Hard to make a comparison. Is a spy at a meeting and reading physical mail really different from... spys at meetings and reading electronic communications?
The big difference probably isn't that modern -- it's bugs that record in-person conversations even when no spy is in the room. A problem, but not an impossible one.
"How can we have a revolution if the Tsar's secret police read our newspapers and intercept our mail?"
to be fair, the level of surveillance now far surpasses anything the ruling class of old could have ever dreamed of doing
Hard to make a comparison. Is a spy at a meeting and reading physical mail really different from... spys at meetings and reading electronic communications?
The big difference probably isn't that modern -- it's bugs that record in-person conversations even when no spy is in the room. A problem, but not an impossible one.
For sure, the game's different, but the obstacles are still surmountable.
There was even an informant (Malinovsky) in the Central Committee at one point.