Chapter VII. The formation of the communist international. Communist Internationals. History of the communist movement: dates, leaders of the Comintern definition
From 3 to 8 September 1866, the I Congress of the First International was held in Geneva, which was attended by 60 delegates representing 25 sections and 11 workers' societies of Great Britain, France, Switzerland and Germany. During the meetings, it was decided that the trade unions should organize the economic and political struggle of the proletariat against the system of wage labor and the rule of capital. Other decisions taken include the 8-hour working day, the protection of women and the prohibition of child labor, free polytechnic education, the introduction of workers' militias instead of standing armies.
What is an international?
The International is an international organization that unites socialist, social democratic, and some other parties in many countries. It represents the interests of the working people and is called upon to fight against the exploitation of the working class by big business.
How many internationals were there?
1st international emerged on September 28, 1864 in London as the first massive international organization of the working class. He combined cells of 13 european countries and the USA. The union united not only the workers, but also many petty-bourgeois revolutionaries. The organization lasted until 1876. In 1850, a split occurred in the leadership of the union. The German organization called for an immediate revolution, but it was not possible to organize it out of the blue. This caused a split in the Central Committee of the Union and led to the fact that repression fell on the scattered cells of the Union.
Unofficial symbol of the III International (1920) Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
2nd international- the international association of socialist workers' parties, created in 1889. Members of the organization made decisions about the impossibility of an alliance with the bourgeoisie, the inadmissibility of joining bourgeois governments, held protests against militarism and war, etc. Friedrich Engels played an important role in the activities of the International until his death in 1895. During the First World War, the radical elements belonging to the association held a conference in Switzerland in 1915, laying the foundation for the Zimmerwald Association, on the basis of which the Third International (Comintern) arose.
2½ international - the international workers' association of socialist parties (also known as the "Double-sided International" or Vienna International). It was founded on February 22-27, 1921 in Vienna (Austria) at the conference of socialists of Austria, Belgium, Great Britain, Germany, Greece, Spain, Poland, Romania, USA, France, Switzerland and other countries. 2½ the International sought to reunite all three existing internationals in order to ensure the unity of the international labor movement. In May 1923, a single Socialist Workers' International was formed in Hamburg, but the Romanian section refused to join the new association.
3rd International (Comintern) - an international organization that united the communist parties different countries in 1919-1943. The Comintern was founded on March 4, 1919 on the initiative of the RCP (b) and its leader V.I. Lenin for the development and dissemination of the ideas of revolutionary international socialism, as opposed to the socialism of the Second International, the final break with which was caused by the difference in positions regarding the First World War and the October revolution in Russia. The Comintern was disbanded on May 15, 1943. Joseph Stalin explained such a decision that the USSR no longer makes plans to establish pro-Soviet, communist regimes on the territory of European countries. In addition, by the early 1940s, the Nazis had destroyed almost all the cells of the Comintern in continental Europe.
In September 1947, Stalin gathered the socialist parties and created the Cominform, the Communist Information Bureau, as a replacement for the Comintern. Cominform ceased to exist in 1956 shortly after the XX Congress of the CPSU.
4th international - a communist international organization, whose task was to implement the world revolution and build socialism. The International was founded in France in 1938 by Trotsky and his supporters, who believed that the Comintern was under the complete control of the Stalinists and was incapable of leading the international working class to its conquest of political power. The Trotskyist movement is represented in the world today by several political internationals. The most influential of these are:
- Reunited Fourth International
- International socialist trend
- Committee for the Workers' International (CWI)
- International Marxist Trend (MMT)
— International committee Fourth International.
What is the Comintern? This is the abbreviated name for the Communist International, or the Third International. This was the name of one of the international organizations that united the communist parties different countries in the period from 1919 to 1943. detailed information about what the Comintern is, will be outlined in the article.
Reasons and purposes of creation
At the beginning of the study of the question of the meaning of the word "Comintern", which, as already mentioned above, consists of an abbreviation of two words such as "Communist" and "international", let us consider how the organization under this name was created.
The question of creating the Third International was on the agenda at the beginning of the First World War. Then the leaders of the Second International sought to support the government of the countries participating in the war. V. I. Lenin in the manifesto of the Central Committee of the RSDLP of 01.11.1914 raised the question of the expediency of creating a renewed International.
The Comintern was founded on 03/02/1919. The initiator was the RCP (b) and its leader V. I. Lenin. The development and dissemination of the ideas of international revolutionary socialism was proclaimed as the goal. This was to counterbalance the reformist socialism characteristic of the Second International. The final break with the latter was associated with the difference in positions in relation to the 1st World War and the October Revolution that took place in Russia.
Continuing to study what the Comintern is, consider some of the congresses it held.
Congresses of the Comintern
There were seven of them. Here are two of them:
- The first, constituent, was held in March 1919 in Moscow. 52 delegates from 21 countries arrived representing 35 parties and groups.
- The date of the last, seventh, is from 25.07 to 20.08.1935. The main topic of its meetings is the solution of the issue concerning the unification of forces necessary to combat the growing threat of fascism. The United Workers' Front was organized as a body responsible for coordinating the activities of workers of different political orientations.
In order to better understand the concept of "Comintern", let us consider what the structure of this organization was.
Structure
In August 1920, the charter of the Comintern was adopted, which indicated that it, in fact, should be a single world communist party. And those parties that operate in each country should be considered as its separate sections.
The governing body of this organization was called the Executive Committee of the Communist International, abbreviated as ECCI. At first, it included representatives who were sent by the communist parties. And from 1922 he began to be elected by the Congress of the Comintern.
In 1919, the Small Bureau of the ECCI was formed, which in 1921 was renamed the Presidium. And also in 1919 a Secretariat was created to deal with personnel and organizational issues. In 1921, the Organizing Bureau was created, which existed until 1926, and a control commission, whose task was to check the activities of the ECCI apparatus, each of its sections, and audit finances.
The chairman of the ECCI from 1919 to 1926 was Grigory Zinoviev, and then this post was abolished. To replace it, a Political Secretariat was established, consisting of nine people. In 1929, a Political Commission was allocated from its composition. It decided the most important political and operational issues.
In 1935, the post of General Secretary of the ECCI was introduced, to which G. Dimitrov was appointed. And the Political Commission and the Political Secretariat were abolished.
For a better understanding of what the Comintern is, let us consider some facts from its history.
Historical facts
Among them are such as:
- In 1928 Hans Eisler wrote the Hymn of the Comintern in German. In 1929, I. L. Frenkel translated it into Russian. In the chorus there was a catch that the slogan of the Comintern is the World Soviet Union.
- In 1928 in German, and in 1931 in French, the book "Armed Uprising" was published. It was prepared jointly by the Bureau of Agitation and Propaganda of the III International and the command of the Red Army. It was a kind of textbook that outlined the theory and practice of organizing an armed uprising. It came out under the pseudonym A. Neuberg, while its real authors are prominent leaders of the revolutionary movement.
At the end of the consideration of the question of what the word "Comintern" means, one cannot but say about the repressions that were used against its leaders.
Repression
In the process of the so-called great terror of the period 1937-1938. a significant number of sections of the Comintern were actually liquidated, and the Polish one was officially dissolved. The repressions against international communist leaders who ended up in the Soviet Union for various reasons began to be carried out even before the non-aggression pact between the Soviet Union and Germany was concluded in 1939.
