Communist International (Comintern, International 3rd) - an international revolutionary proletarian organization that united the communist parties of various countries; existed from 1919 to 1943.
The creation of the Comintern was preceded by a long struggle of the Bolshevik Party led by V. I. Lenin against the reformists and centrists in the 2nd International for the rallying of the left forces in the international labor movement. In 1914, the Bolsheviks announced a break with the 2nd International and began to gather forces to create the 3rd International.
The initiator of the organizational formation of the Comintern was the RCP (b). In January 1918, a meeting of representatives of leftist groups from a number of European and American countries was held in Petrograd. The meeting discussed the question of convening an international conference of socialist parties to organize the Third International. A year later, in Moscow, under the leadership of V. I. Lenin, a second international conference was held, which appealed to left-wing socialist organizations with an appeal to take part in the international socialist congress. On March 2, 1919, the 1st (constituent) Congress of the Communist International began its work in Moscow.
In 1919-1920. The Comintern set itself the task of leading the world socialist revolution, designed to replace the world capitalist economy with the world system of communism through the violent overthrow of the bourgeoisie. In 1921, at the Third Congress of the Comintern, V. I. Lenin criticized the supporters of the "offensive theory", who called for revolutionary battles, regardless of the objective situation. The main task of the Communist Parties was to strengthen the position of the working class, consolidate and expand the real results of the struggle in defense of everyday interests, combined with the preparation of the working masses for the struggle for the socialist revolution. The solution of this problem required the consistent implementation of the Leninist slogan: to work wherever there is a mass - in trade unions, youth and other organizations.
AT initial period activities of the Comintern and adjoining organizations, when making decisions, a preliminary analysis of the situation was carried out, a creative discussion was held, a desire was manifested to find answers to general issues taking into account national characteristics and traditions. Subsequently, the working methods of the Comintern underwent serious changes: any dissent was regarded as aiding reaction and fascism. Dogmatism and sectarianism had a negative impact on the international communist and workers' movement. They did especially great damage to the creation of a united front and relations with social democracy, which was regarded as the "moderate wing of fascism", " main enemy"revolutionary movement, the "third party of the bourgeoisie", etc. The campaign of "purification" of its ranks from the so-called "rightists" and "conciliators", launched by I. V. Stalin after the dismissal of N. I. Bukharin, had a negative impact on the activities of the Comintern from the leadership of the Comintern.
In the 1st half of the 30s. there was a significant shift in the alignment of class forces on the world stage. It manifested itself in the onset of reaction, fascism, and the growth of the military threat. The task of creating an anti-fascist, all-democratic union, primarily of communists and social democrats, came to the fore. Its solution required the development of a platform capable of uniting all anti-fascist forces. Instead, the Stalinist leadership of the Comintern set a course for a socialist revolution, supposedly capable of outpacing the onset of fascism. Understanding the need for a turn in the policy of the Comintern and the Communist Parties came belatedly. The 7th Congress of the Comintern, held in the summer of 1935, worked out the policy of a united workers' and broad popular front, which created opportunities for joint action by communists and social democrats, all revolutionary and anti-fascist forces to repulse fascism, preserve peace, and fight for social progress. The new strategy was not implemented for a number of reasons, including the negative impact of Stalinism on the activities of the Comintern and Communist parties. Terror in the late 1930s against party cadres in the Soviet Union spread to the leading cadres of the communist parties of Austria, Germany, Poland, Romania, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Finland, Yugoslavia and other countries. The tragic events in the history of the Comintern were in no way linked to the policy of unity between the revolutionary and democratic forces.
A tangible (albeit temporary) damage to the anti-fascist policy of the communists was caused by the conclusion in 1939 of the Soviet-German pact. During the years of the Second World War, the Communist Parties of all countries stood firmly on anti-fascist positions, on the positions of proletarian internationalism and the struggle for the national independence of their countries. At the same time, the conditions for the activities of the Communist Parties in the new, more complicated situation required new organizational forms of association. Based on this, on May 15, 1943, the Presidium of the ECCI decided to dissolve the Comintern.
Many people know that the Communist International is called the international organization that united the communist parties of different countries in 1919-1943. The same organization is called by some the Third International, or the Comintern.
This formation was founded in 1919, at the request of the RCP (b) and its leader V. I. Lenin, to spread and develop the ideas of international revolutionary socialism, which, in comparison with the reformist socialism of the Second International, was a completely opposite phenomenon. The gap between these two coalitions was due to differences in positions regarding the First World War and the October Revolution.
Congresses of the Comintern
Congresses of the Comintern were not held very often. Let's consider them in order:
- First (Constituent). Organized in 1919 (in March) in Moscow. It was attended by 52 delegates from 35 groups and parties from 21 countries.
- Second Congress. Held on July 19-August 7 in Petrograd. At this event, a number of decisions were made on the tactics and strategy of communist activities, such as models for participation in the national liberation movement of the communist parties, on the rules for the party to join the 3rd International, the Charter of the Comintern, and so on. At that moment, the Department was created international cooperation Comintern.
- Third congress. Held in Moscow in 1921, from June 22 to July 12. This event was attended by 605 delegates from 103 parties and structures.
- Fourth congress. The event ran from November to December 1922. It was attended by 408 delegates, who were sent by 66 parties and enterprises from 58 countries of the world. By the decision of the congress, the International Enterprise for Assistance to the Fighters of the Revolution was organized.
- The Fifth Meeting of the Communist International was held from June to July 1924. The participants decided to turn the national communist parties into Bolshevik ones: to change their tactics in the light of the defeat of revolutionary uprisings in Europe.
- The Sixth Congress was held from July to September 1928. At this meeting, the participants assessed the political world situation as a transition to newest stage. It was characterized by an economic crisis that spread throughout the planet and an intensification of the class struggle. Members of the congress succeeded in developing the thesis about social fascism. They issued a statement that the political cooperation of the communists with both right and left social democrats was impossible. In addition, during this conference, the Charter and the Program of the Communist International were adopted.
- The seventh conference was held in 1935, from July 25 to August 20. The basic theme of the meeting was the idea of consolidating forces and fighting the growing fascist threat. During this period, the Workers' United Front was created, which was a body for coordinating the activity of workers of various political interests.
Story
In general, communist internationals are very interesting to study. So, it is known that the Trotskyists approved the first four congresses, the supporters of left communism - only the first two. As a result of the campaigns of 1937-1938, most sections of the Comintern were liquidated. The Polish section of the Comintern was eventually officially dissolved.
Of course, political parties The 20th century went through a lot of changes. Repressions against leaders of the communist international movement who found themselves in the USSR for one reason or another appeared even before Germany and the USSR signed a non-aggression pact in 1939.
Marxism-Leninism enjoyed great popularity among the people. And already at the beginning of 1937, members of the directorate of the German Communist Party G. Remmele, H. Eberlein, F. Schulte, G. Neumann, G. Kippenberger, the leaders of the Yugoslav Communist Party M. Fillipovich, M. Gorkich were arrested. V. Chopich commanded the fifteenth Lincoln International Brigade in Spain, but when he returned, he was also arrested.
As you can see, the communist internationals were created by a large number of people. Also, a prominent figure in the communist international movement, the Hungarian Bela Kun, many leaders of the Polish Communist Party - J. Pashin, E. Prukhnyak, M. Koshutska, Yu. Lensky and many others were repressed. Former Greek Communist Party A. Kaitas was arrested and shot. One of the leaders of the Communist Party of Iran A. Sultan-Zade was awarded the same fate: he was a member of the Executive Committee of the Comintern, a delegate to the II, III, IV and VI Congresses.
It should be noted that the political parties of the 20th century were distinguished by a large number of intrigues. Stalin accused the leaders of the Communist Party of Poland of anti-Bolshevism, Trotskyism, and anti-Soviet positions. His performances were the cause of physical reprisals against Jerzy Czesheiko-Sochacki and other leaders of the Polish communists (1933). Some were repressed in 1937.
Marxism-Leninism, in fact, was a good doctrine. But in 1938, the Presidium of the Executive Committee of the Comintern decided to dissolve the Polish Communist Party. The founders of the Hungarian Communist Party and the leaders of the Hungarian Soviet Republic - F. Bayaki, D. Bokanyi, Bela Kun, I. Rabinovich, J. Kelen, L. Gavro, S. Sabados, F. Karikas - found themselves under a wave of repression. Bulgarian communists who moved to the USSR were repressed: H. Rakovsky, R. Avramov, B. Stomonyakov.
Romanian communists also began to be destroyed. In Finland, the founders of the Communist Party G. Rovio and A. Shotman, General First Secretary K. Manner and many of their associates were repressed.
It is known that the communist internationals did not appear from scratch. For their sake, more than a hundred Italian communists who lived in the Soviet Union in the 1930s suffered. They were all arrested and sent to camps. Mass repressions did not pass by the leaders and activists of the communist parties of Lithuania, Latvia, Western Ukraine, Estonia and Western Belarus (before they joined the USSR).
Structure of the Comintern
So, we have examined the congresses of the Comintern, and now we will consider the structure of this organization. Its Charter was adopted in August 1920. It was written: "In essence, the International of Communists is obliged, in fact and really, to represent a single world communist party, separate branches of which operate in each state."
It is known that the leadership of the Comintern was carried out through the Executive Committee (ECCI). Until 1922 it consisted of representatives delegated by the communist parties. And since 1922 he was elected by the Congress of the Comintern. The Small Bureau of the ECCI appeared in July 1919. In September 1921, it was renamed the Presidium of the ECCI. The secretariat of the ECCI was established in 1919; it dealt with personnel and organizational issues. This organization existed until 1926. And the Organizational Bureau (Orgburo) of the ECCI was created in 1921 and existed until 1926.
