Talk:Bim Bom

Utter Nonsense.
Bim and Bom were two different clowns. They performed long after 1918 when the article says they were shot. There are numerous sources for this, one being Fueloep-Miller's "The Mind and Face of Bolshevism" (1926, originally in German).

Don't know what Figes was smoking, but the CheKa wouldn't have shot people in the back in front of an audience in 1918 (or any other time). They would have waited until the act was over and quietly arrested them. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 4.231.245.202 (talk)

Not So Sure
There's a big difference between "CheKa wouldn't have" and "didn't." My copy of "KGB: The Inside Story: 1990" says the following.

Among the Chekists' first Moscow victims was the celebrated circus clown Bim-Bom, whose repertoire included jokes about the communists. Like the KGB, the Cheka was not noted for its sense of humour about ideological subversion. When stern-faced Chekists advanced on Bim-Bom during one of his performances, the circus audience assumed at first that it was all part of the fun. Their mood changed to panic as Bim-Bom fled from the ring with the Chekists firing after him."

The endnote is to Proletarskaya Revoliutsia, Peters, 1924. Who knows whether it's true, but as you say 'there are numerous sources for this.' There doesn't seem to be any claim of murder; just shooting. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.228.88.102 (talk) 04:56, 17 March 2011 (UTC)