In the first half of 1937, some members of the leadership of the German and Polish Communist Parties, the Hungarian Belo Kun, were arrested. Former General Secretary of the Greek Communist Party A. Kaitas was arrested and shot. The same fate was in store for A. Sultan-Zade, who was one of the leaders of the Iranian Communist Party.
Later, repressions also overtook many Bulgarian communists who moved to the Soviet Union, as well as communists from Romania, Italy, Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Western Belarus, and Western Ukraine.
As a rule, Stalin sounded accusations of anti-Soviet positions, anti-Bolshevism and Trotskyism.
Formally, in May 1943, the Comintern was disbanded.
The creation of the Communist International was conditioned by objective historical factors, prepared by the entire course of development of the workers' and socialist movement. Betrayed by the opportunist leaders, the Second International collapsed in August 1914. Splitting the working class, the social-chauvinists called on the workers of the belligerent countries for mutual extermination on the fronts of the imperialist war and at the same time for "civil peace" within their countries, for cooperation with "their own" the bourgeoisie, to renounce the struggle for the economic and political interests of the proletariat. The international socialist movement was faced with an urgent task - to achieve a truly international rallying of the proletariat on the basis of a decisive break with opportunism, to form a new international organization of revolutionaries to replace the bankrupt Second International. At that time, the only consistently internationalist large organization in the international labor movement was the Bolshevik Party, headed by V.I. Lenin. She also took the lead in the struggle to create the Third International.
The struggle of the Bolsheviks for the creation of the Communist International
From the first days of the war, the Bolshevik Party, along with a call for the transformation of the imperialist war into a civil war, proclaimed the slogans: "Long live the international brotherhood of workers against chauvinism and patriotism of the bourgeoisie of all countries!", "Long live the proletarian International, liberated from opportunism!" ( See V. I. Lenin, War and Russian Social Democracy, Works, vol. 21, p. 18.) In his works "War and Russian Social Democracy", "Socialism and War", "The Collapse of the Second International", "The Position and Tasks of the Socialist International", "Imperialism as the Highest Stage of Capitalism" and many others, VI Lenin formulated the ideological and organizational foundations on which the new International was to be built. Despite the enormous difficulties caused by the war and the rampant chauvinism, V.I. ". However, it was not possible to solve the problem of creating a new International with the help of the Zimmerwald Association. The Zimmerwald and Kintal conferences did not accept the slogans of the Bolsheviks about turning the imperialist war into a civil war and about the creation of the Third International; in the Zimmerwald Association, the majority were centrists, supporters of reconciliation with the social-chauvinists and the restoration of the bankrupt opportunist Second International. The left in the socialist parties of the West and the “Zimmerwald Left” were still very weak.
In April 1917, V.I.Lenin raised the question of the left's complete break with the Zimmerwald association — a break not only with the social-chauvinists, but also with the centrists who covered up their opportunism with pacifist phrases. Lenin wrote: "It is precisely for us, precisely now, without delay, to found a new, revolutionary, proletarian International ..." ( Lenin, The Tasks of the Proletariat in Our Revolution, Soch., Vol. 24, p. 60.)
The Seventh (April) Conference of the Russian Social-Democratic Labor Party (Bolsheviks) noted in its resolution that “the task of our party, acting in a country where the revolution began earlier than in other countries, is to take the initiative to create the Third International, finally breaking with the "defencists" and resolutely fighting also against the intermediate policy of the "center" ".
The victory of the Great October Socialist Revolution hastened the solution of the question of a new International. It clearly showed the working people of the whole world, and above all the advanced part of the working class, that Lenin's ideas were right, raised the banner of internationalism high, inspired the proletariat of the capitalist countries and the oppressed peoples of the colonies and semi-colonies to a decisive struggle for their liberation. Under its direct influence, the general crisis of capitalism and, as an integral part of it, the crisis of the imperialist colonial system deepened and developed. The revolutionary upsurge swept the whole world. The popular masses have significantly moved to the left, the consciousness of the working class has increased. Marxism-Leninism became more and more popular. The best representatives of workers' parties and organizations took over to his position. A vivid expression of this was the strengthening of the left elements in the ranks of the Social Democratic parties.
In January 1918, the first practical steps after October were taken towards the creation of the Third International. A meeting of representatives of socialist parties and groups held in Petrograd on the initiative of the Central Committee of the Bolshevik Party decided to convene an international conference on the following basis: parties that have expressed their consent to join the new International must recognize the need for a revolutionary struggle against "their" governments, for the immediate signing of a democratic peace; they must express their readiness to support the October Revolution and Soviet power in Russia.
Simultaneously with the adoption of this decision, the Bolsheviks intensified their work to organize the forces of the left in the international labor movement, to educate new cadres. Even in the first months after the October Revolution, the foreign left socialists who were in Russia began to create, mainly among prisoners of war, their revolutionary, communist organizations. In early December, they already published newspapers in German, Hungarian, Romanian and other languages. To improve the leadership of foreign communist groups and to help them, in March 1918, foreign sections were formed under the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks), which in May of the same year united into the Federation of Foreign Groups under the Central Committee of the RCP (b); Hungarian revolutionary Bela Kun was elected its chairman. The Federation created from the former prisoners of war the first Moscow communist detachment of internationalists to fight counter-revolution, published proclamations, brochures and newspapers in different languages. This propaganda literature was distributed not only among prisoners of war, but also among german troops in Ukraine, was sent to Germany, Austria-Hungary and other countries.
Preparations for the convocation of the Constituent Congress of the III International
The struggle for the creation of the Third International was favored by profound changes in the international labor movement and the revolutionary events of 1918 throughout the world. The triumphal march of Soviet power, Russia's withdrawal from the imperialist war, the defeat of the Czechoslovak and other rebellions demonstrated the strength of the socialist revolution, increased the international authority of the Soviet state and the Russian Communist Party. The rate of revolutionizing the popular masses grew. The revolution in Finland and the January political strikes in Germany and Austria-Hungary were followed by an uprising of sailors in Kotor (Cattaro), a mass movement of solidarity with Soviet Russia in England, a general political strike in the Czech lands, revolutionary uprisings in France. At the end of the World War, the Vladai Uprising broke out in Bulgaria, and the revolutions in Germany and Austria-Hungary led to the overthrow of the regime of semi-feudal monarchies in the center of Europe, to the liquidation of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the formation of new national states on its territories. In China, India, Korea, Indochina, Turkey, Iran, Egypt and other countries of Asia and Africa, a broad national liberation movement was brewing.
With the strengthening of the positions of Marxism-Leninism, the influence of social democracy in the international labor movement weakened. A significant role in this process was played by the speeches and works of V. I. Lenin, such as "Letter to the American Workers", "The Proletarian Revolution and the Renegade Kautsky", "Letter to the Workers of Europe and America" \u200b\u200band many others. By exposing opportunism and centrism, these speeches rendered: assistance to the internationalists who intensified their activities in the socialist parties. In a number of countries the internationalists openly broke with the Compromisers and formed communist parties. In 1918, communist parties emerged in Austria, Germany, Poland, Hungary, Finland and Argentina.
In early January 1919, a meeting of representatives of eight communist parties and organizations took place. On the proposal of V. I. Lenin, it decided to appeal to the revolutionary proletarian parties with an appeal to take part in the conference on the establishment of a new International. The appeal was published on January 24, 1919. It was signed by representatives of the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks), the foreign bureau of the Communist Workers' Party of Poland, the foreign bureau of the Hungarian Communist Party, the foreign bureau of the Austrian Communist Party, the Russian Bureau of the Latvian Communist Party Central Committee, the Central Committee of the Finnish Communist Party , Central Committee of the Balkan Social Democratic Federation, Socialist Workers' Party of America.