Interestingly, from 1919 to 1926 Grigory Zinoviev was the Chairman of the ECCI. In 1926, the post of chairman of the ECCI was abolished. Instead, the Political Secretariat of the ECCI of nine people appeared. In August 1929, the Political Commission of the Political Secretariat of the ECCI was separated from this new formation. She was supposed to be involved in the preparation of various issues, which were later considered by the Political Secretariat. It included D. Manuilsky, O. Kuusinen, a representative of the Communist Party of Germany (agreed on by the Central Committee of the KKE) and O. Pyatnitsky (candidate).
In 1935, a new position appeared - the Secretary General of the ECCI. It was taken by G. Dimitrov. The Political Commission and the Political Secretariat were abolished. The Secretariat of the ECCI was organized again.
The International Control Commission was created in 1921. She checked the work of the apparatus of the ECCI, individual sections (parties) and audited finances.
What organizations did the Comintern consist of?
- Profintern.
- Mezhrabpom.
- Sportintern.
- Communist Youth International (KIM).
- Crossintern.
- Women's International Secretariat.
- Association of rebellious theaters (international).
- Association of Rebellious Writers (international).
- Freethinking Proletarian International.
- World Committee of Comrades of the USSR.
- Tenant International.
- The International Organization for Assistance to Revolutionaries was called MOPR or "Red Aid".
- Anti-Imperialist League.
Disbandment of the Comintern
When did the dissolution of the Communist International take place? The date of the official liquidation of this famous organization falls on May 15, 1943. Stalin announced the dissolution of the Comintern: he wanted to impress the Western allies by convincing them that plans to establish communist and pro-Soviet regimes on the lands of European states collapsed. It is known that the reputation of the 3rd International by the beginning of the 1940s was very bad. In addition, in continental Europe, almost all cells were suppressed and destroyed by the Nazis.
Since the mid-1920s, Stalin personally and the CPSU(b) sought to dominate the Third International. This nuance played a role in the events of that time. The liquidation of almost all branches of the Comintern (except for the Youth International and the Executive Committee) in the years (mid-1930s) also affected. However, the 3rd International was able to save the Executive Committee: it was only renamed the World Department of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks.
In June 1947, the Paris Conference for Marshall's aid was held. And in September 1947, Stalin from the socialist parties created Cominform - the Communist Bureau of Information. It replaced the Comintern. In fact, it was a network formed from the communist parties of Bulgaria, Albania, Hungary, France, Italy, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Soviet Union, Romania and Yugoslavia (due to disagreements between Tito and Stalin, she was deleted from the lists in 1948).
Cominform was liquidated in 1956, after the end of the 20th Congress of the CPSU. This organization did not have a formal legal successor, but such were the Department of Internal Affairs and the CMEA, as well as regular meetings of Soviet-friendly workers and communist parties.
Archive of the Third International
The archive of the Comintern is stored in the State Archive of Political and Social History in Moscow. Documents are available in 90 languages: the basic working language is German. More than 80 batches are available.
Educational establishments
The Third International owned:
- The Communist Workers' University of China (KUTK) - until September 17, 1928, it was called the Sun Yat-sen Workers' University of China (UTK).
- Communist University of the Workers of the East (KUTV).
- Communist University of National Minorities of the West (KUNMZ).
- International Lenin School (MLSH) (1925-1938).
Institutions
The Third International ordered:
- Statistical and Information Institute of the ECCI (Bureau Varga) (1921-1928).
- Agrarian International Institute (1925-1940).
Historical facts
The creation of the Communist International was accompanied by various interesting events. So, in 1928, Hans Eisler wrote a magnificent anthem for him in German. It was translated into Russian by I. L. Frenkel in 1929. In the refrain of the work, the words were repeatedly heard: “Our slogan is the World Soviet Union!”
In general, when the Communist International was created, we already know that it was a difficult time. It is known that the command of the Red Army, together with the propaganda and agitation bureau of the Third International, prepared and published the book "Armed Revolt". In 1928 this work was published in German, and in 1931 in French. The work was written in the form of an educational and reference manual on the theory of organizing armed uprisings.
The book was created under the pseudonym A. Neuberg, its real authors were popular figures of the revolutionary world movement.
Marxism-Leninism
What is Marxism-Leninism? This is a philosophical and socio-political doctrine of the laws of the struggle for the elimination of the capitalist order and the building of communism. It was developed by V. I. Lenin, who developed the teachings of Marx and put it into practice. The emergence of Marxism-Leninism confirmed the significance of Lenin's contribution to Marxism.
V. I. Lenin created such a magnificent doctrine that in the socialist countries it became the official "ideology of the working class." The ideology was not static, it changed, adjusted to the needs of the elite. By the way, it also included the teachings of regional communist leaders, which are important for the socialist powers led by them.
In the Soviet paradigm, the teachings of V. I. Lenin are the only true scientific system of economic, philosophical, political and social views. Marxist-Leninist teaching is capable of integrating conceptual views in relation to the study and revolutionary change of the earth's space. It reveals the laws of the development of society, human thought and nature, explains the class struggle and the forms of transition to socialism (including the elimination of capitalism), tells about the creative activity of workers engaged in the construction of both communist and socialist society.
The Chinese Communist Party is the largest political party in the world. She follows in her endeavors the teachings of V. I. Lenin. Its charter contains the following words: “Marxism-Leninism has found the laws of the historical evolution of mankind. Its basic tenets are always true and have a powerful vitality."
First International
It is known that the Communist Internationals played the most important role in the struggle of the working people for a better life. The International Working People's Association was officially named the First International. This is the first international formation of the working class, which was established on September 28, 1864 in London.
This organization was liquidated after the split that occurred in 1872.
2nd International
The 2nd International (Workers' or Socialist) was an international association of workers' socialist parties, founded in 1889. It inherited the traditions of its predecessor, but since 1893 there were no anarchists in its composition. For uninterrupted communication between party members, in 1900 the Socialist International Bureau was registered, located in Brussels. The International adopted decisions that were not binding on its constituent parties.
Fourth International
The Fourth International is called the international communist organization, an alternative to Stalinism. It is based on the theoretical property of Leon Trotsky. The tasks of this formation were the implementation of the world revolution, the victory of the working class and the creation of socialism.
This International was established in 1938 by Trotsky and his associates in France. These people believed that the Comintern was completely controlled by the Stalinists, that it was not in a position to lead the working class of the entire planet to complete conquest. political power. That is why, in contrast, they created their own "Fourth International", whose members at that time were persecuted by NKVD agents. In addition, they were accused by supporters of the USSR and late Maoism of illegitimacy, pressed by the bourgeoisie (France and the USA).
This organization first suffered a split in 1940 and a more powerful split in 1953. There was a partial reunification in 1963, but many groups claim to be the political successors to the Fourth International.
Fifth International
What is the "Fifth International"? This is the term used to describe left-wing radicals who want to create a new workers' international organization based on the ideology of Marxist-Leninist teachings and Trotskyism. Members of this grouping consider themselves as devotees of the First International, the Communist Third, the Trotskyist Fourth and Second.
Communism
And in conclusion, let's figure out what the Russian Communist Party is? It is based on communism. In Marxism, this is a hypothetical economic and social system based on social equality, public property created from the means of production.
One of the most famous internationalist communist slogans is the saying: "Proletarians of all countries, unite!". Few people know who first said these famous words. But we will reveal a secret: for the first time this slogan was expressed by Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx in the Communist Manifesto.
After the 19th century, the term "communism" was often used to designate the socio-economic formation that Marxists predicted in their theoretical works. It was based on public property created with the means of production. In general, the classics of Marxism believe that the communist public implements the principle "To each according to his skills, to each according to his need!"
We hope that our readers will be able to understand the Communist Internationals with the help of this article.
From 3 to 8 September 1866, the 1st 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 power of capital. Among the others decisions taken- An 8-hour working day, the protection of women's labor and the prohibition of child labor, free polytechnic education, the introduction of workers' militias instead of standing armies.
What is an international?
International is international organization, uniting socialist, social democratic, and also some other parties of 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 capital.
How many internationals were there?
1st international emerged on September 28, 1864 in London as the first mass international organization of the working class. He combined cells from 13 European countries and USA. The union united not only the workers, but also many petty-bourgeois revolutionaries. The organization lasted until 1876. In 1850 there was a split in the leadership of the union. German organization advocated 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 repressions fell upon the scattered cells of the union.
Unofficial symbol of the III International (1920) Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
2nd international An international association of socialist workers' parties, founded 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 that were part of 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 "Two-Half International" or the 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. The 2½ 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 of various 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 to develop and spread 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 dissolved 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 brought together 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 20th Congress of the CPSU.
4th international- a communist international organization whose task was to carry out 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 their conquest of political power. The Trotskyist movement is represented in the world today by several political internationals. The most influential of them are:
- Reunited Fourth International
— International Socialist Tendency
- Committee for a Workers' International (CWI)
– International Marxist Tendency (IMT)
— International Committee of the Fourth International.
