At first blush, it looks to me like he may be making a distinction between how those Jews in this particular Lenin/Trotsky 'cult' were considered who were viewed as intellectuals, compared to how the hoi polloi Jews were considered.
An interesting thing to consider (by those with a pure heart for it) given stereotypes that exist elsewhere.
Right....
Most Russian Jews were just feeding old Uncle Joes alligator, hoping it ate them last. It did.
As far as any of the Gulags being 'cushy', well that's just insane. Some may have been worse than others, but none of them were 'cushy' by any stretch of the imagination.
Me thinks thou dost protest too much.
L