In the appeal of eight parties and organizations, a platform was formulated for a new international organization to be created by the conference. It said: “The gigantic, rapid pace of the world revolution, posing more and more new problems, the danger of strangling this revolution by the union of capitalist states, which are organizing against the revolution under the hypocritical banner of the“ Union of Nations ”; attempts on the part of the social-traitorous parties to come to an agreement and, by granting "amnesty" to each other, to help their governments and their bourgeoisie once again deceive the working class; finally, the accumulated tremendous revolutionary experience and the internationalization of the entire course of the revolution - make us take the initiative to put on the agenda of the discussion the issue of convening an international congress of revolutionary proletarian parties. "
Communist parties of Russia, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Poland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Czech revolutionary social democrats, the Bulgarian Workers' Social Democratic Party ("close socialists"), were invited to the conference on the establishment of the III International. left wing of the Serbian Social Democratic Party, Social Democratic Party of Romania, Left Social Democratic Party of Sweden, Norwegian Social Democratic Party, Italian Socialist Party, Left Socialists of Switzerland, Spain, Japan, France, Belgium, Denmark, Portugal, England and the United States of America.
Berne Conference of Social Democratic Parties
The strengthening of internationalist elements, the formation of communist parties, the growth of the movement for the creation of a new International - all this alarmed the right-wing leaders of the Social Democracy. In an effort to consolidate the forces of the opponents of the socialist revolution, they decided to restore the Second International and for this purpose convened an international conference in Bern (Switzerland). The conference met from 3 to 10 February 1919. Delegates from 26 countries took part in it. A number of parties and organizations, for example the socialist parties of Switzerland, Serbia, Romania, the left side of the Belgian, Italian, Finnish socialist parties, the Youth International, the Women's Secretariat, which were previously part of the Second International, refused to send their representatives.
The entire activity of this first post-war conference of social-chauvinist and centrist parties was permeated with hatred of the socialist revolution. K. Branting, one of the leaders of the Second International, a representative of the Swedish Social Democratic Party, who delivered the keynote speech "On Democracy and Dictatorship", declared that the October Revolution was a deviation from the principles of democracy, and actually called for the elimination of the dictatorship of the proletariat in Russia.
Henderson, Kautsky, Vandervelde, Jouhault, and other Social Democratic leaders expressed themselves in the same spirit. They all tried to prevent the spread of the international influence of the October Revolution. Therefore, the "Russian question", although it was not on the agenda of the conference, was in fact central. However, the conference did not adopt a resolution on a negative attitude towards the Soviet state, for some of the delegates, fearing to lose influence over the rank and file members of the socialist parties, refused to support the open enemies of the October Revolution.
The Berne Conference made a decision on the restoration of the Second International (the organizational registration of this decision was completed at two subsequent conferences - Lucerne in 1919 and Geneva in 1920). To deceive the masses, the resolutions of the conference spoke of building socialism, labor legislation, and protecting the interests of the working class, but the concern for the implementation of these and other tasks was entrusted to the League of Nations.
The efforts of the organizers of the Berne Conference and the restored International to prevent the further left of the proletariat, the growth of the communist movement and the unification of the parties of a new type into the revolutionary International proved to be ineffectual. The emergence of a truly revolutionary center of the international workers' movement was inevitable.
First, Founding Congress of the Communist International
Many workers' parties gave a positive response to the appeal of eight parties and organizations on January 24, 1919. The meeting place was designated Moscow - the capital of the world's first victorious proletarian dictatorship.
Foreign delegates on their way to Moscow overcame great difficulties caused both by repressions in capitalist countries in relation to the left socialists and communists, and by the situation of civil war in Soviet Russia, the blockade, and anti-Soviet intervention. One of the delegates, a representative of the Austrian Communist Party Gruber (Steingart), later said: “I had to ride on the steps of the carriages, on the roofs, buffers and even on the tender and on the locomotive platform ... When I managed to get into the cattle car, it was already a great success, because I had to walk a significant part of the long, 17-day journey. The front line then passed in the area of \u200b\u200bKiev. Only military echelons went here. I disguised myself as a ragged soldier returning from captivity, and all the time I was in danger of being captured and shot by whites. Besides, I didn't know a word of Russian. "
Despite all the obstacles, most of the delegates arrived on time.
On March 1, 1919, at a preliminary meeting, the agenda of the conference, the composition of speakers and commissions were approved. This meeting also discussed the question of constitution of the conference as the Constituent Congress of the Communist International. In view of the objection of the representative of the German Communist Party, Hugo Eberlein (Albert), who pointed out the small size of the conference and the fact that in many countries there are still no communist parties, the meeting decided to limit itself to holding a conference and developing a platform.
On March 2, V. I. Lenin's opening speech opened the first world conference of communist parties and left-wing social democratic organizations. At the beginning, the conference heard reports from the field. Representatives of Germany, Switzerland, Finland, Norway, the United States of America, Hungary, Holland, the Balkan countries, France, England spoke about the fierce class battles unfolding in the capitalist world, about the influence of the Great October Socialist Revolution on the revolutionary movement in these countries, about the growing popularity of Bolshevism and the leader of the world proletariat, Lenin.
On March 4, VI \u200b\u200bLenin delivered a report on bourgeois democracy and the dictatorship of the proletariat. In the working-class movement of many countries then there was a heated debate on the question - for or against the dictatorship of the proletariat. Therefore, it was of great importance to explain the essence of bourgeois democracy as a democracy for the minority and the need to establish a new, proletarian democracy, democracy for the majority, on the basis of overthrowing the capitalist yoke and suppressing the social resistance of the exploiting classes. Lenin exposed the defenders of the so-called pure democracy, showing that bourgeois democracy, for which Kautsky and his associates stood up on the eve and after the proletarian revolution in Russia, is a form of the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie. Meanwhile, the dictatorship of the proletariat, which took the form of Soviet power in Russia, bears, Lenin pointed out, a genuinely popular, democratic character. Its essence "... lies in the fact that the permanent and only basis of all state power, the entire state apparatus is the mass organization of precisely those classes that were oppressed by capitalism ..." ( VI Lenin, 1st Congress of the Communist International March 2-6, 1919 Abstracts and report on bourgeois democracy and the dictatorship of the proletariat on March 4, Soch., Vol. 28, p. 443.)
Lenin showed that the Soviets turned out to be the practical form that provided the proletariat with the opportunity to exercise its rule. The defense of bourgeois democracy by the right-wing Social Democrats, their attacks against the dictatorship of the proletariat, are denial of the right of the proletariat to its own proletarian democracy.
Lenin's theses and report on bourgeois democracy and the dictatorship of the proletariat formed the basis of the decisions adopted by the conference.
Meanwhile, in connection with the arrival of new delegations, in particular the Austrian, Swedish and others, the question arose again about the constitution of the conference as the Constituent Congress of the Communist International. This proposal was made by the representatives of Austria, the Balkan countries, Hungary and Sweden. After a short discussion, a vote was taken. The delegates unanimously and with great enthusiasm supported the resolution on the creation of the Third, Communist, International. The representative of the Communist Party of Germany, Eberlein, in his speech on the vote, said that, bound by the instructions of his party and based on personal conviction, he tried to postpone the constitution of the Third International and abstained from voting, but since the foundation of the Third International became a fact, he would try to make every effort to to persuade his comrades "to declare as soon as possible that they too are members of the Third International." The audience greeted the announcement of the voting results with the singing of the "Internationale". Following this, a decision was made to officially dissolve the Zimmerwald Association.
