - - had ‘been awa e o he exis ence’ o he NTS….” (109). The ac ha soldie s s a ioned in Eas Ge many we e awa e o sub e si e Russian emig e o ganiza ions ope a ing om Wes Ge many should ha dly be a su p ise in he pos -1953 con ex . Since adio p opaganda by NTS was audible in Eas Ge many and he e was a chance ha So ie subjec s would be subjec ed o p in ed p opaganda by he NTS, So ie coun e -in elligence and p opaganda o ice s we e su e o b ie hei soldie s abou such o ganiza ions and hei p opaganda measu es. Acco ding o he logic o So ie p opaganda, coun e measu es we e mo e e ec i e i hey ook place in ad ance. Fu he mo e, all possible p o oca ions we e always answe ed. Thus, a So ie de ec o om he So ie A my s a ioned in Eas Ge many was a om ep esen a i e o an a e age So ie ci izen. Fu he mo e, he e is no clea e idence o NTS ha ing had much in luence wi hin he So ie Union. E en i T omly has a epo by a KGB o ice abou he amoun o NTS lea le s ga he ed in 1956, his canno be conside ed o be symp oma ic o he ex ensi e each o he NTS in he So ie Union. (109) The KGB was ce ainly in e es ed in he NTS – as i was in any po en ially sub e si e o eign o ganiza ion –, and a ce ain imes i migh e en ha e been anxious abou i , bu he KGB was in many ways a pa anoid o ganiza ion ha was playing se e al di e en games a once. While i is p obable ha he KGB conside ed NTS a h ea , i is e en mo e likely, ha i was in la ing di e en H-Diplo Ci a ion: Geo ge Fujii. H-Diplo A icle Re iew 663 on “The Making o a My h. The Na ional Labou Alliance, Russian Émig és, and Cold Wa In elligence Ac i i ies.” Diploma ic His o y 18:1. H-Diplo. 11-23-2016. h ps://ne wo ks.h- ne .o g/node/28443/discussions/153559/h-diplo-a icle- e iew-663-%E2%80%9C-making-my h-na ional-labou -alliance Licensed unde a C ea i e Commons A ibu ion-Noncomme cial-No De i a i e Wo ks 3.0 Uni ed S a es License. 3 h ea s o p o e o pa y leade s i s impo ance. The s a o he KGB was waning in 1956 and i s powe s had al eady been signi ican ly cu bed. The KGB had o p o e ha i was needed o s op in e nal and ex e nal h ea s. Summing up, T omly’s a icle is well-w i en and based on sound schola ship abou he ole o Russian émig és and in elligence in ea ly Cold Wa . The ela ionship o he NTS and he CIA, as desc ibed by T omly, makes compelling and enligh ening eading. This is an a ea in which he e is cu en ly oo li le schola ship. The a icle splendidly supplemen s he pic u e o he CIA’s ole in Cold-Wa poli ics and poli ical wa a e desc ibed by Hugh Wil o d,[1] and mo e p ecisely he use o Russian émig és as ou lined by Pe e G ose.[2] Simo Mikkonen is Resea ch Fellow o he Academy o Finland a he Depa men o His o y and E hnology, Uni e si y o Jy äskylä. He is specialis in wen ie h-cen u y Russian his o y wi h keen in e es o Russian emig a ion. He has au ho ed Music and Powe : A His o y o Compose s Bu eauc acy (Mellen 2009), and edi ed Beyond he Di ide: En angled His o ies o Cold Wa Eu ope (Be ghahn, 2015) and Music, A and Diplomacy: Eas -Wes Cul u al Exchanges and he Cold Wa (Rou ledge, 2016). © 2016 The Au ho s | C ea i e Commons A ibu ion-NonComme cial-NoDe i s 3.0 Uni ed S a es License No es [1] Hugh Wil o d, The Migh y Wu li ze : How he CIA Played Ame ica (Camb idge: Ha a d Uni e si y P ess, 2008). [2] Pe e G ose, Ope a ion Rollback: Ame ica’s Sec e Wa behind he I on Cu ain (Bos on: Hough on Mi flin, .(2000