Founding Congress of the Comintern
Encyclopedia
The Founding Congress of the Comintern was an international gathering of communist
, revolutionary socialist
, and syndicalist
delegates held in Moscow
which established the Communist International. The gathering, held from March 2 to 6, 1919, was attended by 51 representatives of more than two dozen countries from around Europe, North America, and Asia.
erupted across Europe, a conflagration which was to claim millions of lives. Contrary to the pre-war position of the Second International
that its member socialist
parties should resist the call of their imperialist
national governments to fight against one another, the parties of France, Great Britain
, Italy
, Belgium
, Germany
, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire
each rallied to their national banner.
Anti-militarist
radicals in these and other parties around the world were aghast at this perceived "betrayal" of the principles of socialist internationalism
and sought new forms of organization.
In September 1915, 42 delegates of socialist parties gathered at Zimmerwald, Switzerland in an attempt to dissuade the workers
of the combatant nations from continuing to support the slaughter in Europe. This Zimmerwald Conference
adopted a manifesto
rejecting the war and calling for a revival of the struggle for socialism in the combatant countries. The conference elected a coordinating committee and held other conferences in subsequent years in an attempt to advance its agenda.
Within the generally pacifist
Zimmerwald movement there emerged a minority faction which sought to turn the disruption and bloodshed of World War I into a socialist revolution
. This Zimmerwald Left
sought not so much an end to the war as the massive defeat
of the imperial powers behind the war, and their decisive replacement by socialist governments. This tendency was given impetus by the success of the Russian Revolution, first through the victory of the moderate socialist tendency
in March 1917
and more by the victory of the radical Bolshevik party
in November
.
After the 1917 victory of V.I. Lenin and the Bolsheviks, radical factions espousing revolutionary socialism
emerged around the world. Soviet Russia
, the source of inspiration for this movement, remained cut off from the rest of the world, the object of intervention and blockade
by the combatant powers and the site of a multi-fronted civil war
. Even after the Brest-Litovsk Treaty of 1918 and the subsequent end to World War I, the ring against the new Soviet regime drew tighter. It seemed to the Bolshevik leaders and their supporters around the world that only through widespread European revolution could the revolutionary government of Russia be saved.
In the fall of 1918 the beleaguered Russian Communists saw their urgent wish realized with the eruption of revolutions in Germany and elsewhere in Central Europe. The Austro-Hungarian empire disintegrated and the Soviet government of Russia no longer seemed to stand alone. By the end of the year, Communist parties had already been established in Germany
, Austria
, Hungary
, the Netherlands
, and Poland
.
.jpg)
Late in December 1918, the leadership of the Russian Communist Party
decided that the time was ripe for the convocation of a new international association of radical political parties to supplant the discredited Second International. On December 24 a radio broadcast was made from Moscow calling upon the "communists of all countries" to "rally around the revolutionary Third International."
Lenin sought to invite only those organizations which stood for a break with the more conservative elements in their group and who stood for immediate socialist revolution and the establishment of a dictatorship of the proletariat
and a Soviet-style form of government. Lenin hoped for a gathering to be held beginning February 1, 1919, either openly in Berlin
or, if necessary, secretly in Holland. Owing to political difficulties between Soviet Russia and the rather conservative social democratic
government of Germany and the eruption of civil war
there, Berlin was quickly rejected as inhospitable for a foundation congress.
On January 21, 1919, a meeting of about a dozen communists living in Moscow determined to hold a formal gathering in that city, to begin February 15 — little more than 3 weeks hence. The formal convention call was composed by People's Commissar of War Leon Trotsky
and listed invited political organizations by name.
Invited organizations from the English-speaking world included "the left forces in the British Socialist Party
(in particular, representatives of the Maclean
current)," the British Socialist Labour Party
, the Industrial Workers of the World in Britain, the Industrial Workers group in Britain, "revolutionary forces in the shop stewards' movement in Britain, "revolutionary forces in Irish workers organizations," and the Industrial Workers of the World in Australia.