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. The Second International, betrayed by the opportunist leaders, collapsed in August 1914. Having split the working class, the social-chauvinists called on the workers of the belligerent countries to mutual extermination on the fronts of the imperialist war and, at the same time, to “civil peace” within their own countries, to cooperate with “their own” bourgeoisie, to the renunciation of the struggle for economic and political interests the proletariat. An urgent task arose before the international socialist movement - to achieve a truly international unity 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 major organization in the international labor movement was the Bolshevik Party, headed by V. I. Lenin. She took the initiative in the struggle for the creation of 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 to turn the imperialist war into a civil war, proclaimed the slogans: "Long live the international brotherhood of the workers against the 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, Soch., vol. 21, p. 18.) In his works “War and Russian Social Democracy”, “Socialism and War”, “The Collapse of the Second International”, “The Situation and Tasks of the Socialist International”, “Imperialism as the Highest Stage of Capitalism” and many others, V. I. Lenin formulated ideological and organizational foundations on which the new International was to be built. Despite the enormous difficulties generated by the war and rampant chauvinism, V. I. Lenin succeeded at the Zimmerwald (1915) and Kienthal (1916) conferences to achieve a demarcation between the revolutionary internationalists and the social chauvinists and lay the foundations for an internationalist association under the leadership of the Zimmerwald Left ". However, it was not possible to solve the problem of creating a new International with the help of the Zimmerwald Association. The Zimmerwald and Kienthal conferences did not accept the slogans of the Bolsheviks about turning the imperialist war into a civil war and about creating 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 a complete rupture of the left with the Zimmerwald association - a rupture not only with the social chauvinists, but also with the centrists, who covered up their opportunism with pacifist phrases. V. I. Lenin wrote: “It is for us, right now, without delay, that a new, revolutionary, proletarian International must be founded ...” ( V. I. 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, operating in a country where the revolution began earlier than in other countries, is to take the initiative in creating the Third International, finally breaking with the "defencists" and resolutely fighting also against the intermediate policy of the "centre".
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, the correctness of Lenin's ideas, raised high the banner of internationalism, inspired the proletariat of the capitalist countries and the oppressed peoples of the colonies and semi-colonies to a determined struggle for their emancipation. Under its direct influence, the general crisis of capitalism deepened and developed, and, as component, the crisis of the imperialist colonial system. The revolutionary upsurge swept the whole world. The masses of the people have moved considerably to the left, and the consciousness of the working class has risen. Marxism-Leninism became more and more popular. The best representatives of workers' parties and organizations passed to his positions. 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: the 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 readiness to support the October Revolution and Soviet power in Russia.
Simultaneously with the adoption of this decision, the Bolsheviks intensified their efforts to organize the forces of the left in the international working-class movement and to educate new cadres. Even in the first months after the October Revolution, the foreign left socialists who were in Russia began to create their own revolutionary, communist organizations, mainly among prisoners of war. In early December, they were already publishing 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 foreign groups under the Central Committee of the RCP(b); The Hungarian revolutionary Bela Kun was elected its chairman. The federation created the first Moscow communist detachment of internationalists from former prisoners of war to fight the counter-revolution, published different languages proclamations, pamphlets and newspapers. This propaganda literature was distributed not only among the prisoners of war, but also among the German troops in the Ukraine, sent to Germany, Austria-Hungary and other countries.
Preparations for the convocation of the Constituent Congress of the Third International
The struggle for the creation of the Third International was favored by profound changes in the international working-class movement and the revolutionary events of 1918 all over the world. The triumphant march of Soviet power, Russia's exit from the imperialist war, and the defeat of the Czechoslovak and other rebellions demonstrated the strength of the socialist revolution and raised the international prestige of the Soviet state and the Russian Communist Party. The pace of revolutionization of the masses increased. The revolution in Finland and the January political strikes in Germany and Austria-Hungary were followed by an uprising of sailors in Kotor (Kattaro), a mass movement of solidarity with Soviet Russia in England, a general political strike in the Czech lands, revolutionary actions 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 working-class 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” and many others. Exposing opportunism and centrism, these speeches provided: assistance to internationalists who have stepped up 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 arose in Austria, Germany, Poland, Hungary, Finland and Argentina.
At the beginning of January 1919, a meeting of representatives of eight communist parties and organizations was held. At the suggestion of V. I. Lenin, it decided to appeal to the revolutionary proletarian parties with an appeal to take part in a 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 Communist Party of Austria, the Russian Bureau of the Central Committee of the Latvian Communist Party, the Central Committee of the Finnish Communist Party , Central Committee of the Balkan Social Democratic Federation, Socialist Labor Party of America.
The appeal of eight parties and organizations formulated the platform for a new international organization to be established by the conference. It said: “The gigantic rapid pace of the world revolution, which poses more and more new problems, the danger of this revolution being strangled by an alliance of capitalist states that are organizing against the revolution under the hypocritical banner of the “Union of Peoples”; attempts on the part of the social-traitor parties to come to an agreement and, by granting "amnesty" to each other, help their governments and their bourgeoisie to once again deceive the working class; Finally, the enormous revolutionary experience that has accumulated and the internationalization of the entire course of the revolution compels us to take the initiative to put on the order of the day a discussion of the question of convening an international congress of revolutionary proletarian parties.
The Communist Parties of Russia, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Poland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, the Czech revolutionary Social Democrats, the Bulgarian Workers' Social Democratic Party ("Close Socialists"), left wing 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 February 3 to February 10, 1919. Delegates from 26 countries participated in it. A number of parties and organizations, such as the socialist parties of Switzerland, Serbia, Romania, the left part 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.
All activities of this first post-war conference of social-chauvinist and centrist parties were permeated with hatred for the socialist revolution. K. Branting, one of the leaders of the Second International, a representative of the Swedish Social-Democratic Party, who delivered the main report "On Democracy and Dictatorship", declared that the October Revolution was a departure from the principles of democracy, and in fact called for the liquidation of the dictatorship of the proletariat in Russia.
Henderson, Kautsky, Vandervelde, Jouhault and other Social-Democratic leaders spoke in the same spirit. All of them tried to prevent the spread of the international influence of the October Revolution. Therefore, the "Russian question", although it did not appear 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, because some of the delegates, fearing to lose influence on the rank and file members of the socialist parties, refused to support the open enemies of the October Revolution.
The Berne Conference decided to restore the Second International (the organizational formalization of this decision was completed at two subsequent conferences - Lucerne in 1919 and Geneva in 1920). In order 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 proletariat from moving further to the left, the growth of the communist movement, and the unification of parties of a new type into a revolutionary International proved fruitless. The emergence of a truly revolutionary center of the international labor movement was inevitable.
First, Founding Congress of the Communist International
Many workers' parties responded positively to the appeal of eight parties and organizations dated January 24, 1919. The meeting place was Moscow, the capital of the world's first victorious proletarian dictatorship.
On the way to Moscow, the foreign delegates overcame great difficulties caused both by repressions in the capitalist countries in relation to the left socialists and communists, and by the situation civil war in Soviet Russia, blockade, anti-Soviet intervention. One of the delegates, the representative of the Communist Party of Austria, Gruber (Steingart), later said: “I had to ride on the steps of the cars, on the roofs, buffers, and even on the tender and on the platform of the locomotive ... When I managed to get into the cattle car, it was already great luck, because I had to do a significant part of the long, 17-day journey on foot. The front line then passed in the Kyiv region. There were only military trains. I disguised myself as a ragged soldier returning from captivity, and all the time I was in danger of being captured and shot by the 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 the preliminary meeting, the agenda of the conference, the composition of speakers and commissions were approved. At this meeting, the question of constituting the conference as the Constituent Congress of the Communist International was also discussed. In view of the objection of the representative of the Communist Party of Germany, Hugo Eberlein (Albert), who pointed out the small number of members of the conference and the fact that in many countries there were no communist parties yet, the meeting decided to limit itself to holding a conference and developing a platform.
On March 2, Lenin opened the first world conference of communist parties and leftist social democratic organizations with an opening speech. First, 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 impact 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 Lenin delivered a report on bourgeois democracy and the dictatorship of the proletariat. In the labor movement of many countries at that time there was a sharp discussion on the question - for or against the dictatorship of the proletariat. Therefore, the explanation of the essence of bourgeois democracy as a democracy for a 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 resistance of the exploiting classes, acquired great importance. V. I. Lenin exposed the defenders of the so-called pure democracy, showing that bourgeois democracy, for which Kautsky and his like-minded people stood up before and after the proletarian revolution in Russia, is a form of dictatorship of the bourgeoisie. Meanwhile, the dictatorship of the proletariat, which has assumed the form of Soviet power in Russia, has, Lenin pointed out, a truly popular, democratic character. Its essence “... lies in the fact that the permanent and only basis of all state power, the entire state apparatus is mass organization precisely those classes that were oppressed by capitalism...” ( V. I. Lenin, First Congress of the Communist International March 2-6, 1919. Theses and report on bourgeois democracy and the dictatorship of the proletariat March 4, Soch., vol. 28, p. 443.)
V. I. Lenin showed that the Soviets turned out to be the one practical form which gives the proletariat the opportunity to exercise its rule. The defense of bourgeois democracy by the Right Social Democrats, their attacks against the dictatorship of the proletariat, are a denial of the proletariat's right to its own, proletarian democracy.
The theses and report of V. I. Lenin on bourgeois democracy and the dictatorship of the proletariat were taken as the basis for the decisions adopted by the conference.
In the meantime, in connection with the arrival of new delegations, in particular the Austrian, Swedish, and others, the question arose again of constituting 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 brief 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 occasion of the vote, said that, bound by the instructions of his party and based on personal conviction, he tried to delay the constitution of the Third International and abstained from voting, but since the founding of the Third International had become a fact, he would try to make every effort to in order to persuade their 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 formally dissolve the Zimmerwald Association.
