Old Bolsheviks’ persecution
Rubashov embodies the Old Bolsheviks who were persecuted by the new government during the Moscow Trials. His dedication to the Party and pushing the Communist ideals formed the basis of the new generation. Absurdly the fascists turned against the same individuals that helped build their ideologies. Therefore the persecution of the Old Bolsheviks by a much more aggressive form of their ideology is ironic.
Darkness at noon
The title itself is ironic, basically referring to the statement by the Party that promised a utopian society. The communist revolution compared the society they are creating to the light of noon. Ironically the common citizens have been neglected and suffered under the regime far from the promised utopia. Furthermore, the old revolutionaries are also being persecuted by the so-called utopian society.
New government betrayal
The hearing and interrogation of the protagonist highlight the betrayal of the older generation by the newer one. The new government is insensible to the effort of the revolutionaries as they view them as obsolete. Ironically Rubashov is even interrogated by his friend Ivanov of whom he shared the same political ideology once. The revolutionaries who transitioned with the new generation such as Stalin betrayed their former comrades.
False confessions
The purge alludes to Stalin’s purges that incorporated torture tactics on former comrades into confessing. However, the supposed crimes they were forced to confess were false and both parties were aware. In the narrative, Rubashov is even coerced to confess to crimes he never committed by former comrades.
The irony of rectitude
The Old Bolsheviks claimed that the new generations of communists are brutal and lack any moral compass. They despised the new government for using the ideologies of the Party to justify their actions. Ironically the former revolutionaries also used the same logic to impose their ideologies while in power. They are not as innocent as they claim since they too committed their share of atrocities.