With the adoption of the resolution on the formation of the Communist International, the conference turned into a Constituent Congress. It was attended by 34 delegates with a casting vote and 18 with an advisory vote, representing 35 organizations (including 13 communist parties and 6 communist groups).
The Congress discussed the issue of the Berne Conference and the attitude towards socialist trends. In his decision, he stressed that the Second International, resurrected by the right-wing socialists, would be an instrument in the hands of the bourgeoisie against the revolutionary proletariat, and called on the workers of all countries to start the most resolute struggle against this treacherous, "yellow" International.
Congress also heard reports on international situation and the policy of the Entente, on the white terror in Finland, adopted a Manifesto to the proletarians of the whole world and approved resolutions on reports. Governing bodies were created with headquarters in Moscow: the Executive Committee, which included one representative each from the communist parties of the most significant countries, and the Bureau of five people elected by the Executive Committee.
On March 6, 1919, the first Constituent Congress of the Communist International finished its work.
International workers' and communist movement after the 1st Congress of the Comintern
The revolutionary upsurge in the capitalist world continued to grow. The working people of the capitalist countries combined their class struggle with actions in defense of Soviet Russia. They responded to the imperialist intervention against the young Soviet state with the movement "Hands off Russia!" In 1919, events of enormous importance took place: the heroic struggle of the peoples of the Soviet state against imperialist intervention and internal counter-revolution; proletarian revolutions in Hungary and Bavaria; revolutionary actions in all capitalist countries; stormy national liberation, anti-imperialist movement in China, India, Indonesia, Turkey, Egypt, Morocco, in the countries Latin America... This revolutionary upsurge, as well as the decisions and activities of the First Congress of the Comintern, contributed to the strengthening of the ideas of communism among the workers and the advanced part of the intelligentsia. Lenin at that time wrote that “everywhere the working masses, despite the influence of the old leaders, saturated with chauvinism and opportunism, come to the conviction of the rottenness of bourgeois parliaments and of the need for Soviet power, the power of the working people, the dictatorship of the proletariat, to rid mankind of the yoke capital "( V.I. Lenin, American Workers, Works, vol. 30, p. 20.).
One of the main reasons for the victory of Bolshevism in 1917-1920, Lenin considered the merciless exposure of the vileness, abomination and meanness of social chauvinism and "Kautskianism" (which corresponds to Longuetism in France, the views of the leaders of the Independent Labor Party and Fabians in England, Turati in Italy, etc.) ( See V. I. Lenin, Infantile disease of "leftism" in communism, Works, vol. 31, p. 13.). Bolshevism grew, strengthened and steeled itself in the struggle on two fronts - against outright opportunism and against "Left" doctrinaireism. Other communist parties will face the same tasks. All countries of the world will have to repeat the main thing that was achieved by the October Revolution. "... The Russian model," wrote V. I. Lenin, "shows all countries something, and very significant, from their inevitable and near future" ( Ibid, pp. 5-6.).
VI Lenin also warned the fraternal communist parties against ignoring national peculiarities in individual countries, against stereotyping, and demanded that concrete, specific conditions be studied. But at the same time, with all the national peculiarities and originality of this or that country, for all communist parties, Lenin pointed out, the unity of international tactics, the application of the basic principles of communism, “which would correctly modified these principles in particular, correctly adapted, applied them to national and national-state differences "( Ibid, p. 72.).
Noting the danger of mistakes made by young communist parties, Lenin wrote that the "left"
they want to fight for the masses, they are afraid of difficulties, they ignore the indispensable condition for victory — centralization, the strictest discipline in the party and the working class — and by this they disarm the proletariat. He called on communists to work wherever there are masses; skillfully combine legal and illegal conditions; make compromises if necessary; stop at any sacrifice in the name of victory. The tactics of any communist party, Lenin pointed out, should be based on a sober, strictly objective consideration of all class forces this state and the countries around it, on the experience of revolutionary movements, especially on the personal political experience of the broad working masses of each country.
Lenin's work "Childhood Illness of Leftism in Communism" became a program of action for all communist parties. Its conclusions formed the basis for the decisions of the Second Congress of the Communist International.
II Congress of the Comintern
The Second Congress of the Communist International opened on July 19, 1920 in Petrograd, and from July 23 to August 7 it met in Moscow. It was evidence of the great shifts that have taken place in the international revolutionary movement, convincing confirmation of the growing authority of the Comintern and the broad scale of the communist movement throughout the world. It was truly a world communist congress.
It was attended not only by communist parties, but also left-wing socialist organizations, revolutionary trade unions and youth organizations from different countries of the world - a total of 218 delegates from 67 organizations, including 27 communist parties.
At the first meeting, VI Lenin delivered a report on the international situation and the main tasks of the Communist International. Describing the grave consequences of the world war for all peoples, he pointed out that the capitalists, profiting from the war, shifted its costs onto the shoulders of the workers and peasants. The living conditions of the working people are becoming unbearable; the need, the ruin of the masses, increased unheard of. All this contributes to the further growth of the revolutionary crisis throughout the world. Lenin noted the outstanding role of the Comintern in mobilizing the working masses to fight capitalism and the world-historical significance of the proletarian revolution in Russia.
Lenin emphasized that the proletariat cannot win power without crushing opportunism. “Opportunism,” he said, “is our main enemy. Opportunism at the top of the workers' movement is not proletarian socialism, but bourgeois socialism. It has been practically proved that the leaders within the labor movement who belong to the opportunist trend are better defenders of the bourgeoisie than the bourgeois themselves. Without their leadership of the workers, the bourgeoisie would not have been able to hold on ”( VI Lenin, Second Congress of the Communist International July 19 - August 7, 1920. Report on the international situation and the main tasks of the Communist International on July 19, Soch., Vol. 31, p. 206.).
At the same time, V. I. Lenin characterized the danger of "leftism" in communism and outlined the ways to overcome it.
Proceeding from Lenin's principles, the Congress adopted a decision on the main tasks of the Communist International. The main task was recognized as the rallying of the currently fragmented communist forces, the formation of a communist party in each country (or the strengthening and renewal of an existing party) to intensify the work of preparing the proletariat for the conquest of state power, and, moreover, in the form of the dictatorship of the proletariat. The resolution of the Congress gave answers to questions about the essence of the dictatorship of the proletariat and Soviet power, what should be the immediate and widespread preparation for the dictatorship of the proletariat, what should be the composition of the parties that adjoin or wish to join the Communist International.
In order to prevent the danger of the penetration of opportunists, centrists, and the traditions of the Second International in general, into the young communist parties, the Congress approved the "21 conditions" developed by Lenin for admission to the Communist International.