With the adoption of the resolution on the formation of the Communist International, the conference turned into Constituent Congress. It was attended by 34 delegates with a decisive vote and 18 with an advisory vote, representing 35 organizations (including 13 communist parties and 6 communist groups).
The congress discussed the question of the Berne Conference and the attitude towards socialist trends. In his decision, he emphasized that the Second International, which was being resurrected by right-wing socialists, would be a weapon in the hands of the bourgeoisie against the revolutionary proletariat, and called on the workers of all countries to begin the most resolute struggle against this treacherous, "yellow" International.
The congress also heard reports on the international situation and the policy of the Entente, on the White Terror in Finland, adopted the Manifesto to the Proletarians of the World and approved the resolutions on the reports. Governing bodies were created with a seat in Moscow: the Executive Committee, which included one representative from the communist parties of the most significant countries, and a 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 First 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!" Events of great importance took place in 1919: the heroic struggle of the peoples of the Soviet state against imperialist intervention and internal counter-revolution; proletarian revolutions in Hungary and Bavaria; revolutionary uprisings in all capitalist countries; a stormy national liberation, anti-imperialist movement in China, India, Indonesia, Turkey, Egypt, Morocco, and 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. V. I. 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 the need for Soviet power, the power of the working people, the dictatorship of the proletariat, to rid mankind from the yoke capital" ( V. I. Lenin, American Workers, Soch., 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 "Kautskyism" (which corresponds to Longuetism in France, the views of the leaders of the Independent Labor Party and the Fabians in England, Turati in Italy, etc.) ( See V. I. Lenin, Childhood illness of “leftism” in communism, Soch., vol. 31, p. 13.). Bolshevism has grown, strengthened and tempered in the struggle on two fronts - with open opportunism and with "Left" doctrinairism. The same tasks are to be solved by other communist parties. All countries of the world have to repeat the main thing that has been achieved 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.).
V. I. Lenin also warned the fraternal communist parties against ignoring national peculiarities in individual countries, against stereotypes, and demanded that concrete, specific conditions be studied. But at the same time, for all the national peculiarities and originality of this or that country, for all communist parties, Lenin pointed out, the unity of international tactics is indispensable, 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 the young communist parties, V. I. Lenin wrote that the “left” did not
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 in this way they disarm the proletariat. He urged communists to work wherever there are masses; skillfully combine legal and illegal conditions; if necessary, make compromises; stop at no sacrifice in the name of victory. The tactics of any communist party, Lenin pointed out, must be based on a sober, strictly objective account of all the class forces of the given state and the countries surrounding it, on the experience of revolutionary movements, and especially on the own political experience of the broad working masses of each country.
Lenin's work "The Childhood Disease 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 II 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 a testament to the great shifts that had taken place in the international revolutionary movement, a convincing proof of the growing prestige of the Comintern and the broad scope of the communist movement throughout the world. It was indeed a world communist congress.
It included not only communist parties, but also leftist socialist organizations, revolutionary trade unions and youth organizations from various countries of the world - a total of 218 delegates from 67 organizations, including 27 communist parties.
At the first meeting, VI Lenin made 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, having profited from the war, shouldered its costs on the shoulders of the workers and peasants. The living conditions of the working people are becoming intolerable; the need, the ruin of the masses, has 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 for the struggle against capitalism and the world-historical significance of the proletarian revolution in Russia.
V. I. Lenin emphasized that the proletariat would not be able to win power without crushing opportunism. “Opportunism,” he said, “is our main enemy. Opportunism at the top of the labor movement is not proletarian socialism, but bourgeois socialism. It has been practically proved that the leaders within the working-class 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 be able to hold on" ( V. I. Lenin, II Congress of the Communist International July 19 - August 7, 1920. Report on the international situation and the main tasks of the Communist International July 19, Soch., vol. 31, p. 206.).
At the same time, V. I. Lenin characterized the danger of “leftism” in communism and outlined ways to overcome it.
Based on Lenin's propositions, the congress decided on the main tasks of the Communist International. The main task was to unite the fragmented this moment communist forces, the formation in every country of a communist party (or the strengthening and renewal of an already existing party) in order to intensify the work of preparing the proletariat for the conquest of state power, and moreover, precisely 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 adjoining or wishing to join the Communist International.
In order to prevent the danger of the penetration of opportunists, centrists and, in general, the traditions of the Second International into the young communist parties, the congress approved the "21 conditions" developed by V. I. Lenin for admission to the Communist International.
This document embodied Lenin's 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 conditions for admission demanded that all propaganda and agitation of the communist parties be consistent with the principles of the Third International, that a constant struggle be waged against reformism and centrism, that a complete break with opportunism be carried out in practice, that daily work be carried out in the countryside, and that the national liberation movement of the colonial peoples should be supported. They also provided for the compulsory work of communists in reformist trade unions, in parliament, but with the subordination of the parliamentary faction to the leadership of the party, a combination of legal and illegal activities, selfless support 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 necessity of adopting such a document was dictated by the fact that, under the pressure of the masses of the workers, the centrist and semi-centrist parties and groups sought their admission to the Comintern, not wishing, however, to retreat from their old positions. In addition, the young communist parties were faced with the task of ideological growth and organizational strengthening. Without a successful struggle against opportunism, revisionism and sectarianism, this would not have been possible.
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 rank-and-file members of socialist parties with their centrist leaders, objected to the admission of a number of parties (the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany, the 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 the reformists. For example, Serrati and the leaders of the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany, Crispin and Dietmann, who were present at the congress with a deliberative vote, objected to the adoption of the “21 conditions”, proposing to wide open the doors of the Communist International to all parties wishing to join it.
At the same time, they took up arms against the obligatory recognition of the principles of the dictatorship of the proletariat and democratic centralism, as well as against the exclusion from the party of persons who reject the conditions for admission to the Comintern.
Defending the "21 conditions", V. I. Lenin revealed the perniciousness for the revolutionary struggle of the proletariat of the views of Serrati, Crispin and Ditman, on the one hand, Bordiga and Vaynkop, on the other. Congress supported V. I. Lenin.
The subsequent activity 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 Komintzrn and helping to eliminate "leftism" in communism.
An important step towards the institutionalization 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 "takes upon itself the continuation and completion of the great work begun by the First International Association of Workers." He determined the principles of building the Comintern and the Communist Parties, the main directions of their activity, specified the role of the leading 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 devoted much attention to the problem of the allies of the proletariat in the proletarian revolution and discussed the most important aspects of the strategy and tactics of the communist parties in the agrarian and national-colonial questions.
The theses developed by V. I. Lenin on the agrarian question contained a deep analysis of the position of 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. It must support the agricultural workers, semi-proletarians and small peasants in every possible way and win them over to its side in order to successfully fight 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 the landowners and other large landowners, that is, from all those who systematically resort to the exploitation of wage labor and small peasants and do not take part in physical labor.
The Congress pointed out that the historical mission of liberating mankind from the oppression of capital and from wars could not be fulfilled by the working class without winning over to its side the broadest strata of the peasantry. On the other hand, "the working masses of the countryside have no salvation except in alliance with the communist proletariat, in selfless support of 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 working out correct tactics in relation to the many millions of working masses of the colonies and semi-colonies, allies of the proletariat in the struggle against imperialism. In his report, V. I. Lenin emphasized the new things that had been formulated in the theses presented to the congress and considered by the special commission. A particularly lively discussion was aroused by the discussion of the issue of support by the proletariat of the bourgeois-democratic national movements.
The Congress noted the importance of drawing together the working masses of all nations, the urgent need for contact between the communist parties of the metropolitan countries and the proletarian parties of the colonial countries in order to render 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 determined struggle against imperialism. For the proletariat, temporary agreements and alliances with the bourgeois-democratic forces of the colonies are quite acceptable, and sometimes even necessary, if these forces have not exhausted their objective revolutionary role and provided that the proletariat retains its political and organizational independence. Such blocking helps to form a broad patriotic front in the colonial countries, but does not mean the elimination of class contradictions between the national bourgeoisie and the proletariat. The congress also stressed the need for a resolute ideological struggle against pan-Islamism, pan-Asianism and other reactionary nationalist theories.
Of exceptional importance were the theoretical propositions of V. I. Lenin on the non-capitalist path of development of the socio-economically backward countries. On the basis of Lenin's teaching, the congress formulated the conclusion that these countries were going over 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 served as a guide for action for the communist parties and played an invaluable role in the liberation struggle of the peoples of the colonial and dependent countries.
The formulation of the agrarian and national-colonial questions at the Second Congress of the Comintern and the decisions adopted by it differed profoundly and fundamentally from the approach of the Second International to these questions. The social-democratic leaders ignored the peasantry, regarded it as a solid reactionary mass, and in the national-colonial question they actually took the position of justifying the colonial policy of imperialism, presenting it as a "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 revolutionary ways to liberate 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, questions about the attitude of the communist parties towards the trade unions and about parliamentarism were of great importance.
The congressional resolution condemned the sectarian refusal to work in the reformist trade unions and called on the communists to fight to win the masses in the ranks of these trade unions.
The theses on parliamentarism noted that the revolutionary headquarters of the working class should have its representatives in the bourgeois parliament, whose rostrum can and should be used for revolutionary agitation, rallying the working masses and exposing the enemies of the working class. For the same purpose, communists should participate in election campaigns. Refusal to participate in election campaigns and parliamentary work is naive infantile doctrinairism. The attitude of communists towards parliaments may vary depending on the situation, but under all circumstances, the activities of communist factions in parliaments should be directed by the central committees of the parties.
