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The Comintern ('''Com'''munist '''Intern'''ational, also known as the '''Third International''') was an international in 1916 , following the 1915 Zimmerwald Conference in which Lenin had led the " Zimmerwald Left " against those who supported the " National Union " governments in war with each other. The Comintern held seven World Congresses, the first in March 1919 and the last in 1935 . As of 1928 it was estimated that the organization had 583 105 members, excluding its Soviet membership. {Link without Title} At the start of World War II , the Comintern supported a policy of non-intervention, arguing that this was an imperialist war between various national Ruling Classes , much as World War I had been. However, when the Soviet Union itself was invaded on June 22 , 1941 , during Operation Barbarossa , the Comintern switched its position to one of active support for the Allies . The Comintern was subsequently officially dissolved in 1943 . ORIGINS From the First to the Second International Although divisions between revolutionary and reformist-minded elements had been developing for a considerable time, the origins of the Communist International derive from the split in the Workers' Movement that surfaced in 1914 with the beginning of the First World War. The First International , founded in 1864, had split between the socialists and the Anarchists who preferred not to enter the political arena, setting their sights instead on the creation of a strong Anarcho-syndicalist movement (a.k.a. the "International Workingmen's Association"). The Second International, founded in 1889, followed, but tensions surfaced again in the new International. "Socialist participation in a bourgeois government"? For example, as far back as 1899, reformist or right-wing elements in the socialist movement had supported the entry of French Independent Socialist Millerand into Waldeck-Rousseau 's Republican cabinet (1899-1902), which included as Minister Of War none other than the Marquis De Galliffet , best known for his role during the repression of the 1871 Paris Commune . On the other hand, revolutionary or left-wing elements were fiercely opposed to this development. In France , this was represented by the debate between Jules Guesde , whom opposed himself to socialist participation in a " Bourgeois government", and Jean Jaurès , considered as one of the founder of Social-democracy . Thus, Jules Guesde declared in 1899: "Wherever the Proletariat , organized in a class party -- which is to say a party of revolution —- can penetrate an elective assembly; wherever it can penetrate an enemy citadel, it has not only the right, but the obligation to make a breach and set up a socialist garrison in the capitalist fortress! But in those places where it penetrates not by the will of the workers, not by socialist force; there where it penetrates only with the consent, on the invitation, and consequently in the interests of the capitalist class, socialism should not enter." Jules Guesde's speech to the 1899 General Congress of French socialist organizations Criticizing the belief "that by a portfolio granted to one of his own socialism has truly conquered power — when it’s really power that conquered him", Jules Guesde thought that "such a state of affairs, if we don’t quickly put an end to it, would bring on the irremediable bankruptcy of socialism. The organized workers considering themselves duped, some will lend an ear to on the "Two Methods", held during several hours before 8,000 persons. Revisionism Also important was the controversy over the publication of path to socialism and received powerful criticism from, among others, Karl Kautsky and the young Rosa Luxemburg , who criticized him as a Revisionist . The revisionist current would come to dominate the Second International, one of the factors in the subsequent break with it by revolutionary socialists. Aftermath of the 1905 Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution Of 1905 had the effect of radicalizing many socialist parties, as did a number of General Strikes in pursuit of Universal Suffrage in Western European countries. At this point the Second International appeared to be a united body that was growing at every election and in every advanced country. Karl Kautsky, aptly dubbed the Pope of Marxism, was at his most radical as the editor of the highly influential '' Die Neue Zeit '' (The New Time), the theoretical journal of the massive Social Democratic Party Of Germany (SPD) which was the flagship of the International. However, by 1910 , divisions were appearing in the left of Social Democracy (as the Marxists who dominated the International described themselves), and left-wing thinkers such as Rosa Luxemburg and the Dutch theoretician Anton Pannekoek were becoming ever more critical of Kautsky. From this point onwards then it is possible to speak of there being a reformist right, a centre and a revolutionary left within the International. Interestingly, from the point of view of later events, both the Menshevik and Bolshevik wings of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party were