US PRESIDENT WOODROW WILSON, 1919 Within a year all Europe will be communist. GRIGORI ZINOVIEV, PRESIDENT OF COMINTERN (COMMUNIST INTERNATIONAL), 1919 If the Russian revolutions of 1917 sent a shockwave through the world, then the brutal murder of Tsar Nicholas II and his family on 17 July 1918 was met with revulsion and disbelief, as well as realisation that the Bolshevik movement was prepared to do whatever it took to preserve its hold on power. Ernest Oldham’s life and work in the Communications Department were directly affected by events in Russia after 1917. Without spending too much time on the details, it is important to understand just why European states were so concerned about the impact of the Russian revolutions. First, and perhaps most importantly, the collapse of the Triple Entente had ushered in a new era where ideological class warfare – communism against capitalism, the proletariat versus the privileged bourgeoisie – created international tension in a post-Versailles world shattered by the recent global conflict.