This document embodied the Leninist doctrine of a new type of party and the world-historical experience of Bolshevism, which, as Lenin wrote back in November 1918, "... created the ideological and tactical foundations of the Third International ..." ( V.I.Lenin, The Proletarian Revolution and the Renegade Kautsky, Soch., Vol. 28, p. 270.). The admission conditions required that all the propaganda and agitation of the communist parties comply with the principles of the Third International, that a constant struggle against reformism and centrism be waged, that a complete break with opportunism is actually carried out, that daily work in the countryside be carried out, and the national liberation movement of the colonial peoples be supported. They also provided for the obligatory work of communists in the reformist trade unions, in parliament, but with the subordination of the parliamentary faction to the party leadership, a combination of legal and illegal activities, selfless support for the Soviet Republic. Parties wishing to join the Communist International are obliged to recognize its decisions. Each such party must adopt the name of the Communist Party.
The need to adopt such a document was dictated by the fact that, under pressure from the working masses, centrist and semi-centrist parties and groups sought their admission to the Comintern, not wanting, however, to retreat from their old positions. In addition, the young communist parties were faced with the task of ideological growth and organizational strengthening. This would have been impossible without a successful struggle against opportunism, revisionism and sectarianism.
During the discussion of the "21 conditions" at the Congress, various views emerged, many of which contradicted the Marxist understanding of the proletarian party and the proletarian International. Thus, Bordiga (Italian Socialist Party), Weinkop (Dutch Socialist Party) and some other delegates, identifying the mass of ordinary members of socialist parties with their centrist leaders, objected to the admission of a number of parties (Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany, Socialist Party of Norway, etc. ) to the Communist International even if they accept the "21 conditions". Some of the delegates criticized the "21 conditions" from the standpoint of reformists. For example, Serrati and the leaders of the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany, Crispin and Dietman, who attended the congress with an advisory vote, objected to the adoption of the "21 conditions", proposing wide open the doors of the Communist International for all parties wishing to join.
At the same time, they took up arms against the mandatory recognition of the principles of the dictatorship of the proletariat and democratic centralism, as well as against the expulsion from the party of those who reject the conditions for admission to the Comintern.
Defending the "21 conditions", VI Lenin exposed the pernicious views of Serrati, Crispin and Dietman, on the one hand, and Bordiga and Vainkop, on the other, for the revolutionary struggle of the proletariat. The Congress supported V.I.Lenin.
Subsequent activities of the Comintern confirmed the enormous theoretical and practical significance of the "21 conditions". The provisions included in the "21 conditions" effectively contributed to the ideological and organizational strengthening of the communist parties, creating a serious obstacle to the penetration of right-wing opportunists and centrists into the Communist Party and helping to eliminate the "leftism" in communism.
An important step towards the organizational formation of the world center of the communist movement was the adoption of the Charter of the Communist International. The Charter noted that the Communist International "undertakes the continuation and completion of the great work begun by the First International Workingmen's Association." He defined the principles of building the Comintern and the communist parties, the main directions of their activities, concretized the role of the governing bodies of the Comintern - the World Congress, the Executive Committee (ECCI) and the International Control Commission - and their relationship with the communist parties - sections of the Comintern.
The Second Congress paid great attention to the problem of the allies of the proletariat in the proletarian revolution, discussed critical parties strategies and tactics of the communist parties in agrarian and national-colonial issues.
The theses on the agrarian question developed by V.I.Lenin contained a deep analysis of the situation in agriculture under capitalism and the process of class stratification of the peasantry. The theses emphasized that the proletariat cannot treat all groups of the peasantry in the same way. He must support agricultural workers, semi-proletarians and small peasants in every possible way and attract them to his side for a successful struggle for the dictatorship of the proletariat. As for the middle peasantry, in view of its inevitable vacillations, the working class, at least in the initial period of the dictatorship of the proletariat, will confine itself to the task of neutralizing it. The importance of the struggle for the liberation of the working peasantry from the ideological and political influence of the rural bourgeoisie was noted. They also pointed out the need to take into account the established traditions of private property in the agrarian policy of the communist parties and create favorable conditions for the socialization of peasant farms. Immediate confiscation of land should be carried out only from landlords and other large landowners, that is, from all those who systematically resort to exploiting hired labor and small peasants and do not take part in physical labor.
The Congress pointed out that the working class cannot fulfill the historic mission of freeing mankind from the oppression of capital and from wars without attracting the widest sections of the peasantry to its side. On the other hand, "there is no salvation for the working masses of the countryside except in an alliance with the communist proletariat, in selfless support for its revolutionary struggle to overthrow the yoke of the landlords (large landowners) and the bourgeoisie."
The discussion of the national-colonial question was also aimed at developing correct tactics in relation to the millions of working masses of colonies and semi-colonies, allies of the proletariat in the struggle against imperialism. In his report, V. I. Lenin emphasized the new that was formulated in the theses presented to the Congress and considered in a special commission. A particularly lively discussion was aroused by the discussion of the question of support by the proletariat of the bourgeois-democratic national movements.
The Congress noted the importance of bringing the working masses of all nations closer together, the urgent need for contact between the communist parties of the metropolitan countries and the proletarian parties of the colonial countries in order to provide maximum assistance to the liberation movement of dependent and unequal nations. The peoples of the colonial and dependent countries, it was said in the decisions of the Congress, have no other way of liberation than a decisive struggle against imperialism. For the proletariat, temporary agreements and alliances with the bourgeois democratic forces of the colonies are completely permissible, and sometimes necessary, if these forces have not exhausted their objectively revolutionary role and provided the proletariat retains its political and organizational independence. Such blocking helps to form a broad patriotic front in colonial countries, but does not mean eliminating class contradictions between the national bourgeoisie and the proletariat. The Congress also emphasized the need for a decisive ideological struggle against pan-Islamism, pan-Asianism and other reactionary nationalist theories.
Lenin's theoretical propositions on the non-capitalist path of development of socio-economically backward countries were of exceptional importance. On the basis of Lenin's teaching, the Congress formulated a conclusion about the transition of these countries to socialism, bypassing the stage of capitalism, with the help of the victorious proletariat of the advanced states.
The theses on the national-colonial question, approved by the Congress, were a guide to action for the communist parties and played an invaluable role in the liberation struggle of the peoples of colonial and dependent countries.
The posing of the agrarian and national-colonial questions at the Second Congress of the Comintern and the decisions it made were deeply and fundamentally different from the approach of the Second International to these questions. The Social Democratic leaders ignored the peasantry, viewed it as a solid reactionary mass, and in the national-colonial question actually stood on the position of justifying the colonial policy of imperialism, passing it off as the "civilizing mission" of foreign capital in backward countries. On the contrary, the Communist International, relying on the principles of Marxism-Leninism, in its decisions indicated the revolutionary ways to free the peasantry from the yoke of capital, the peoples of the colonies and dependent countries from the yoke of imperialism.
Among other items on the agenda of the Second Congress of the Comintern, the questions of the attitude of the communist parties to the trade unions and parliamentarism were of great importance.
The congress resolution condemned the sectarian refusal to work in the reformist trade unions and called on the communists to fight to win over the masses in the ranks of these unions.
In the theses on parliamentarism, it was noted that the revolutionary headquarters of the working class should have its representatives in the bourgeois parliament, the rostrum of which can and should be used for revolutionary agitation, rallying the working masses and exposing the enemies of the working class. For the same purpose, the communists must participate in election campaigns. Refusal to participate in election campaigns and parliamentary work is a naive infant doctrinaire. The attitude of communists towards parliaments can vary depending on the situation, but in all circumstances, the activities of communist factions in parliaments should be directed by central committees of parties.