counted amongst the revolutionary left wing. The quarreling groups of Russian Emigres were not held in high regard by the leaders of the International and were unknown to the general public. Failure of the Second International confronted with World War I World War I was to prove to be the issue which finally and irrevocably separated the revolutionary and reformist wings of the workers movement. The socialist movement had been historically Antimilitarist and Internationalist , and was therefore opposed to being used as "cannon fodder" for the "bourgeois" governments at war. This especially since the Triple Alliance (1882) gathered two empires, while the Triple Entente itself gathered the French Third Republic and the United Kingdom Of Great Britain And Ireland with the Russian Empire . '' The Communist Manifesto '' had stated that "workers' do not have any Fatherland ", and exclaimed " Proletarians Of All Countries, Unite! " Massive majorities voted in favor of resolutions for the Second International to call upon the international working class to resist war should it be declared. Despite this, within hours of the declaration of war, almost all the socialist parties of the combatant states had announced their support for their own countries. The only exceptions were the socialist parties of the Balkans, Russia and tiny minorities in other countries. To Lenin's surprise, even the German SPD voted the war credits. Finally, the assassination of French Socialist Jean Jaurès on July 31 , 1914 , killed the last hope of peace, by taking out one of the few leaders who possessed enough influence on the international socialist movement to block it from aligning itself on national policies and supporting National Union Governments . Socialist parties of Neutral Countries for the most part continued to argue for neutrality, and against total opposition to the war. On the other hand, Lenin organized the "Zimmerwald Left" opposed to the " Imperialist war" during the 1915 Zimmerwald Conference , and published the Pamphlet ''Socialism and War'', in which he called all socialists who collaborated with their national governments " Social-Chauvinist s" (socialist in their words but chauvinist in their deeds). The International was being divided between a revolutionary left, a reformist right and a centre wavering between each pole. Lenin also condemned much of the centre, which often opposed the war but refused to break Party Discipline and therefore voted war credits, as social-pacifists. This latter term was aimed in particular at Ramsay MacDonald (leader of the Independent Labour Party in Britain ) who did in fact oppose the war on grounds of Pacifism but had not actively resisted it. Discredited by its passivity towards world events, the Second International was henceforth dissolved in the middle of the war, in 1916. In 1917, Lenin published the ''. FOUNDING The Comintern was thus founded in these conditions in at a congress . The main topic of discussion was the difference between " Bourgeois Democracy " and the " Dictatorship Of The Proletariat ". Marxist Internet Archive The following parties and movements were invited to the first congress: ]]
Of these, the following attended: the Communist Parties of Russia, Germany, German Austria, Hungary, Poland, Finland, Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, Byelorussia, Estonia, Armenia, the Volga German region; the Swedish Social Democratic Left Party (the Opposition), Balkan Revolutionary People's of Russia; Zimmerwald Left Wing of France; the Czech, Bulgarian, Yugoslav, British, French and Swiss Communist Groups; the Dutch Social-Democratic Group; Socialist Propaganda League and the Socialist Labor Party of America; Socialist Workers' Party of China; Korean Workers' Union, Turkestan, Turkish, Georgian, Azerbaijanian and Persian Sections of the Central Bureau of the Eastern People's, and the Zimmerwald Commission. Marxist Internet Archive Delegates with decisive vote were: ( Turkestan ), Mustafa Suphi ( Turkey ), Tengiz Zhgenti ( Georgian ), Mir Jafar Baghirov ( Azerbaijan ) and Mirza Davud Huseynov ( Persia ). Source:[http://www.marxists.org/history/international/comintern/1st-congress/delegates.htm] THE FIRST FOUR WORLD CONGRESSES The first Chairman of the Comintern's Executive Committee was of the World Revolution ". William Henry Chamberlin ''Soviet Russia: A Living Record and a History'' 1929, chapter 11 ; Max Shachtman "For the Fourth International!" ''New International'', Vol.1 No.1, July 1934 ; Walter Kendall "Lenin and the Myth of World Revolution", ''Revolutionary History'' ). Ahead of the Second Congress of the Communist International, held in 1920, Lenin sent out a number of documents, including his lines, in which the party press and parliamentary factions would be under the direct control of the party leadership. Many European socialist parties went through splits on the basis of the adhesion or not to the new International. The French SFIO ("French Section of the Workers International") thus broke away with the 1920 Tours Congress , leading to the creation of the new French Communist Party (initially called "French Section of the Communist