Responding to a speech by Bordiga, who tried to persuade the congress to renounce the participation of communists in bourgeois parliaments, V. I. Lenin in a vivid speech showed the fallacy of the views of the anti-parliamentarians. He asked Bordiga and his supporters: “How will you reveal the true nature of Parliament to the really backward masses, deceived by the bourgeoisie? 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, II 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 labor movement in Russia and other countries, V. I. Lenin concluded that by participating in election campaigns and using the platform of the bourgeois parliament, the working class would be able to more successfully fight against the bourgeoisie. The proletariat must be able to use the same means that the bourgeoisie uses in the struggle against the proletariat.
The position of V. I. Lenin received the full support of the congress.
The Second Congress of the Comintern also adopted decisions on a number of other important questions: 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 the Manifesto, in which he 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 working men and women to stand under the banner of the Communist International. In a special appeal to the proletarians of all countries regarding the attack of bourgeois-landlord Poland on the Soviet state, it was said: “Go out into the streets and show your governments that you will not allow any assistance to White Guard Poland, that 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. Do not 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, who came out with renewed vigor in defense of 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 and rallying them on the ideological and organizational basis of Marxism-Leninism. They had a serious influence on the process of disengagement in the working-class movement, helped the revolutionary socialist workers to move away from opportunism, and helped shape many communist parties, including those in England, Italy, China, Chile, Brazil and other countries. V. I. Lenin wrote that the Second Congress "... created such solidarity and discipline of the communist parties of the whole world, which have never been before and which will allow the vanguard of the workers' revolution to move forward towards its great goal, to overthrow the yoke of capital, with leaps and bounds" ( V. I. Lenin, Second Congress of the Communist International, Works, vol. 31, p. 246.).
The Second Congress essentially completed the formation of the Communist International. Expanding the struggle on two fronts, he developed the main problems of strategy, tactics and organization of the communist parties. V. I. Lenin wrote: “First, the communists had to proclaim their principles to the whole world. This was done at the First Congress. This is the first step.
The second step was the organizational formation of the Communist International and the elaboration of the conditions for admission to it, the conditions for separation in practice from the centrists, from the 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, Soch., 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 selflessness of the working masses, the bourgeoisie retained power in its hands. This was due primarily to the fact that, in contrast to Russia, where there was a truly revolutionary, Marxist-Leninist party, a party of a new type with vast revolutionary experience, the working class in the capitalist countries remained split and its bulk was under the influence of social democratic parties whose right-wing leadership, with all their tactics, saved the bourgeoisie and the capitalist system and ideologically disarmed the proletariat. The communist parties that arose in a number of countries at the time of the most acute revolutionary crisis were in the majority still very weak both organizationally and ideologically. They broke with the opportunist leaders, with their open policy of treason, but did not completely free themselves from compromising traditions. Many of the leaders who then joined communism, in fact, remained faithful to the old opportunist traditions of social democracy in the main questions 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 the systematic struggle against opportunism, tendencies often arose that gave rise to sectarianism, separation from the broad masses, preaching the possibility of a minority acting without reliance on the masses, etc. As a result of this illness The communist parties and the organizations led by them did not sufficiently study the "leftism", and in some cases they ignored the 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 to do a great deal of hard, painstaking work to educate bold, resolute, Marxist-educated proletarian leaders and to prepare the working class for new battles. In this activity, the new center of the international working-class movement, the Communist International, was to play an extremely important role.
The formation of the Comintern was the result of the activity of the revolutionary organizations of the working class of all countries. “The founding of the Third, 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 III, Communist International lies in the fact that it began to put into practice the greatest slogan of Marx, a slogan that summed up the centuries-old development of socialism and the labor movement, a slogan that is expressed by the concept: the 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 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 activity adopted the positions of Marxism-Leninism entirely and unconditionally.
The great significance of the formation of the Communist International also consisted in the fact that the opportunist Second International of Social Democracy, this agent of imperialism in the ranks of the working class, was opposed by a new international organization that embodied the genuine 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, defined its place in the history of the labor movement as follows: “The Communist International, uniting the revolutionary workers leading the millions of oppressed and exploited against the bourgeoisie and its “socialist” agents, regards itself as the historical successor of the Union Communists" and the First International, which 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 of the international proletarian struggle for socialism. The Second International, at its best, was preparing the ground for the broad and mass expansion of the working-class movement. The Third, the Communist International, continuing the work of the First International and accepting the fruits of the work of the Second International, resolutely cut off the latter’s opportunism, its social-chauvinism, its bourgeois perversion 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 communist parties - all the many-sided 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 the 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 prestige of the communist parties among the working people of the whole world and to the education of experienced leaders of the communist movement.
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magazine, printed organ of the Executive Committee of the Communist International; published in 1919-43 in Russian, English, French, German, Spanish. and whale. lang. He covered the most important problems of the theory and tactics of the world communist, worker and national liberation. movement in the first stage of the general crisis of capitalism. He played a big role in the fight against militarism, fascism and war, in defense of the USSR, in exposing the reformists, Trotskyists, right deviators and other opponents of Marxism-Leninism. In the journal have been publ. articles by V. I. Lenin ("The Third International and its Place in History" (May 1919), "Heroes of the Berne International" (June 1919), "On the Tasks of the Third International" (Aug. 1919), etc.), as well as articles G. Dimitrov, P. Togliatti, D. Z. Manuilsky, M. Torez, E. Telman, O. Kuusinen, K. Zetkin and others. V. V. Alexandrov. Moscow.
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(Comintern, III International) - an international organization that united in 1919-1943. communist parties in various countries. Seven congresses were held: 1st (constituent) - March 1919; 2nd - July - August 1920; 3rd - June - July 1921; 4th - November - December 1922; 5th - June - July 1924; 6th - July - September 1928; 7th - July - August 1935 The governing body - the Executive Committee (ECCI), which included more than 10 delegates from the RCP (b) - VKP (b) (Ya. I. Bukharin, G. E. Zinoviev, L. M. Karakhan, M. M. Litvinov, V. V. Vorovsky and others) and one delegate each from other communist parties (Hungary, Poland, Germany, Austria, Latvia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Finland, Greece, Denmark, Spain, Canada, China, etc.). By the end of the 1920s. more than 65 organizations from 57 countries participated in the work of the Comintern. It was used by the Bolsheviks to promote the ideas of Marxism-Leninism, political and material support for the workers' and national liberation movement in different countries, fueling the world proletarian revolution. In the context of the formation of the anti-Hitler coalition and in connection with the growing variety of conditions for the activities of the communist parties, it was dissolved in 1943.
Great Definition
Incomplete definition ↓
communist international
intl. org-tion, uniting the communist parties decomp. countries; existed in 1919-43. Oct. 1941 apparatus of the executive committee K.I. (ECCI) and its institutions were evacuated to Bashk. Until May 1943, members worked here. Presidium of the ECCI K. Gottwald, G. Dimitrov, V. Kolarov, I. Koplening, O. Kuusinen, D. Manuilsky, A. Marty, V. Pik, M. Thorez, Ercoli (P. Tolyatti), V. Florin and Dr. Comintern assisted the Communist parties in the development of DOS. policy directions, personnel, propaganda materials, etc., initiated the organization and training of partisan groups from political emigrants. Radio propaganda organized by the ECCI for the states of the fascist bloc and the occupied countries became an important means of mobilizing the masses for the struggle against fascism. In 1943, the transfer of nat. Radios were broadcast almost around the clock in 18 languages. One of the practical activities of the Comintern was polit. work among prisoners of war. In Ufa were vol. some numbers. "Communist International". In with. Kushnarenkovo (near Ufa) there was a school of the Comintern. Pres. In May 1943, the ECCI decided to dissolve the Comintern. Lit.: Soviet encyclopedic dictionary. M., 1984. Great Patriotic War. 1941-1945. Encyclopedia. M., 1985; Uzikov Yu.I. Planet guards. Cominternists in Bashkiria. Ufa, 1978. Uzikov Yu.I., Kirillov A.D.
