Paul Dukes was sent into Russia in 1918, shortly after the Bolshevik Revolution. His role was to keep the British spy networks in place during the 'Red Terror', when the Cheka secret police were killing large numbers of opponents of the communist regime. Dukes operated under a variety of covers, the most daring of which was as a member of the Cheka itself. On his return the British government publicised his role to prove their case against the Bolsheviks, knighting him publicly and awarding him the Victoria Cross. His memoirs of his time in Russia, originally published in 1922 and out of print for some time, Red Dusk and the Morrow combines high adventure with tales of extraordinary cruelty from the dawn of the Soviet era.
