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absurdities, disguised the Soviet Union and its leaders as a democratic,
progressive, humanitarian force. According to Deutscher, if there had
been deviations from the erstwhile ideals, a breathtaking Leninist revival
was just around the comer and would restore the pristine values of the
Russian Revolution. Deutscher wrote exceedingly well and would have
been even more successful as a novelist than an historian. In fact, he be–
gan his career as a literary figure . Against this very talented purveyor of
snake oil, Labedz went to field. His essay was so negative that Deutscher
threatened him with a lawsuit.
During those years, I found Leo immensely stimulating. We talked
on the phone almost every evening about editorial matters, world affairs,
books we had read. Leo read so much that there was no time left for him
to write anything of much consequence, except some brilliant polemics.
He found it physically impossible to discard manuscripts, newspapers,
books, journals - as a result his little house in East Finchley became a
storage place in which there was hardly room for a bed and a table. At
Survey,
Leo's habits drove Jane Degras to distraction. His own articles
were never delivered on time, and he was not willing to pass on contri–
butions by other authors. Trivial considerations such as printers' deadlines
did not exist for him. Things went from bad to worse, and reluctantly I
asked Paris to dismiss him. But Leo promised to mend his ways and did to
a slight degree, so I was overruled. Under the circumstances I suggested
that he should be made coeditor, thus sharing the responsibility for the
appearance, more or less on time, of
Survey.
After I left,
Survey
continued to grow in size and to a certain extent
changed its character. Leo obtained and was first to publish in English
some of the key texts of the Russian and East European dissidents. His
merits in this respect were enormous and have not been fully recognized.
He also persuaded himself that he had been the founder of
Survey,
that
until he had arrived on the scene it was a mere newsletter, which he had
transformed into a major magazine. Later, his version of events found
their way into several books. I was amused rather than annoyed, because
Leo had been in the forefront of those preaching the gospel of truthful–
ness to Communist historians. He had not always practiced what he
preached. I was not angry, because I had moved on to other fields,
whereas
Survey
was the center of Leo's life; the cause of endless, heated
debates, of sleepless nights and of friendships broken off.
It
could well be
that but for such a single-minded and discipline-lacking editor, the maga–
zine would not have lasted as long as it did and not have made such a
noble contribution . What did it matter
sub species aeternitatis
that the
magazine appeared once or twice a year rather than four times, often with
a year's delay?