Great Definition
Incomplete definition ↓
COMMUNIST INTERNATIONAL
Comintern, 3rd International (1919-43), - Intern. an organization created in accordance with the needs and tasks of the revolution. the labor movement in the first stage of the general crisis of capitalism; arose and acted in the initial period of the great revolution. transformation of the whole world; ist. successor to the 1st International (see 1st International) and heir to the best traditions of the 2nd International (see 2nd International). The 2nd International, corroded from within by opportunism, has openly changed the span. internationalism as soon as the 1st World War . It broke up mainly into two warring factions, each of which went over to the side of its own bourgeoisie and actually dropped the slogan "Proletarians of all countries, unite!". The most authoritative and cohesive force in the international. working movement, the remaining faithful span. internationalism, was the RSDLP (Bolsheviks), headed by V. I. Lenin. Having revealed the essence of the collapse of the 2nd International, Lenin showed the working class a way out of the situation created as a result of the betrayal of the opportunist. leaders: the labor movement needed a new, revolutionary. International. "The Second International is dead, defeated by opportunism. Down with opportunism and long live ... the Third International!" - Lenin wrote already on November 1. 1914 (Soch., vol. 21, p. 24). The Bolsheviks of Russia actually prepared the creation of K.I., primarily through the development of revolutions. theories. Lenin opened the imperialist the nature of the outbreak of world war and substantiated the slogan of its transformation into a civil war against the bourgeoisie of their own. countries - as the main strategic international slogan. labor movement. Lenin's conclusion about the possibility and inevitability of the victory of the revolution initially in a few or even in one, taken separately, capitalist. country, formulated by him for the first time in 1915, was the largest, fundamentally new contribution to the Marxist theory of socialism. revolution. This conclusion, which gave the working class a revolutionary perspective in a new era, was the most important step in the development of theoretical. foundations of the new International. The second direction, along which the work of the Bolsheviks led by Lenin in preparing a new International, was the rallying of the left groups of the Social-Democrats. parties that remained loyal to the cause of the working class. The Bolsheviks used a number of international meetings held in 1915. conferences (socialists of the Entente countries, women's, youth) to propagate their views on issues of war, peace and revolution. They took an active part in the Zimmerwald movement of socialist-internationalists, creating a left group in its ranks, which was the embryo of a new International. However, in 1917, when under the influence of Feb. bourgeois-democratic. revolution in Russia began a rapid upsurge of the revolution. movements, the Zimmerwald movement, uniting in the main. centrists, went not forward, but backward (see Zimmerwald Association), the Bolsheviks broke with him, refusing to send their delegates to the Stockholm Conference (Sept. 1917). world imperialism. the war concentrated huge masses of people in the armies of the belligerent powers, bound them to a common fate in the face of death, and in the most merciless way confronted these tens of millions, often very far from politics, with the monstrous consequences of the policy of imperialism. 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 unwitting participants. Gradually, insight came. The working masses, especially the belligerent states, felt more and more acutely the need to restore the internats. the unity of their ranks. Countless bloody losses, ruin and hard labor exploitation on the part of the bourgeoisie, who profited from the war, were a difficult experience, which convinced of the fatality of nationalism and chauvinism for the labor movement. It was chauvinism that split the 2nd International that destroyed the International. unity of the working class and thereby disarmed it in the face of imperialism ready for anything. Hatred was born among the masses for those leaders of the Social Democracy who stubbornly held on to chauvinism. positions of cooperation with "their" bourgeoisie, with "their" governments. “... Already since 1915,” Lenin pointed out, “the process of splitting the old, decayed, socialist parties, the process of the masses of the proletariat moving away from social-chauvinist leaders to the left, to revolutionary ideas and moods, to revolutionary leaders, was clearly revealed in all countries. "(ibid., vol. 28, p. 267). So there was a mass movement for the international. the unity of the proletariat, for the reconstruction of the revolution. center of international labor movement. This was the objective soil from which K.I. grew. However, it was possible to create it only after the victory of Vel. Oct. socialist. revolution. It shook the whole world, all the peoples who were looking for a way out of the bloody impasse, showed in practice what the slogan of turning the war into an imperialist one means. into the civil war. Oct. the revolution awakened the faith of the working class, Nar. the masses into their own strength and showed that they can not only put an end to the war, but also eliminate the system that gave rise to it. This is the source of that powerful impulse of the masses, which is characterized by the direct impact of Oct. revolution throughout the world. Under their pressure collapsed international. order, to-ry pr-va capitalists and landowners created for more than a hundred years. The emergence of the world's first socialist state-va 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, first of all, that only in Russia there was a party of a new type. In an atmosphere of powerful upsurge of the worker and national-liberate. movement began the process of formation of the communist. parties and in other countries. In 1918 the communist parties arose in Germany, Austria, Hungary, Poland, Greece, the Netherlands, Finland, Argentina. In Jan. 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 tesnyaki and Romanian leftists) and Socialist. US Labor Party. The meeting discussed the issue of convening an international 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. Opportunistic the leaders of social democracy, relying on a narrow stratum of the so-called. the labor aristocracy and the "workers' bureaucracy", deceived the masses with promises to fight against capitalism without resorting to dictatorship, they stifled the revolutionaries. the energy of the workers, diverting them with theories of "class peace" in the name of "national unity". That is why the conference demanded a ruthless struggle against open opportunism-social-chauvinism and at the same time recommended the tactics of a bloc with leftist groups, the tactics of splitting off all revolutionaries. elements from the centrists, who were actually. accomplices of the renegades. Thus, already in these first decisions, which brought closer the creation of the Communist Party, a firm Leninist line is visible, linking the success of the development of the revolution with the mobilization and unification of all the healthy forces of the working-class movement on the basis of revolutions. Marxism. But an association on such a basis could be created only by uncompromisingly dissociating itself from the ideological and political. legacy of the decayed 2nd International. The meeting turned to 39 revolutionaries. parties, groups and currents of the countries of Europe, Asia, America and Australia with an appeal to take part in the work will establish. congress of the new International. In early March 1919, the Constituent Assembly took place in Moscow. Congress of K. I., to which 52 delegates from 35 parties and groups from 30 countries of the world arrived. The Congress was attended by 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, Yugoslav, English, French, Swiss, etc.). Social-Democrats were represented at the congress. parties of Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, USA, Balkan revolution. s.-d. federation, Zimmerwald Left wing of France. The Congress heard reports, which showed that revolution was growing everywhere. movement that the world is in a state of profound revolution. crisis. The congress discussed and adopted the platform of K. I., which was based on the document developed by the January meeting of 1919 in Moscow. The new epoch, which began with the victory of October, was characterized in the platform as "the epoch of the disintegration of capitalism, its internal disintegration, the epoch of the communist. revolution of the proletariat". The task of winning and establishing the dictatorship of the proletariat has become the order of the day, the path to which lies through a break with opportunism of all stripes, through international solidarity of the working people on a new basis. In view of this, the congress recognized the need for an urgent foundation. K. I. Report Lenin on bourgeois democracy and the dictatorship of the proletariat became one of the program documents at the founding of K. I. Lenin revealed in it the class character of bourgeois democracy, which was stubbornly defended under the guise of "democracy in general" not only by the bourgeois parties, but also by the parties 2nd International He showed that the bourgeois democratic, in whatever form it may be carried out, is always in essence a class dictatorship of the bourgeoisie, a dictatorship of the minority, while the dictatorship of the proletariat, which suppresses the overthrown classes in the name of the interests of the majority against the minority, means democracy for the working people. Lenin's entire report was permeated with the idea of a struggle against bourgeois democracy, and such a formulation of the question at that time was the only correct one. oh: in the atmosphere of the greatest revolution. upsurge, any attempt to tie the hands of the working class with references to the virtues of democracy, covering up the rule of the exploiters, played reactionary. role. The striving of the Right Social-Democrats leaders to discredit the Sov. power by shouting about "dictatorship" and justifying intervention against it directly and openly served the cause of the counter-revolution. The First Congress of K. I. determined its attitude to the Berne Conference, held by the opportunist. leaders in Feb. 1919 and formally restored the 2nd International (see Berne International). The participants in this conference reached such disgrace that they condemned Oct. revolution in Russia and even considered the issue of armament. intervention against her. That is why the KI Congress called on the workers of all countries to start the most resolute struggle against the Yellow International and to warn the broad masses of the people against this "International of lies and deceit." Establish. Congress K. I. adopted the Manifesto to the proletarians of the whole world, in which it was said that the communists who had gathered in Moscow, representatives of the revolutionaries. the proletariat of Europe, America and Asia, feel and recognize themselves as the successors and arbiters of the cause, the program of which was proclaimed by the founders of scientific. Communism by Marx and Engels in The Communist Manifesto. "We call on 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" (Communist International in Documents, 1933, p. 60). Assessing the role that the new International was to play, Lenin wrote in April. 1919, that K. I. "... accepted the fruits of the work of the Second International, cut off its opportunist, social-chauvinist, bourgeois and petty-bourgeois filth and began to exercise the dictatorship of the proletariat ... A new era in world history began. Humanity is shedding its last form slavery: capitalist or wage slavery" (Soch., vol. 29, p. 281). The creation of the Comintern was the answer to the revolution. Marxists to demand a new era - the era of the general crisis of capitalism, DOS. the features of which were more and more clearly identified in the revolution. the events of those days. K.I., according to Lenin, was supposed to become an international. org-tion, designed to accelerate the creation of revolution. parties in other countries and thereby give the entire working-class movement the decisive weapon for the victory over capitalism. But at the First Congress of K. I., according to Lenin, “... the banner of communism was only hoisted, around which the forces of the revolutionary proletariat were to gather” (Soch., vol. 31, p. 245). Full organization. design of international span. org-tion of a new type was to be carried out by the II Congress. Between the 1st and 2nd Congresses of the Revolutionary the rise continued to rise. In 1919, Sov. republics. In England, France, the USA, Italy, and in other countries, a movement developed in defense of the Soviets. Russia from imperialist intervention. powers. Mass nat.