REDS AT WORK IN EGYPT

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 650, 30 April 1929, Page 11

REDS AT WORK IN EGYPT

SERIOUS PROPAGANDA PLOT UNMASKED RUSSIANS ARRESTED Times Cable Reed. 12.52 p.m. CAIRO, Monday. The Egyptian authorities have unmasked a serious attempt by Moscow to establish in Egypt a Bolshevik propaganda centre. The effort began two years ago, when the Soviet opened negotiations to buy Egyptian cotton. It offered guarantees and formed a company, Textile Imports, Limited. The operations at first appeared to be legitimate; but the purchases began to dwindle. The authorities became interested and found reason to suspect that the company’s agents were engaged in propaganda in Egypt and neighbouring countries. Suspicion chiefly centred on Alexis Vasilieff, who managed the agency. The suspicion deepened when Vasilieff dismissed the real cotton expert, substituting a newcomer, Hugo Rudolf. The police watched both and found sufficient evidence to justify them in arresting them. The whole plot was revealed, largely from documents in Rudolf’s possession, including his diary.