Responding to the speech of Bordiga, who tried to persuade the Congress to refuse the participation of communists in bourgeois parliaments, V.I.Lenin in a bright speech showed the fallacy of the views of anti-parliamentarists. He asked Bordiga and his supporters: “How will you reveal to the really backward masses, deceived by the bourgeoisie, the true character of parliament? If you do not enter it, how will you expose this or that parliamentary maneuver, the position of this or that party, if you are outside the parliament? " ( V. I. Lenin, Second Congress of the Communist International July 19 - August 7, 1920 Speech on Parliamentarism August 2, Soch., Vol. 31, p. 230.). Based on the experience of the revolutionary workers' movement in Russia and other countries, Lenin concluded that by participating in election campaigns and using the tribune of the bourgeois parliament, the working class will be able to fight more successfully against the bourgeoisie. The proletariat must be able to use the same means that the bourgeoisie uses in the struggle against the proletariat.
Lenin's position received the full support of the Congress.
The Second Congress of the Comintern also adopted decisions on a number of other important issues: on the role of the Communist Party in the proletarian revolution, on the situation and conditions in which Soviets of Workers' Deputies can be created, etc.
In conclusion, the Second Congress adopted a Manifesto, in which it gave a detailed description of the international situation, the class struggle in the capitalist countries, the situation in Soviet Russia and the tasks of the Comintern. The manifesto called on all workers and women workers to stand under the banner of the Communist International. In a special address to the proletarians of all countries about the attack of bourgeois-landlord Poland on the Soviet state, it was said: “Take to the streets and show your governments that you will not allow any assistance to White Guard Poland, you will not allow any interference in the affairs of Soviet Russia.
Stop all work, stop all movement if you see that the capitalist clique of all countries, in spite of your protests, is preparing a new offensive against Soviet Russia. Don't miss a single train, not a single ship to Poland. " This appeal of the Comintern found a wide response among the workers of many countries, with new strength defended the Soviet state under the slogan "Hands off Russia!"
The decisions of the Second Congress of the Communist International played a great role in strengthening the communist parties, rallying them on the ideological and organizational basis of Marxism-Leninism. They had a serious impact on the process of demarcation in the labor movement, contributed to the departure of the revolutionary socialist workers from opportunism, and helped to form many communist parties, including in England, Italy, China, Chile, Brazil and other countries. Lenin wrote that the Second Congress "... created such a solidarity and discipline of the communist parties of the whole world, which had never been before and which will allow the vanguard of the workers' revolution to go forward towards its great goal, to the overthrow of the yoke of capital, by leaps and bounds" ( V.I. Lenin, Second Congress of the Communist International, Soch., Vol. 31, p. 246.).
The Second Congress essentially completed the formation of the Communist International. Unfolding the struggle on two fronts, he worked out the basic problems of the strategy, tactics and organization of the communist parties. Lenin wrote: “First, the communists had to proclaim their principles to the whole world. This was done at the 1st Congress. This is the first step.
The second step was the organizational formation of the Communist International and the development of conditions for admission to him, - conditions separation in deed from the centrists, from direct and indirect agents of the bourgeoisie within the labor movement. This was done at the II Congress "( V. I. Lenin, Letter to the German Communists, Works, vol. 32, p. 494.).
The historical significance of the formation of the Communist International
After the Great October Socialist Revolution, the proletariat of the capitalist countries launched a determined struggle against the bourgeoisie. But despite the broad scope of the movement and the dedication of the working masses, the bourgeoisie retained power in its hands. This was primarily due to the fact that, in contrast to Russia, where there was a truly revolutionary, Marxist-Leninist party, a party of a new type that possesses tremendous revolutionary experience, the working class in the capitalist countries remained split and its bulk was under the influence of the Social Democratic parties, whose right-wing leadership by all its tactics saved the bourgeoisie and the capitalist system, ideologically disarmed the proletariat. The communist parties that arose in a number of countries at the time of the most acute revolutionary crisis, in the majority were still very weak, both organizationally and ideologically. They broke with the opportunist leaders, with their open policy of treason, but they did not completely free themselves from the compromising traditions. Many of the leaders who joined communism at that time, in fact, remained faithful to the old opportunist traditions of social democracy on the main issues of the revolutionary movement.
On the other hand, in the young communist parties, which did not have the necessary experience of working among the masses and systematically combating opportunism, trends often arose that engendered sectarianism, divorced from the broad masses, preached the possibility of a minority acting without relying on the masses, etc. As a result of this disease The communist parties and the organizations led by them did not sufficiently study the "leftism", and in a number of cases they ignored specific national conditions in individual countries, limited themselves to a formal and superficial desire to do what was done in Russia, underestimated the strength and experience of the bourgeoisie. The young communist parties had a long, stubborn and painstaking work to educate courageous, resolute, Marxist-educated proletarian leaders and to prepare the working class for new battles. In this activity an extremely important role was to be played by the new center of the international workers' movement - the Communist International.
The formation of the Comintern was the result of the activities of the revolutionary organizations of the working class in all countries. “The foundation of the Third, the Communist International,” wrote V. I. Lenin, “was a record of what was conquered not only by Russians, not only by Russians, but also by German, Austrian, Hungarian, Finnish, Swiss, - in a word, international proletarian masses "( V. I. Lenin, Conquered and Recorded, Works, vol. 28, p. 454.). This was the result of the long struggle of the Bolsheviks against the reformism and revisionism of the leaders of the Second International, for the purity of Marxism, for the victory of Marxist-Leninist ideological and organizational principles on an international scale, for the triumph of proletarian internationalism.
The outstanding role of the Communist International in the history of the international labor movement was that it began to put into practice the Marxist doctrine of the dictatorship of the proletariat. As V. I. Lenin pointed out: “The world-historical significance of the Third, the Communist International lies in the fact that it began to implement the greatest slogan of Marx, a slogan that summed up the age-old development of socialism and the labor movement, a slogan that is expressed by the concept: dictatorship of the proletariat "( V. I. Lenin, The Third International and its place in history, Soch., Vol. 29, p. 281.).
The Comintern not only rallied the already existing Communist Parties, but also contributed to the creation of new ones. It has united the best, most revolutionary elements of the world labor movement. It was the first international organization that, relying on the experience of the revolutionary struggle of the working people of all continents and all peoples, in its practical activities fully and unconditionally adopted the position of Marxism-Leninism.
The great significance of the formation of the Communist International also lay in the fact that the opportunist Second International of Social Democracy, this agency of imperialism in the ranks of the working class, was opposed by a new international organization that embodied the true unity of the revolutionary workers of the whole world and became a faithful representative of their interests.
The program of the Communist International, adopted in 1928, determined its place in the history of the workers' movement as follows: “The Communist International, uniting revolutionary workers, leading millions of masses of oppressed and exploited against the bourgeoisie and its“ socialist ”agents, considers itself as the historical successor of the Union Communists "and the First International, who were under the direct leadership of Marx, and as the heir to the best of the pre-war traditions of the Second International. The First International laid the ideological foundations for the international proletarian struggle for socialism. The Second International, at its best, paved the way for a broad and massive spread of the labor movement. The third, the Communist International, continuing the work of the First International and accepting the fruits of the work of the Second International, decisively cut off the latter's opportunism, its social-chauvinism, its bourgeois distortion of socialism, and began to implement the dictatorship of the proletariat ... "
The First and Second Congresses of the Communist International were held under the leadership and with the active participation of V.I. Lenin. Lenin's works on cardinal issues of the theory and practice of the communist movement, reports, speeches, conversations with representatives of the communist parties - all the multifaceted activities of the leader of the world proletariat made a huge contribution to the ideological and organizational strengthening of the Comintern at the very moment of its creation, helping young communist parties to become truly revolutionary parties of a new type. The principles developed by the First and Second Congresses of the Comintern contributed to the growth of the authority of the communist parties among the working people of the whole world and the education of experienced leaders of the communist movement.