In addition to these, from the United States were invited the American Socialist Labor Party
, "left forces of the American Socialist Party
(especially the current represented by Debs
and that represented by the Socialist Propaganda League
)," the Industrial Workers of the World
in America, and the SLP-affiliated Workers International Industrial Union.
Owing to communications difficulties ensuing from the Allied blockade, few organizations outside of Soviet Russia heard of the convention call in sufficient time to send delegates. About two dozen special messengers were said to have been sent out with the news, but only three or four managed to reach their destinations in time with the news. The call was published in the press, however, in Soviet Russia on January 24, 1919, and in Austria
and Hungary
by the end of the month.
Transport difficulties forced a further postponement of the gathering, with the start date moved back two weeks to March 2, 1919. Despite this additional delay only two parties managed to credential delegates and to successfully get them to Moscow on time for the opening of the meeting. Two prospective delegates — Fritz Platten
of Switzerland
and Karl Steinhardt of Austria
— were arrested and briefly jailed in transit.
As a result, the vast majority of those who sat as delegates to this founding congress of the Communist International had no formal status with the parties which they claimed to represent and the delegates initially decided that the session would be a preparatory conference rather than a formal foundation convention. This initial decision was later overturned by the assembled delegates and the Third, Communist International was declared established.
Over the six days of the congress a total of 51 delegates were registered, representing 35 organizations in 22 countries. All political tendencies in the Zimmerwald Left movement were represented at the gathering with the exception of the left wing of the International Union of Socialist Youth
.
With regard to the English-speaking world, no representative of the various parties and tendencies of Great Britain which were invited were in attendance at the founding congress. The only British representative present was Joseph Fineberg, a member of the British Socialist Party who had come to Soviet Russia on his own in 1918. Fineberg received only non-voting credentials as a representative of British Communists living in Russia.
From the United States there was only Boris Reinstein, a Buffalo, New York
member of the Socialist Labor Party of America (SLP) who had been previously sent to Europe as the party's representative to an altogether different international conclave. Although Reinstein was granted status as a voting delegate at the congress, at no time did the SLP authorize him to act as its representative at the congress and his independent action was subsequently repudiated by the organization. Dutch engineer S.J. Rutgers
, at that time a resident of the United States, sat as a non-voting delegate of the American Socialist Propaganda League as well as holding similar status on behalf of the Dutch Social Democratic Group.
There were no delegates in attendance in either a voting or consultative status from the English-speaking countries of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, or South Africa.
The nationalities outside of Europe were surprisingly well-represented at the founding congress, including a group of five voting delegates from the "United Group of the Eastern Peoples of Russia," a voting delegate from Armenia
, as well as non-voting delegates from Turkey
, Turkestan
, Georgia
, Azerbaijan
, Persia, China
, and Korea
. In all these 13 delegates represented fully one-quarter of the 52 voting and non-voting delegates to the gathering.
The largest and most influential delegation, not surprisingly, was that of Soviet Russia. In addition to the five delegates assigned as representatives of the various "Eastern peoples" of the former Russian empire
, six regular and two consultative delegates were in attendance, including such key figures of the Russian Communist Party as Lenin, Trotsky, Grigori Zinoviev, Nikolai Bukharin
, Georgii Chicherin, V.V. Vorovsky
, and N. Osinsky. Although the name of Soviet People's Commissar of Nationalities Joseph Stalin
also appeared on the delegate list, there is no indication that he actually participated in the congress.
The delegates were, in general, younger than had been typical at previous international socialist gatherings. Of the 43 delegates for whom an age is known, 5 were in their 20s and 24 were in their 30s, with only the American Boris Reinstein over the age of 50.
in Moscow in a small hall in the Courts of Justice. The long, narrow hall was barely large enough for 100 people, with the delegates seated upon flimsy chairs at small tables spaced throughout the room.
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
, revolutionary socialist
Revolutionary socialism
The term revolutionary socialism refers to Socialist tendencies that advocate the need for fundamental social change through revolution by mass movements of the working class, as a strategy to achieve a socialist society...
