Shockingly easy: there was no information coming in and out of Russia that wasn’t via courier (even mail was unreliable). The only way for information to get out was for someone to see something, and then survive leaving, and then tell people about it.
Also keep in mind the context: absolute monarchies routinely have bloody rebellions and purges; revolutions and civil wars are usually extended and bloody affairs. It wasn’t until Lenin died and Stalin took over that it became clear a relatively stable government was murdering lots of people for increasingly bizarre reasons.
Russell, Keynes, Wittgenstein and Haldane all visited the Soviet Union. Needham spent time in China during the Sino-Japanese War and again after the communist revolution. So some intellectuals had access to first-hand accounts—though I agree that the permission to visit and the experience itself was tightly controlled. There were also lots of Russians and Chinese in exile who intellectuals could talk to.
Shockingly easy: there was no information coming in and out of Russia that wasn’t via courier (even mail was unreliable). The only way for information to get out was for someone to see something, and then survive leaving, and then tell people about it.
Also keep in mind the context: absolute monarchies routinely have bloody rebellions and purges; revolutions and civil wars are usually extended and bloody affairs. It wasn’t until Lenin died and Stalin took over that it became clear a relatively stable government was murdering lots of people for increasingly bizarre reasons.
Russell, Keynes, Wittgenstein and Haldane all visited the Soviet Union. Needham spent time in China during the Sino-Japanese War and again after the communist revolution. So some intellectuals had access to first-hand accounts—though I agree that the permission to visit and the experience itself was tightly controlled. There were also lots of Russians and Chinese in exile who intellectuals could talk to.