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Background
The Second International, corroded from within by opportunism, openly betrayed proletarian internationalism as soon as the First World War broke out. It broke up mainly into two warring groupings, each of which went over to the side of its bourgeoisie and in fact rejected the slogan "Workers of all countries, unite!" The most authoritative and cohesive force in the international labor movement, which remained faithful to proletarian internationalism, was led by. Revealing the essence of the collapse of the Second International, Lenin showed the working class a way out of the situation created as a result of the betrayal of the opportunist. leaders: the workers' movement needed a new, revolutionary International. “The Second International died, defeated by opportunism. Down with opportunism and long live ... the Third International! " - Lenin wrote already in 1914.
Theoretical prerequisites for the creation of the 3rd International
The Bolsheviks of Russia were preparing the creation of the Communist International primarily by developing a revolutionary theory. Lenin revealed the imperialist nature of the outbreak of world war and substantiated the slogan of turning it into a civil war against the bourgeoisie of his own country as the main strategic slogan of the international labor movement. Lenin's conclusion about the possibility and inevitability of the victory of the revolution initially in a few or even in one, separately taken, capitalist country, formulated by him for the first time in 1915, was the largest, fundamentally new contribution to Marxist theory. This conclusion, which gave the working class a revolutionary perspective in the conditions new era, was the most important step in the development theoretical foundations new International.
Practical prerequisites for the creation of the 3rd International
The second direction in which the work of the Bolsheviks, led by Lenin, to prepare a new International was going, was the rallying of the left groups of the Social Democratic parties that remained loyal to the cause of the working class. The Bolsheviks used a series of international conferences held in 1915 (the socialists of the Entente countries, women, youth) to promote their views on the issues of war, peace and revolution. They took an active part in the Zimmerwald movement of socialist-internationalists, creating in its ranks a left group that was the embryo of a new International. However, in 1917, when, under the influence of Russia, the rapid rise of the revolutionary movement began, the Zimmerwald movement, which mainly united centrists, did not go forward, but backward, the Bolsheviks broke with it, refusing to send their delegates to the Stockholm conference in September 1917.
Creation of the Communist International
The world imperialist war concentrated huge masses of people in the armies of the belligerent powers, bound them with a common fate in the face of death, and in the most merciless manner pitted these tens of millions, often very far from politics, with the monstrous consequences of imperialist politics. Deep spontaneous discontent grew on both sides of the fronts, people began to think about the reasons for the senseless mutual extermination, in which they were involuntary participants. An epiphany gradually came. The working masses, especially of the belligerent states, felt more and more sharply the need to restore the international unity of their ranks. Countless bloody losses, ruin and hard labor by the bourgeoisie, profiting from the war, were a difficult experience that convinced of the ruin of nationalism and chauvinism for the labor movement. It was precisely the chauvinism that split the Second International that destroyed the international unity of the working class and thereby disarmed it in the face of imperialism ready for anything. Hatred for those leaders of the Social Democracy was born among the masses, who stubbornly adhered to chauvinism. positions of cooperation with "their" bourgeoisie, with "their" governments.
... Already from 1915, Lenin pointed out, the process of splitting the old, decayed socialist parties, the process of the proletarian masses' departure from the social-chauvinist leaders to the left, to revolutionary ideas and sentiments, to revolutionary leaders was clearly revealed in all countries
Thus, a mass movement arose for the international solidarity of the proletariat, for the re-establishment of the revolutionary center of the international labor movement.
The emergence of the world's first socialist state after victory created fundamentally new conditions for the struggle of the working class. The success of the victorious socialist revolution in Russia was explained by the fact that only in Russia there was a party of a new type. In the midst of a powerful upsurge in the workers' and national liberation movement, the formation of communist parties began in other countries as well. In 1918, communist parties emerged in Germany, Austria, Hungary, Poland, Greece, the Netherlands, Finland, Argentina.
Moscow meeting of 1919
In January 1919, in Moscow, under the leadership of Lenin, a meeting of representatives of the Communist Parties of Russia, Hungary, Poland, Austria, Latvia, Finland, as well as the Balkan Revolution was held. s.-d. federations (Bulgarian gorges and Romanian left) and Socialist. Workers' Party of the United States. The meeting discussed the issue of convening an international conference. Congress of representatives of the revolution. span. parties and developed a draft platform for the future International. The meeting pointed to the heterogeneity of the socialist. movement. The opportunist leaders of social democracy, relying on a narrow stratum of the so-called. the labor aristocracy and the “labor bureaucracy”, deceived the masses with promises to fight against capitalism without resorting to dictatorship, they stifled the revolutionary energy of the workers, distracting them with theories of “class peace” in the name of “national unity”. The conference demanded to wage a merciless struggle against open opportunism - social chauvinism and at the same time recommended the tactics of a bloc with left groups, the tactics of splitting all revolutionary elements from the centrists, who were the actual accomplices of the renegades. The meeting appealed to 39 revolutionary parties, groups and trends in Europe, Asia, America and Australia with an appeal to take part in the work of the founding congress of the new International.
I (Founding) Congress
In early March 1919, the Constituent Congress of the Communist International was held in Moscow, attended by 52 delegates from 35 parties and groups from 30 countries. Representatives of the communist parties of Russia, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Poland, Finland and other countries, as well as a number of communist groups (Czech, Bulgarian, Yugoslavian, English, French, Swiss and others) took part in the work of the congress. The social democratic parties of Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, the USA, the Balkan Revolutionary Social Democratic Federation, the Zimmerwald left wing of France were represented at the congress.
The Congress heard reports that showed that the revolutionary movement was growing everywhere, that the world was in a state of deep revolutionary crisis. The Congress discussed and adopted the platform of the Communist International, based on a document developed by the January 1919 meeting in Moscow. The new era, which began with the victory of October, was characterized in the platform as “the era of decomposition of capitalism, its internal disintegration, the era of communist. revolution of the proletariat ”. On the order of the day was the task of conquering and establishing the dictatorship of the proletariat, the path to which lies through a break with opportunism of all stripes, through the international solidarity of the working people on a new basis. In view of this, the Congress recognized the need for an urgent foundation of the Communist International.
The First Congress of the Communist International defined its attitude to the Berne Conference, held by the opportunist leaders in February 1919 and formally restored. The participants in this conference condemned the October Revolution in Russia and even considered the issue of armed intervention against it. Therefore, the Congress of the Communist International called on the workers of all countries to begin the most resolute struggle against the yellow International and to warn the broad masses of the people against this "International of lies and deceit." The founding congress of the Communist International adopted a Manifesto to the proletarians of the whole world, which stated that the Communists gathered in Moscow, representatives of the revolutionary proletariat of Europe, America and Asia, feel and recognize themselves as successors and leaders of the cause, the program of which was announced by the founders of scientific communism, Marx and Engels in Communist Manifesto.
"We call upon the workers and women workers of all countries," the congress proclaimed, "to unite under the communist banner, which is already the banner of the first great victories."