-liberate. the movement arose in the colonies and semi-colonies (Korea, China, India, Turkey, Afghanistan, etc.). The process of forming a communist parties: they arose in Denmark (Nov. 1919), Mexico (1919), USA (Sept. 1919), Yugoslavia (April 1919), Indonesia (May 1920), Great Britain (July 31 - August 1, 1920), Palestine (1919), Iran (June 1920) and Spain (April 1920). At the same time, the socialist parties of France, Italy, Independent Social-Democrats. the party of Germany, the Workers' Party of Norway, and others broke with the Berne International and declared their desire to join the K.I. Then it was in the main. centrist parties and there were elements in them that brought with them the right danger to the ranks of K.I., threatened its ideological solidity, which was a necessary and indispensable condition for the implementation of K.I. missions. Along with this, in many The communist parties were threatened by the "left", born of the youth and inexperience of the communist parties, often inclined too hastily to resolve the fundamental issues of the revolution. struggle, as well as the penetration of anarcho-syndicalist elements into the world communist. motion. If, with danger from the right, the revolutionary the proletariat encountered not for the first time, then the "left" danger, which, moreover, was covered by a very revolutionary. phrase, was less known to him. It was all the more difficult to immediately recognize its real origins and possible grave consequences. She could inflict revolution. great harm to the movement. That is why Lenin, in the spring of 1920, directed the fire of his criticism in this direction, creating his immortal book, The Infantile Disease of "Leftism" in Communism. East the significance of this work lies in the fact that, having summarized in it the experience of the strategy and tactics of the revolution. struggle of the Bolshevik Party, Lenin helped the fraternal parties to master its experience. Lenin pointed to German, English, Italian. and goll. examples of typical features of "left communism": sectarianism, leading to a separation from the masses and, in the end, to the preservation of the key positions of the labor movement in the hands of the reformists; the denial of party membership and party discipline, which meant the destruction of the party - the decisive weapon of the proletariat in the struggle for its emancipation; denial of the need to work in those organizations and movements (and be able to use them in the interests of the revolution) to which the masses are accustomed, which they recognize and which they belong to (trade unions, cooperatives, parliaments, municipalities, etc.). Lenin defined “leftism” as an unwillingness, fraught with adventurism, to train the political army of the revolution from the mass that capitalism has engendered, and there is no other mass and cannot be in bourgeois conditions. building; refusing to work with it is tantamount to refusing the revolution, no matter how "super-revolutionary" phrases justify it. The unwillingness to work in the midst of the masses and learn from their experience, Lenin said, leads to tact. narrowness, to the dogmatic. adherence to some one already known methods of struggle, deprives the party of the opportunity to correctly assess the situation and act in accordance with the specific requirements of the moment. “Right doctrinairism,” Lenin emphasized, “rested on the recognition of only the old forms and went bankrupt to the end, not noticing the new content. that it is our duty, as communists, to master all forms, to learn how to supplement one form with another as quickly as possible, to replace one with another, to adapt our tactics to any such change that is not caused by our class or not by our efforts" (ibid., p. 83) . Lenin's book largely determined the content and direction of the work of the II Congress of K. I., held in July-Aug. 1920. The second congress of K. I. was more representative than the first: 217 delegates from 67 organizations (including hours from 27 communist parties) from 37 countries. They consult with the right. votes at the congress were represented by the socialist. parties of Italy, France, Independent Social-Democrats. party of Germany and other centrist organizations and parties. Congress listened to Lenin's report on the international. position and base tasks KI. Having deeply analyzed the situation in the world that had developed by that time, Lenin warned of two dangers in the way of developing a communist. parties of correct tactics. On the one hand, this is an underestimation of the depth of the crisis that was tearing apart the capitalist. system, the tendency to view it only as a "temporary unrest", and on the other hand, the reassessment of the crisis as a hopeless situation, which will automatically lead to the collapse of capitalism. Lenin gave an exhaustive and scientifically substantiated assessment of the situation and, on this basis, raised the key question of the congress: “We must,” he said, “now, by the practice of revolutionary parties, ‘prove’ that they have enough consciousness, organization, connection with the exploited masses, determination, ability, in order to use this crisis for a successful, victorious revolution. It was to prepare this "proof" that we gathered mainly for a real congress of the Communist International" (ibid., p. 203). Revolutionary experience. the battles of 1917-20, the experience of the victories and defeats of the proletariat showed what an enormous role the party of the working class plays in the struggle, its theory, strategy and tactics, and the principles of its organization. construction. The II Congress of K. I. was, according to Lenin, to become a turning point in the development of the Communist Parties, to give impetus and create conditions for the formation of parties of a new type, so that this process would not lag behind the course of events and so that the parties could quickly take root in the working class. movement of their countries. It was this that dictated the need for 21 conditions for admission to K.I., utverzhd. Aug 6 1920 II Congress. The main among these conditions were: the recognition of the dictatorship of the proletariat as the main principle of the revolution. struggle and 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 ch. organizational the principle of the party, the obligation for the party of the resolutions of the congresses and plenums of the Communist Party and its leading bodies. 21 conditions were necessary to ensure the organization. political the foundations of the activities of both K.I. himself and the communist parties that were part of it. The conditions proceeded from Lenin's doctrine of a new type of party and played an enormous role in forging Marxist-Leninist parties and their cadres, in the fight against opportunism and in the further development of world communistism. movement. Compar. small number of young communist parties, political. inexperience of their staff and theoretical. their immaturity demanded the most decide. protecting them from pressure not only from open opportunists, who pushed back the revolutionaries. tasks of the labor movement and anathematized the first span. state, but also from the influence of elements sincerely mistaken, besotted by reformism, whose inconsistency and inclination to compromise with traitors fly by. affairs ruled out the possibility of unity with them. 21 condition was the shield, which protected the ideological and political. the integrity of the young communist. movement. At that time, the most important problem of international the labor movement was to consolidate it on the positions of the revolutionaries. span. internationalism. span requirements. internationalism in that situation consisted primarily in the selfless support of the Sov. republics as a unit. countries of the victorious socialist. revolution and nature. bases of the world revolution. movement. From the side of the owls. span of communists. internationalism was expressed in doing the maximum possible to preserve and strengthen this revolution. base and, relying on it, to help the working class of other countries to stand firmly on the revolutionary. way to fight against capitalism. 21 conditions just contained the necessary and absolutely obligatory sum of the requirements of the flight. internationalism, to-rye and allowed K. I. to perform his function as an organizer of the revolution. working class movements. Some of the paragraphs of this document were of a temporary and, so to speak, emergency nature, while the other, main. part, embodied the principles of Leninism, valid throughout the whole East. era. The centrist parties participating in the work of the Second Congress could not rise to an understanding of the East. responsibility to the working-class movement, which has entered a new era in its development. They did not accept the conditions for admission to K.I. and in Feb. 1921 created at a conference in Vienna so-called. International workers' union of the socialist parties, which went down in history under the name. two-half International. This International actually played the role of a kind of dam, designed to slow down the revolution. flow, to keep the masses from going over to the positions of communism. In 1923, the 21/2 International merged with the 2 International (Bern) to form the Socialist Workers' International (Socintern). Of great fundamental importance were the decisions adopted by the II Congress of K. I. on nat. and colon. questions. Based on the fact that in the new ist. era nat.-liberation movement becomes an integral part of the world socialist. revolution, the congress set the task of draining the revolution. struggle of the proletariat developed countries with nat.-liberate. struggle of the oppressed peoples in a single anti-imperialist. flow. The rise of the socialist state-va and its leading role in the global revolution. movement was opened to those fighting for nat. the independence of the peoples, new enormous opportunities and, above all, the prospect of a transition to socialism, bypassing the capitalist stage. development. That is why the Second Congress, with all resoluteness, reflected in its resolution the Leninist idea of a close alliance of all nationalities. and colonial-liberate. movements with the Sov. Russia. At the same time, the congress pointed out the need to combat the petty-bourgeois. nationalistic prejudices, which comes to the fore as the dictatorship of the proletariat turns into an internat. strength. When determining the positions of the Communist parties on agr. On the issue, the congress proceeded from the Leninist principles of the alliance of the proletariat and the peasantry and the inevitability after the victory of the socialist. revolution replacing the individual cross. x-va collective, emphasizing, however, that in solving this problem it is necessary to act "with great caution and gradualism." Congress adopted the Charter of K. I., based on the principle of democratic. centralism, and also elected the governing body of K. I. - Performed. to-t (ECCI) and other bodies. Characterizing ist. significance of the Second Congress, Lenin said: “First, the Communists had to proclaim their principles to the whole world. This was done at the First Congress. This is the first step. from the centrists, from the direct and indirect agents of the bourgeoisie within the labor movement. This was done at the Second Congress" (Soch., vol. 32, p. 494). At the end of 1920 - early. 1921 intl. the situation began to change. In many countries, the first post-war began. economic crisis, taking advantage of the Crimea, the bourgeoisie went on the offensive against the working class. The character of the class. battles of the proletariat began to change - from offensive they began to turn into defensive ones. The pace of development of the world span. revolution slowed down. Change int. The situation demanded a change in K. I.’s tactics. It was obvious that it was not possible to break world capitalism by a direct assault, by a “Red Guard attack”. A more thorough and systematic preparation of the revolution was required, and this posed the problem of being drawn into the revolution to its full potential. the struggle of the broad masses of the working people, the actual mastery of all the forms and methods of the class. struggle. Turning to the New Economic Policy, to-ry was the first link in the implementation of Lenin's brilliant plan for building socialism in one country under capitalist conditions. environment, the Bolshevik Party again showed a pattern of political change. line in accordance with the change in the objective situation. World imperialism managed to resist the first onslaught of the revolutionaries. forces. Therefore, the struggle of two social forces on the world stage - capitalism and the Soviet state - was transferred to the economic plan. competitions. It expressed the main contradiction of the era. "The fact that you have to make war with us in the field of the economy is a huge progress," Lenin said in December. 