A Very Dangerous Woman: The Lives, Loves and Lies of Russia's Most Seductive Spy (76 page)

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Authors: Deborah McDonald,Jeremy Dronfield

Tags: #Biography & Autobiography, #Historical

BOOK: A Very Dangerous Woman: The Lives, Loves and Lies of Russia's Most Seductive Spy
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5
   
The original of this letter is in the RBML archive. On this original it is clear that it is the three children she is referring to: Kira, Tania and Paul. In the published letters, no. 1,735, it is ‘Victor, Tania and Paul’, obviously a mistranscription. From this time on Pavel, her son, was known as Paul.
  
6
   
In 1936 Liuba married Sir Lionel Fletcher, a retired engineer and shipping magnate, with whom she moved to Tanzania.
  
7
   
Berberova,
Moura
, p. 257.
  
8
   
Bagnold,
Autobiography
, p. 134.
  
9
   
Wells, letter to Christabel Aberconway, 20 May 1934, quoted in Lynn,
Shadow Lovers
, pp. 199–200.
10
   
Moura, letters to Gorky, Jan.–Dec. 1934, GA.
11
   
Wells,
H. G. Wells in Love
, p. 174.
12
   
Quoted in Robin Bruce Lockhart,
Reilly: The First Man
, pp. 57–8.
13
   
The dacha was in the small town of Gorki, not to be confused with the town of Gorki where Lenin spent his final months, or Gorky’s birthplace, which was renamed Gorki in honour of him. ‘Gorki’ is a common name for towns in Russia; the one where Gorky had his dacha was known as Gorki-10 and the other was renamed Gorki-Leninskie. Possibly the location was chosen for him because of the coincidence of names.
14
   
Wells,
Experiment in Autobiography vol. II
, p. 809.
15
   
Wells,
H. G. Wells in Love
, p. 175.
16
   
Wells,
H. G. Wells in Love
, pp. 175–6.
17
   
The essay on Moura in
Shadow Lovers
(pp. 161–200) was written in June and August 1935, amended slightly in 1936, but not published until decades after his death.
18
   
Wells,
H. G. Wells in Love
, p. 164.
19
   
During the show trials of 1938 Yagoda and Kriuchkov were accused of Max’s murder. The quick funeral was given as proof of their guilt. Yagoda was having an affair with Max’s wife, Timosha.
20
   
Moura, letter to Gorky, 1934, quoted in Vaksberg,
The Murder of Maxim Gorky
, p. 316.
21
   
Baron Robert Boothby, interview with Andrew Boyle, CUL Add 9429/2B/113.
22
   
Moura, second letter to Gorky, 1934, quoted in Vaksberg,
The Murder of Maxim Gorky
, p. 316.
23
   
Moura, letter to Lockhart, HIA. Undated: probably mid-1934.
 
 

Chapter 21: The Mysterious Death of Maxim Gorky

  
1
   
West,
H. G. Wells
, pp. 140–41. West is vague about when this conversation took place; he implies that it occurred immediately she was confronted with the evidence in Estonia. More likely it was some time after summer 1935 (based on the nature of Wells’ own account written at that time).
  
2
   
West,
H. G. Wells
, p. 141.
  
3
   
West,
H. G. Wells
, p. 141.
  
4
   
Alexander,
Estonian Childhood
, p. 154. West’s book was published in 1984, and Tania’s in 1987.
  
5
   
See Chapter 2 in this book and Hill,
Go Spy the Land
, pp. 87–8.
  
6
   
Wells,
H. G. Wells in Love
, p. 196.
  
7
   
Quoted by Lord Vaizey in letter to Andrew Boyle, 15 Oct. 1980, CUL Add 9429/2B/100.
  
8
   
Lord Ritchie Calder, interview with Andrew Boyle, CUL Add 9429/2B/124 (i).
  
9
   
Moura, letter to Lockhart, 26 Dec. 1934, LL.
10
   
The book, entitled
Return to Malaya
, was published in 1936.
11
   
Moura, letter to Gorky, Aug. 1934, quoted in Vaksberg,
The Murder of Maxim Gorky
, p. 352.
12
   
Foros was a popular resort for senior Soviet politicians, and many had dachas there. Mikhail Gorbachev was held under house arrest at his Foros dacha during the 1991 coup.
13
   
Shkapa, quoted in Shentalinsky,
The KGB’s Literary Archive
, p. 267.
14
   
The NKVD, or People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs, had existed since the Revolution, and competed with the Cheka. Successive reorganisations produced the GPU, the OGPU and eventually the newly reformed NKVD in 1934, which took full responsibility for intelligence and security. In 1954 the NKVD was split and reformed again, and espionage and political policing became the responsibility of the newly formed KGB, while criminal policing was handled by a separate organisation.
15
   
Vaksberg,
The Murder of Maxim Gorky
, p. 354.
16
   
Vaksberg,
The Murder of Maxim Gorky
, pp. 342–3.
17
   
Wells, letter to Constance Coolidge, no, 2073, 14 Mar. 1935, in Wells,
Correspondence of H. G. Wells vol. 4
, p. 15.
18
   
Lockhart, diary entry for 27 May 1935,
Diaries vol. 1
, p. 321.
19
   
Wells,
H. G. Wells in Love
, p. 208.
20
   
Moura, letter to Gorky, Apr. 1936, quoted in Vaksberg,
The Murder of Maxim Gorky
, pp. 364–5.
21
   
This theory was developed and published by Arkady Vaksberg in his book
The Murder of Maxim Gorky
.
22
   
Weidenfeld,
George Weidenfeld
, pp. 132–3. Weidenfeld knew Moura much later, and heard this story apparently from a third party.
23
   
Diary entries quoted in Alexander,
Estonian Childhood
, pp. 127–8.
24
   
Witness accounts compiled by Shentalinsky,
The KGB’s Literary Archive
, p. 272.
25
   
Told by Moura to Lockhart, Lockhart diary entry for 28 Nov.1936,
Diaries vol. 1
, p. 358.
26
   
Vaksberg,
The Murder of Maxim Gorky
, p. 386. Vaksberg claims the existence of several documents in the Russian state archives proving this, but does not identify them. Due to his failure to make proper citations, Vaksberg’s theory about the circumstances of Gorky’s death is controversial. However, the existence of the will is confirmed by Korney Chukovsky, who was told the story by Yekaterina herself (Chukovsky, diary entry for 30 Apr. 1962,
Diary
, p. 464).
27
   
Vaksberg,
The Murder of Maxim Gorky
, pp. 402–3.
28
   
Vaksberg,
The Murder of Maxim Gorky
, pp. 397–8.

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