The creation of the Comintern was the response of the revolutionary Marxists to the demand of a new era - the era of the general crisis of capitalism, the main features of which were more and more clearly indicated in the revolutionary events of those days. The Communist International, according to Lenin, was to become an international organization designed to accelerate the creation of revolutionary parties in other countries and thereby give the entire labor movement the decisive weapon for the victory over capitalism. But at the First Congress of the Communist International, according to Lenin, "... the banner of communism was only hoisted around which the forces of the revolutionary proletariat were to gather." The Second Congress was to carry out the complete organizational formalization of the international proletarian organization of the new type.
II Congress
The Second Congress of the Communist International was more representative than the first: 217 delegates from 67 organizations (including 27 Communist Parties) from 37 countries took part in its work. The socialist parties of Italy, France, the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany and other centrist organizations and parties were represented at the congress with the right of an advisory vote.
In the period between the 1st and 2nd Congresses, the revolutionary upsurge continued to grow. In 1919, Soviet republics arose in Hungary (March 21), Bavaria (April 13), and Slovakia (June 16). In England, France, the USA, Italy and other countries, a movement developed in defense of Soviet Russia against the intervention of the imperialist powers. A massive national liberation movement arose in colonies and semi-colonies (Korea, China, India, Turkey, Afghanistan and others). The process of the formation of communist parties continued: they arose in Denmark (November 1919), Mexico (1919), the USA (September 1919), Yugoslavia (April 1919), Indonesia (May 1920), Great Britain (July 31 - 1 August 1920), Palestine (1919), Iran (June 1920) and Spain (April 1920).
At the same time, the socialist parties of France, Italy, the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany, the Workers' Party of Norway and others broke with the Berne International and declared their desire to join the Communist International. These were mainly centrist parties, and they contained elements that brought with them into the ranks of the Communist International the right-wing danger, threatened its ideological monolithicity, which was a necessary and indispensable condition for the fulfillment of its historical mission by the Communist International. Along with this, in many communist parties there was a threat “from the left”, engendered by the youth and inexperience of the communist parties, often inclined to too hastily resolve the fundamental issues of the revolutionary struggle, as well as the penetration of anarcho-syndicalist elements into the world communist movement.
It was this that dictated the need for 21 conditions for admission to the Communist International, approved on August 6, 1920 by the II Congress. The main conditions among these were: recognition of the dictatorship of the proletariat as the main principle of the revolutionary struggle and the theory of Marxism, a complete break with the reformists and centrists and their expulsion from the ranks of the party, a combination of legal and illegal methods of struggle, systematic work in the countryside, in trade unions, in parliament, democratic centralism as the main organizational principle of the party, obligatory decisions of the congresses and plenums of the Communist International and its governing bodies for the party. 21 conditions were necessary to ensure the organization of the political foundations of the activities of the Communist International itself and the Communist Parties that were part of it. The conditions were based on the Leninist doctrine of a party of a new type and played an enormous role in forging Marxist-Leninist parties and their cadres, in the struggle against opportunism and in further development world communist movement.
The Congress adopted the Statutes of the Communist International, based on the principle of democratic centralism, and also elected the governing body of the Communist International - and other bodies. Describing the historical significance of the Second Congress, Lenin said:
“First, the communists had to proclaim their principles to the whole world. This was done at the 1st Congress. This is the first step. The second step was the organizational formation of the Communist International and the development of conditions for admission to it - conditions for separation in practice from the centrists, from direct and indirect agents of the bourgeoisie within the labor movement. This was done at the II Congress ”.
The state of affairs in the Comintern is excellent! I, as well as Zinoviev and Bukharin, are convinced that right now we should encourage the revolutionary movement in Italy, and also pay attention to the establishment of the power of the Soviets in Hungary, and maybe also in the Czech Republic and Romania.
Lenin's telegram to Stalin, July 1920
The main goal of the creation of the Comintern (Communist International) was to spread the socialist revolution throughout the world. Let me remind you that Lenin and Trotsky (the ideological inspirers of the 1917 revolution) were convinced that it was impossible to build socialism in one single country. For this, the bourgeois elements must be overthrown all over the world, and only then can the building of socialism begin. For these purposes, the leadership of the RSFSR created the Comintern, as the main means of its foreign policy, to help other states in the "socialization".
First Congress of the Comintern
The first congress of the Communist International took place in March 1919. In fact, this is the time when the Comintern was created. The activities of the first congress decided several important points:
- A "rule" was established for the work of this body to work with workers from different countries, encouraging them to fight capital. Remember the famous slogan "Workers of all countries unite!" This is where it came from.
- The leadership of the Comintern was to be carried out by a special body - the Executive Committee of the Communist International (ECCI).
- Zinoviev became the head of the ECCI.
Thus, the main task of creating the Communist International was clearly defined - the creation of conditions, including financial ones, for the implementation of the world socialist revolution.
Second Congress of the Comintern
The second congress began at the end of 1919 in Petrograd and continued in 1920 in Moscow. By its beginning, the Red Army (Red Army) fought successful battles and the leaders of the Bolsheviks were confident not only of their own victory in Russia, but also that there were only a few leaps left to “ignite the heart of the world revolution”. It was at the second congress of the Comintern that it was clearly formulated that the Red Army is the basis for creating a revolution throughout the world.
Ideas for joining efforts were also voiced here. soviet Russia and Soviet Germany for the revolutionary movement.
It must be clearly understood that the main task of creating the Communist International lies precisely in the armed struggle against capital throughout the world. In some textbooks one has to read that the Bolsheviks wanted money and persuasion to carry the revolution to other peoples. But this was not the case, and this was perfectly understood by the leadership of the RCP (b). For example, here is what one of the ideological inspirers of both the Revolution and the Comintern, Bukharin, said:
To build communism, the proletariat must become the master of the world and conquer it. But one should not think that this can be achieved with just one movement of the finger. To achieve our task we need bayonets and rifles. The Red Army bears within itself the essence of socialism and workers' power for a general revolution. This is our privilege. This is the right of the Red Army to intervene.
Bukharin, 1922
But the activities of the Comintern did not give any practical results:
- In 1923, the revolutionary situation in Germany aggravated. All attempts by the Comintern to put pressure on the Ruhr region, Saxony and Hamburg were unsuccessful. Although the funds were spent for this colossal.
- In September 1923, an uprising began in Bulgaria, but they were very quickly stopped by the authorities, and the Communist International did not have time to provide the necessary assistance.
Changing the course of the Comintern
The change in the course of the Comintern is connected with the refusal of the Soviet government from the world revolution. This was connected purely with internal political affairs, and with Stalin's victory over Trotsky. Let me remind you that it was Stalin who acted as an active opponent of the world revolution, saying that the victory of socialism in one country, especially in one as big as Russia, is a unique phenomenon. Therefore, we must not look for a pie in the sky, but build socialism here and now. Moreover, even an active supporter of the idea of \u200b\u200ba world revolution, it became clear that this is a utopian idea, and it is impossible to realize it. Therefore, at the end of 1926, the Comintern ceases to be active.
In the same 1926, Bukharin replaced Zinoviev at the head of the ECCI. And along with the change of the leader, the course also changed. If earlier the Comintern wanted to rekindle the revolution, now all its efforts went to create a positive image of the USSR and socialism as a whole.
Therefore, we can say that the main task of creating the Communist International is to foment the world revolution. After 1926, this task changed - the creation of a positive image of the Soviet state.