1920, referring to the capitalist. powers of the West (Soch., vol. 31, p. 422). Devastated, plundered, thrown back decades from the pre-war. economic level, already low, Russia threw down a challenge no less revolutionary than before to the richest powers in the world. “We speak and speak,” declared Lenin, “we undertake to build the whole world on rational economic foundations...” (ibid.). “Now we are exerting our main influence on the international revolution by our economic policy... If we solve this problem, then we will surely and definitively win on an international scale” (ibid., vol. 32, p. 413). All international. communist the movement was to undergo a major restructuring in accordance with the requirements of a new stage in world development. The task of the Third Congress of the Comintern, held in Moscow in June-July 1921, was precisely to "...determine exactly how to work further, both tactically and organizationally" (ibid., p. 494). The congress was attended by 608 delegates from 103 org-tions (including from 48 communist parties) from 52 countries. The congress was stormy, in an atmosphere of heated discussions. The fact is that some of the delegates arrived in Moscow with the firm opinion that the old slogans "Down with the Centrists" and "Offensive tactics" remain in force, despite the change in the situation. The situation was complicated by the fact that certain representatives of the RCP(b) in the ECCI shared such views, believing that K. I. should take a "course to the left." Even before the start of the congress, Lenin had to wage a sharp struggle against "leftist stupidities." Under the leadership of Lenin, a draft theses was prepared, in which the tactics of the United Workers' Front were first developed. The theses put forward the slogan of joint action with all the organizations of the working class, including the centrists, in defense of the immediate. economic and political interests of the working people, against the counteroffensive of the bourgeoisie. The delegates of the communist parties of Germany, Austria, Italy and part of Czechoslovakia subjected the theses to criticism from the "left". They contributed numerous the amendments, which fundamentally changed the meaning of the project, reproached Lenin for being on the "right wing of the congress." On July 1, 1921, Lenin delivered his famous speech at the congress in defense of the tactics of the Comintern. This performance brilliant strategist revolution can still serve as an example of how communist revolutionaries should act when faced with a change in the real situation: not to stick to the old slogans, although correct, but taken off the agenda by life itself, and even more so, not to oppose general provisions Marxism, the need to specifically analyze the new situation and, accordingly, change the political. well. The “leftists” at the congress noisily rejected the draft theses from the positions of the so-called. offensive theory. Lenin declared to them: the one who, in principle, in a broad ist. plan, does not agree with the theory of the attack of the working class on capitalism, he is not a communist and that must be excluded. But the one who, under this pretext in the prevailing to the middle. The situation in 1921 demands that at all costs, immediately, immediately "attack" the bourgeoisie, which pushes the working class on an adventure and can ruin the communist. a party which, if it follows such a call, will inevitably prove to be a vanguard without a mass, a headquarters without an army. The "Lefts" at the congress demanded that the main blow and the main forces of the communists in the workers' movement, as before, be directed against the centrists (that is, against the current of the revisionist persuasion). Lenin showed the full theoretical. failure and politics. the harm of such a position. KI, he said, not only ideologically defeated the centrists, but also expelled them from his ranks. The “Lefts”, on the other hand, are turning the struggle against the Centrists – this essentially a settled issue – into a sport and, repeating countless times the same tired “exercises” against Centrism, they want to be believed that they are engaged in a serious revolution. deed. To this we answer them,” said Lenin, “Stop! Decisive struggle! Otherwise, the Communist International perished” (ibid., p. 447). Serious revolution. work in the new conditions was that the young communist. the parties, protected from centrism and Right opportunism, have shown in practice that they are the vanguard of the working-class movement, that they know how to unite with the masses, rally them around the correct line, create a united front of the working class, even, where necessary, making compromises with others. . political currents and org-tions. In this sense, Lenin approved as an exemplary political. act "Open Letter" of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Germany (January 1921), which contained an appeal to all organizations of the working class to jointly fight against the offensive of the bourgeoisie. Our first task, - said Lenin, - is the creation of a communist. parties. The slogans of the 1st and 2nd Congresses were "Down with the Centrists!". But it will only prepare. school. Now we need to move forward. The second step will be to organize yourself into a party and learn how to prepare the revolution. And this requires, first of all, the conquest of the majority, the conquest of the working masses. The Third Congress of the Comintern unanimously approved the theses on tactics developed under Lenin's leadership. The decisions of the congress caused a wide resonance in the communist. parties, although in some places the new tactics were not immediately understood. But Lenin consistently defended new correct positions. Even during the work of the congress at a meeting of German, Polish, Czechoslovak, Hungarian and Italian delegates, he said: “We did not hesitate to call our leftists “adventurers” in the face of our enemies ... But we said that every attempt to be a little, at least a little , to the left of the Central Committee is stupidity and whoever is to the left of the Central Committee has already lost a simple common sense ... Our only strategy now is to become stronger, and therefore smarter, more prudent, "more opportunistic", and this we must say to the masses" (Leninsky Sb., vol. XXXVI, 1959, p. 282). Fundamentals of the tactics of the united workers' front , which received their further development at the VII Congress of K. I., and then in our time, were developed by Lenin precisely at the III Congress of K. I. "More thorough, more solid preparation for new, more and more decisive battles as defensive, and offensive - that is the main and main thing in the decisions of the Third Congress" (Soch., vol. 32, p. 496). This is how Lenin defined the significance of this, one of the most important congresses of the Comintern. On the basis of the decisions of the congress, the Presidium of the ECCI in December. adopted detailed theses on a united workers' front in 1921. The first experience of applying the new tactics in the international communist and labor movement was the conference of the three Internationals (3rd, 2nd and 2nd) held in April 1922 in Berlin. an agreement was reached to conduct joint demos nstrations under the slogans of the struggle for an 8-hour working day, against unemployment, for the restoration of diplomatic. relations with the Soviet Russia. However, V. I. Lenin believed that these agreements were reached at too high a price, since the delegation of the Comintern (Klara Zetkin, N. I. Bukharin and K. Radek) made excessive and irrelevant to the essence of the issue of unity of political action. concessions to representatives of the 2nd and 2nd Internationals. IV Congress of K. I., held in November. - Dec. 1922, in terms of its problems, was, as it were, a continuation of the work of the Third Congress. “The main task,” Lenin wrote in his greeting to the congress, “as before, is to win over the majority of the workers. And we will fulfill this task, in spite of everything” (ibid., vol. 33, p. 379). The congress was attended by 408 delegates from 66 organizations from 58 countries of the world. In a report dedicated to the fifth anniversary of Oct. revolution and the prospects of the world revolution, Lenin substantiated the position on the need for the Communist parties not only to be able to advance during the period of upsurge, but to learn to retreat in the ebb of the revolution. waves. On the example of NEP in Russia, he showed how to use time. retreat to prepare a new attack on capitalism. Already the first results of the NEP were favorable - it ensured the restoration of bunks. x-va countries, and the strengthening of the Sov. Russia meant strengthening the base of the world revolution. The prospects for the world revolution will be even better, V. I. Lenin pointed out, if all communist parties learn and learn to master the organization, construction, method and content of revolutions. work. Foreign communist parties "...should take part of the Russian experience" (ibid., p. 394). The IV Congress of K. I. paid great attention to the fascist. danger (in connection with the establishment of a fascist dictatorship in Hungary and Italy), as the most open form of offensive by the bourgeoisie. Congress stressed that the means of struggle against fascism is the tactics of the united workers' front. In order to rally in a united front the broad masses of working people, not yet ready to fight for the dictatorship of the proletariat, but already capable of participating in the economic. and political struggle against the bourgeoisie, the slogan of the workers' pr-va was put forward (later expanded to the slogan of the workers' cross. pr-va). The congress pointed to the need to fight for the unity of the trade union movement, which found itself in a state of deep split (in 1919, the Amsterdam International of Trade Unions took shape, and in 1921, the Profintern). Congress clarified that the specific application of the united front tactic in the context of the columns. and dependent countries is a single anti-imperialist. front uniting the national patriotic forces of the country capable of fighting against colonialism. 1923 was the year of the last tide of the post-war. revolutionary waves. However, the actions of the proletariat, including the armed ones (in Germany, Bulgaria, Poland), were not successful, the proletariat here again suffered defeat, the communist parties revealed their weakness. German tragedy. revolution, noted E. Thalmann, consisted in the subjective weakness of it. labor movement, expressed in the absence of span. parties of a new type. K. I. was faced with the task of strengthening the communist parties on the basis of their mastery of Leninism - a task that was called the Bolshevization of the communist parties. This task had to be solved in a very difficult situation. After the defeat of the working class in 1923, a period of partial stabilization of capitalism began. The right-wing leaders of the Social Democracy and the reformist trade unions took advantage of it to instill a class policy in the workers' movement. cooperation. Thus, the Marseilles Congress (1925) of the Socialist International declared that the stabilization of capitalism meant its development along the path of "political and economic democracy," that cooperation between the working class and its orgs with the bourgeoisie was natural. path to socialism. The theory of "organized capitalism" put forward in these years by R. Hilferding, the essence of which is to justify the peaceful growth of capitalism into socialism, was approved by the Brussels Congress (1928) of the Socialist International. The latter called on the Social-Democrats. parties to fight both "against the dictatorship on the right and against the dictatorship on the left." In practice, this led to the fact that the right-wing Social Democracy Ch. arr. fought against the USSR and the Communist parties. In the conditions of time respite, to-ruyu received capitalism, the weaknesses of the communist began to affect even more noticeably. movement. In the communist parties, both right-wing elements and leftist-sectarian, Trotskyist elements raised their heads. In Jan. 1924 Lenin died. It was a huge loss for the world communist. movement. After Lenin's death, bitterness arose in the ranks of the RCP(b). disputes on fundamental questions of strategy and tactics of the world span. revolution and building socialism in the USSR. Trotsky and his followers opposed Lenin's theory of the possibility of building socialism in one country and imposed the disastrous line on the arts for the RCP(b) and the whole of KI. inciting a "revolutionary fire" in the capitalist countries. However, the RCP (b), the Comintern defended Lenin's views on the nature of the revolution, Lenin's understanding of the revolution. debt of the first country of socialism. “Revolutions,” Lenin taught, “are not made to order, are not timed to one or another moment, but mature in the process of historical development and break out at a moment determined by a complex of a number of internal and external causes” (Soch., vol. 27, p.
