The Case Of Comrade Tulayev (New York Review Books Classics) [Paperback]

in time the mind will make chains snap." Victor Serge.

Victor Serge's novel "The Case of Comrade Tulayev" is set in the Soviet Union in the late 1930s, long before "the chains wore out." It is a classic and haunting look at Soviet society during an era of party purges, show trials, and executions that deserves a place of honor on any reading list that also includes Arthur Koestler's "Darkness at Noon", George Orwell's "1984" and Vasily Grossman's "Forever Flowing".

Serge, born in Brussels in 1890 to Russian emigre parents, returned to Russia early in 1919 in order to support the newly created Soviet Union. He served as both a writer and journalist. However, Serge was one of the first of the old-line revolutionaries to oppose Stalin's concentration of power. He was arrested, expelled from the party, released, and arrested again. Finally, in 1936 after a public campaign by leading European political and literary figures, Serge was released and deported to France. He eventually found his way to Mexico where he died, penniless, in 1947.

The Case of Comrade Tulayev mirrors in some respects the murder of Sergei Kirov that set off Stalin's first great purge beginning in 1934. The story begins with the almost accidental murder of a leading member of the Central Committee, Comrade Tulayev by a disaffected clerk. The Chief (Serge's allusion to Stalin) immediately commences a round of purges, investigations, show trials and executions. The rest of the book takes us on a chapter-by-chapter account of a group of individuals caught up in the aftermath of the murder. Each individual represents a different component of Soviet society, from the lowly clerk to the high-ranking party functionary to the `oppositionist' already living in exile in Siberia.

Serge paints an intimate, vivid picture of each individual as they meet their fate. Like a storm at seas these people can see the storm on the horizon but they all seem powerless to either flea. They are swept up and prepared for show trials. The only option available to each is their ability to fight the omnipotent forces that want them to admit to crimes they did not commit and to implicate others in these same acts. The power of Serge's writing lies in his examination of the inner lives of his protagonists and their reasons for either accepting this fate or fighting to retain some shred of inner dignity. The outcome of each protagonist's story provides a cross section of human responses ranging from cringing supplication to death-defying resistance. The story of Ryzshik, the exiled oppositionist is particularly haunting. As with the others, he knows what is expected of him but he chooses to starve himself to death rather than confess to some non-existent crime.

The Case of Comrade Tulayev is most often compared to Koestler's Darkness at Noon. Although the comparison is very apt there are some critical differences in approach that bear mentioning. Darkness at Noon focuses on the self-reflection of one key player in the creation of the Soviet state, Rubashov. Koestler took one life, Rubashov's, and reflected on his own role (or guilt) in creating the state that was about to murder him. The emotional heart of Darkness at Noon (for me) is whether and why Rubashov would perform one last act for `The State". Serge, takes a broader look at the questions of individual guilt and collective responsibility. I think that by taking this broader look both Serge and the reader begin to think about, if not find a rational explanation for, how a society based on egalitarian ideals can allow itself to be transformed into a compliant, totalitarian state in less than a generation.

Victor Serge's Case of Comrade Tulayev is an excellent piece of writing. Highly recommended. L. Fleisig

This was a magnificent discovery for me. 40 years after reading "Darkness at Noon", I have discovered this wonderful account of the years of the "purges". More than a historical account, it is novel which gives its characters life and humanity. Many of the characters living within the "system" are sympathetic and well-meaning. Unlike some of the previous reviews, the thing I find chilling about the novel is the fact that it is not just 1930s history. Looking around the world there are still many people living in similar situations, and indeed some of the characters could even be city traders working for ambitious and dishonest bosses. Worth a read whatever your politics - it transcends them.

This is a magnificent book. The opening shows us the random and spontaneous assassination of leading Party official, Comrade Tulayev, by an ordinary citizen. The paranoia prevalent in Stalin's Russia, though, could not accept such an explanation. As ripples spread out from a pond when a pebble is thrown in, so the web of supposed intrigue behind the act widens to envelop and subsequently destroy both friends and enemies of the regime.

Written by a man familiar with the regime (Victor Serge was not only condemned to the camps but was one of the very few people to be released and allowed to leave Russia after international protestations led by writers) this serves as history but, much more than this, as also a tragic, aching novel.

Read this then move on to Vasily Grossman's epic "Life and Fate".