The article is still click-bait. There was no plan to assassinate Orwell. There was a plan to arrest him and make him sign some confessions and/or maybe die in prison, but he was simply not important at that time. Just some foreigner, who fought for a marxist militia, not under Stalins control - and that was enough.

But by doing so, they created a powerful enemy. I believe animal farm and 1984 are due to their popularity a very big reason, bolschewism went down in the end.