International" - SFIC); the Communist Party Of Spain was created in 1920, the Italian Communist Party was created in 1921, the Belgian Communist Party in September 1921, etc. Writings from the Third Congress, held in June-July 1921, talked about how the struggle could be transformed into "civil war" when the circumstances were favorable and "openly revolutionary uprisings". played a prominent role, continued in this vein.http://www.marxists.org/history/international/comintern/4th-congress/index.htm Marxist Internet Archive] During this early period, known as the "First Period" in Comintern history, with the Bolshevik revolution under attack in the Russian Civil War and a Wave Of Revolutions Across Europe , the Comintern's priority was exporting the October Revolution. Some Communist Parties had secret military wings. On example is the M-Apparat of the Communist Party Of Germany . Its purpose was to prepare for the civil war the Communists believed was impending in Germany, and to liquidate opponents and informers who might have infiltrated the party. There was also a Paramilitary organization, the Rotfrontkämpferbund . The Black Book Of Communism pp. 282; Marxist Internet Archive The Comintern was involved in the revolutions across Europe in this period, starting with the Hungarian Soviet Republic in 1919. Several hundred agitators and financial aid were sent from the Soviet Union and Lenin was in regular contact with its leader, Bela Kun . Soon an official "Terror Group of the Revolutionary Council of the Government" was formed, unofficially known as " Lenin Boys ". The Black Book Of Communism pp. 272-5 The next attempt was the " March Action " in Germany in 1921, including an attempt to dynamite the express train from Halle to Leipzig. When this failed Lenin ordered the removal of the leader of the Communist Party Of Germany , Paul Levi , from power. The Black Book Of Communism pp. 276-7 A new attempt was made at the time of the Ruhr Crisis . The Red Army was mobilized, ready to come to the aid of the planned insurrection. Resolute action by the German government cancelled the plans, except due to miscommunication in Hamburg, where 200-300 Communists attacked police stations but where quickly defeated. The Black Book Of Communism pp. 277-8 In 1924 there was Failed Coup In Estonia by the Estonian Communist Party . The Black Book Of Communism pp. 278-9 Several international organizations were sponsored by the Comintern in this period:
In 1924, the were supported. After the definite break with Chiang Kai-shek in 1927, Stalin sent personal emissaries to help organize revolts which at this time failed. The Black Book Of Communism pp. 280-82 FROM THE FIFTH TO THE SEVENTH WORLD CONGRESS The Second Period Lenin died in 1924. 1925 signalled a shift from the immediate activity of world revolution towards a defence of the Soviet state. In that year, Stalin upheld the thesis of " Socialism In One Country ", detailed by Nikolai Bukharin in his brochure ''Can We Build Socialism in One Country in the Absence of the Victory of the West-European Proletariat?'' (April 1925 ). The position was finalized as the state policy after Stalin's January 1926 article ''On the Issues of Leninism''. The perspective of a World Revolution was dismissed after the failures of the Spartacist Uprising in Germany and of the Hungarian Soviet Republic, and the reflux of all revolutionary movements in Europe, such as in Italy , where the Fascist '' Squadristi '' broke the strikes and quickly assumed power following the 1922 March On Rome ). This period, up to 1928, was known as the "Second Period", mirroring the shift in the USSR from War Communism to the New Economic Policy . Duncan Hallas ''The Comintern'', chapter 5 At the Vth Comintern Congress in July , who already held considerable power by this time. Bukharin then led the Comintern for two years, until 1928 when he too fell out with Stalin. Bulgaria n Communist leader Georgi Dimitrov headed the Comintern in 1934 and presided until its dissolution. The Third Period In 1928, the 9th Plenum of the Executive Committee began the so-called " line. In particular, the Comintern described all moderate left-wing parties as " Social Fascists ", and urged the Communists devote their energies to the destruction of the moderate left. With the rise of the Nazi movement in Germany after 1930, this stance became somewhat controversial with many such as the Polish Communist historian Isaac Deutscher criticizing the tactics of the Communist Party Of Germany of treating the S.P.D. as the principal enemy. In 1932 special sections were established in many Communist parties with the purpose to keep complete records of all party activists to gather questionnaires from all the leaders. More than 5,000 such dossiers were sent from the French Communist Party alone to Moscow before the war. The Black Book Of Communism p. 292 7TH CONGRESS AND THE POPULAR FRONT The seventh and last congress of the Comintern was held in 1935 and officially endorsed the Popular Front against fascism. This policy argued that Communist Parties should seek to form a Popular Front with all parties that opposed fascism and not limit themselves