Robert Archibald Wilton (31 July 1868 – 18 January 1925) was a British

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

, and a proponent of

antisemitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Ant ...

thought and

conspiracy theories A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * * * * The term has a neg ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Wilton, who was born in

Cringleford Cringleford is a civil parish and village in the English county of Norfolk. The village sits on the River Yare and forms part of the outskirts of Norwich. History Cringleford's name is of mixed Viking and Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from an a ...

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nort ...

, was the son of a British mining engineer employed in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

. In 1889 he joined the European staff of the ''

New York Herald The ''New York Herald'' was a large-distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between 1835 and 1924. At that point it was acquired by its smaller rival the ''New-York Tribune'' to form the ''New York Herald Tribune''. Hist ...

'', remained with that newspaper for 14 years and reported on both Russian and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

affairs. He then took up an appointment as ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ...

'' correspondent in St Petersburg and became known as a keen observer of events in Russia during the last years of the

Tsarist Tsarist autocracy (russian: царское самодержавие, transcr. ''tsarskoye samoderzhaviye''), also called Tsarism, was a form of autocracy (later absolute monarchy) specific to the Grand Duchy of Moscow and its successor states th ...

regime. After the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...

, he moved to

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part o ...

. Following the collapse of the

Kolchak Kolchak, Kolçak or Kolčák is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Iliash Kolchak ("Kolchak-Pasha") (fl. before 1710–1743), Moldavian mercenary and military commander * Alexander Kolchak Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak (rus ...

government, Wilton managed to escape from Russia and eventually arrived in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

, where, in 1920, he rejoined the ''New York Herald''. In 1924 he joined the staff of a newly-founded newspaper, the ''Paris Times'', which published in English. He died from cancer at the Hertford British Hospital in Paris early in 1925. Wilton served with the

Russian Army The Russian Ground Forces (russian: Сухопутные войска �ВSukhoputnyye voyska V}), also known as the Russian Army (, ), are the land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Forces ...

during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

and was awarded the

Cross of St George The Cross of Saint George (russian: Георгиевский крест, Georgiyevskiy krest) is a state decoration of the Russian Federation. It was initially established by Imperial Russia The Russian Empire was an empire and the fi ...

. He was the author of two books: ''Russia's Agony'' (published by Edward Arnold, London, 1918) and ''The Last Days of the Romanovs'' (1920).

Аntisemitism

Wilton was a

right wing Right-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that view certain social orders and Social stratification, hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this pos ...

antisemite. He was a proponent of the theory of Jews involved in ritualistic murder, claiming in his 1920 book ''The Last Days of the Romanovs'' that the execution of the

Romanovs The House of Romanov (also transcribed Romanoff; rus, Романовы, Románovy, rɐˈmanəvɨ) was the reigning dynasty, imperial house of Russia from 1613 to 1917. They achieved prominence after the Tsarina, Anastacia of Russia, Anastasi ...

was a ritual murder by the Jews. He was criticized by several liberal British journalists for supporting the attempted military coup by

Lavr Kornilov Lavr Georgiyevich Kornilov (russian: Лавр Гео́ргиевич Корни́лов, ; – 13 April 1918) was a Russian military intelligence officer, explorer, and general in the Imperial Russian Army during World War I and the ensuing Rus ...

. In 1919 he published "Russia's Agony", which claimed (p. ix) that "Bolshevism is not Russian - it is essentially non-national, its leaders being almost entirely in the league ewsthat lost its country and its nationhood long ago". According to

Semyon Reznik Semyon Efimovich Reznik ( Russian: Семён Ефимович Резник) (born 13 June 1938, in Moscow) is a Russian writer, journalist, man of letters and historian, noted in particular for his study of the blood libel and the resurgence of Ne ...

, Wilton was also assisting Russian antisemites in fabrication of photographic evidence of ritual crimes by Jews.

References

External links

Spartacus

''Russia's Agony''
by Robert Wilton.
''The Last Days of the Romanovs''
by Robert Wilton, George Gustav Telberg and Nikolai Sokolov. Blood libel British anti-communists British male journalists British people of the Russian Civil War 1868 births 1925 deaths People from South Norfolk (district) Military personnel from Norfolk Russian military personnel of World War I {{UK-journalist-stub