A Quiet "Fighter for Peace" Passes

The passing of George Miller-Kurakin has been noted recently, primarily in the British press.

Notable among the tributes, one composed by Julian Lewis, concludes succinctly:

George Miller-Kurakin, anti-Soviet campaigner: born Santiago, Chile 25 April 1955; married 1986 Lilia Zielke (one son, one daughter); died London 23 October 2009.

Anti-Soviet campaigner?

Yes.

Reading over Mr. Lewis' account of Miller-Kurakin's life (and the others), it becomes clear that he was much, much more than that.

"Intellectual and visionary, liberal and anti-Communist, George Miller inspired a generation of Conservative activists in the 1980s, when the Soviet Union seemed impregnable. His operations were so extensive that few of his associates knew the full picture."

The Adam Smith Institute notes his passing this way:

"[ASI] . . . recently lost a great friend and a heroic fighter for freedom. George Miller-Kurakin was an anti-communist activist who during the 1980s was not only a close associate of the ASI but in orchestrating a wide range of direct actions behind the Iron curtain
he inspired a generation of young freedom fighters
during what turned out to be the latter decade of the cold war.

A larger than life character with a great sense of humour, George was thoughtful, generous and staunch. Strategic, visionary and an outstanding executioner of field-craft and tactics
he always believed that Communism would eventually collapse
under the weight of its own manifest contradictions.
How right he was.
Rest in peace."

Miller-Kurakin, far left, and colleagues stage a protest

at the Soviet-backed Copenhagen Peace Congress in 1986

Who or how many truly remember(s) that time?

As Lewis recounts it:

Miller never sought personal publicity, but never minded taking a lead. With the Coalition for Peace Through Security, he spent a year planning a lively reception for the 1986 Copenhagen "Peace Congress" – the first set-piece effort in a Nato country by the Soviet-controlled World Peace Council (WPC) since its abortive Sheffield Congress of November 1950.

The USSR spent a great deal of hard currency staging the Copenhagen event. It opened with Miller and two others unfolding a giant banner on the platform which declared: "This is the KGB's 'Peace' Congress". On the second day, pictures of him being roughly handled dominated the Danish press. On the final day, dozens of his activists (who had somehow acquired delegates' credentials) mounted a protest against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.
The ensuing mayhem achieved worldwide media coverage, throwing new light on the WPC's favourite catch-phrase – "The Fight for Peace".

We remember . . .

George Miller-Kurakin