to forming a United Front with those parties based in the working class. There was no significant opposition to this policy within any of the national sections of the Comintern; in France and Spain in particular, it would have momentous consequences with Léon Blum 's 1936 election, which led to the Popular Front Government . As the Seventh World Congress officially repudiated the revolutionary overthrow of capitalism as the purpose of the Comintern, Leon Trotsky was led to state that it was the death of the Comintern as a revolutionary International and therefore a new International was needed. Trotsky also argued that the Stalinist parties were now to be considered reformist parties, similar to the social democratic parties (but also playing a role as border guards for the Russian state). As a result, in 1938 the Fourth International was founded in opposition to the Comintern. Its founders believed that the Third International had become thoroughly bureaucratized and Stalinized, and was no longer capable of regenerating itself into a proper revolutionary organization. In particular, they saw the calamitous defeat of the communist movement in Germany (at the hands of the National Socialists ) as evidence that the Comintern was effectively irrelevant and fully under Stalin's control. The Stalin Purges Of The 1930s affected Comintern activists living in the USSR. 133 out of the staff of 492 being victims. Several hundred German Communists and antifascists who had fled from Nazi Germany were killed and more than thousand were handed over to Germany. The Black Book Of Communism p. 298-301. Fritz Platten died in a labor camp; the leaders of the Indian, Korean, Mexican, Iranian and Turkish Communist parties were executed. The only German Communist leaders to survive were Wilhelm Pieck and Walter Ulbricht . Out of 11 Mongolian Communist Party leaders, only Khorloogiin Choibalsan survived. A great number of German Communists were handed over to Hitler . Leopold Trepper recalled these days: "In house, where the party activists of all the countries were living, no-one slept until 3 o'clock in the morning. Exactly 3 o'clock the car lights began to be seen [... . we stayed near the window and waited find out , where the car stopped."Radzinski, ''Stalin'', 1997 DISSOLUTION At the start of World War II , the Comintern supported a policy of Non-intervention , arguing that the war was an imperialist war between various national ruling classes, much like World War I had been (see Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact ). But when the Soviet Union itself was invaded on 22 June 1941 , the Comintern changed its position to one of active support for the Allies . On May 15 1943 , a declaration of the Executive Committee was sent out to all sections of the International, calling for the dissolution of Comintern. The declaration read: "The historical role of the Communist International, organised in 1919 as a result of the political collapse of the overwhelming majority of the old pre-war workers’ parties, consisted in that it preserved the teachings of Marxism from vulgarisation and distortion by opportunist elements of the labor movement. ... Concretely, the declaration asked the member sections to approve: "To dissolve the Communist International as a guiding centre of the international labor movement, releasing sections of the Communist International from the obligations ensuing from the constitution and decisions of the Congresses of the Communist International." After endorsements of the declaration was received from the member sections, the International was dissolved. {Link without Title} Usually, it is asserted that the dissolution came about as Stalin wished to calm his World War II Allies (particularly Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Winston Churchill ) not to suspect that the Soviet Union was pursuing a policy of trying to foment revolution in other countries.Robert Service, ''Stalin. A biography''. (Macmillan - London, 2004), pp 444-445 SUCCESSOR ORGANISATIONS In September 1947, following the June 1947 Paris Conference on Marshall Aid , Stalin gathered a grouping of key European communist parties and set up the Cominform, or ''Communist Information Bureau'', often seen as a substitute to the Comintern. It was a network made up of the Communist Parties of Bulgaria , Czechoslovakia , France , Hungary , Italy , Poland , Romania , the Soviet Union, and Yugoslavia (led by Tito , it was expelled in June 1948). The Cominform was dissolved in 1956, following Stalin's 1953 death and the XXth Congress Of The CPSU . While the Communist parties of the world no longer had a formal international organisation, they continued to maintain close relations with each other, through a series of international forums. In the period directly after dissolution of Comintern, periodical meetings of Communist parties where held in Moscow . Moreover '' World Marxist Review '', a joint periodical of the Communist parties, played an important role in coordinating the communist movement up to the break-up of the Socialist Bloc in 1989 - 1991 . SEE ALSO
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