, and syndicalist
Syndicalism
Syndicalism is a type of economic system proposed as a replacement for capitalism and an alternative to state socialism, which uses federations of collectivised trade unions or industrial unions...
delegates held in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
which established the Communist International. The gathering, held from March 2 to 6, 1919, was attended by 51 representatives of more than two dozen countries from around Europe, North America, and Asia.
Background to the gathering
In August 1914, warWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
erupted across Europe, a conflagration which was to claim millions of lives. Contrary to the pre-war position of the Second International
Second International
The Second International , the original Socialist International, was an organization of socialist and labour parties formed in Paris on July 14, 1889. At the Paris meeting delegations from 20 countries participated...
that its member socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
parties should resist the call of their imperialist
Imperialism
Imperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationships, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." The imperialism of the last 500 years,...
national governments to fight against one another, the parties of France, Great Britain
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
, Italy
Italian Socialist Party
The Italian Socialist Party was a socialist and later social-democratic political party in Italy founded in Genoa in 1892.Once the dominant leftist party in Italy, it was eclipsed in status by the Italian Communist Party following World War II...
, Belgium
Belgian Labour Party
The Belgian Labour Party, called Belgische Werkliedenpartij in Dutch and Parti Ouvrier Belge in French, was the first socialist party in Belgium, founded in 1885.-History:...
, Germany
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire
Social Democratic Party of Austria
The Social Democratic Party of Austria is one of the oldest political parties in Austria. The SPÖ is one of the two major parties in Austria, and has ties to trade unions and the Austrian Chamber of Labour. The SPÖ is among the few mainstream European social-democratic parties that have preserved...
each rallied to their national banner.
Anti-militarist
Antimilitarism
Antimilitarism is a doctrine commonly found in the anarchist and, more globally, in the socialist movement, which may both be characterized as internationalist movements. It relies heavily on a critical theory of nationalism and imperialism, and was an explicit goal of the First and Second...
radicals in these and other parties around the world were aghast at this perceived "betrayal" of the principles of socialist internationalism
Internationalism (politics)
Internationalism is a political movement which advocates a greater economic and political cooperation among nations for the theoretical benefit of all...
and sought new forms of organization.
In September 1915, 42 delegates of socialist parties gathered at Zimmerwald, Switzerland in an attempt to dissuade the workers
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
of the combatant nations from continuing to support the slaughter in Europe. This Zimmerwald Conference
Zimmerwald Conference
The Zimmerwald Conference was held in Zimmerwald, Switzerland, from September 5 through September 8, 1915. It was an international socialist conference, which saw the beginning of the end of the coalition between revolutionary socialists and reformist socialists in the Second International.-...
adopted a manifesto
Manifesto
A manifesto is a public declaration of principles and intentions, often political in nature. Manifestos relating to religious belief are generally referred to as creeds. Manifestos may also be life stance-related.-Etymology:...
rejecting the war and calling for a revival of the struggle for socialism in the combatant countries. The conference elected a coordinating committee and held other conferences in subsequent years in an attempt to advance its agenda.
Within the generally pacifist
Pacifism
Pacifism is the opposition to war and violence. The term "pacifism" was coined by the French peace campaignerÉmile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress inGlasgow in 1901.- Definition :...
Zimmerwald movement there emerged a minority faction which sought to turn the disruption and bloodshed of World War I into a socialist revolution
Revolution
A revolution is a fundamental change in power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively short period of time.Aristotle described two types of political revolution:...
. This Zimmerwald Left
Zimmerwald Left
The Zimmerwald Left was a revolutionary minority fraction at the Zimmerwald Peace Conference of 1915, headed by Lenin. The Left of the Zimmerwald Congress was made up of eight out of 38 people: Lenin, Zinoviev , Jānis K. Bērziņš , Karl Radek , Julian Borchardt , Fritz Platten , Zeth Höglund and...
sought not so much an end to the war as the massive defeat
Defeatism
Defeatism is acceptance of defeat without struggle. In everyday use, defeatism has negative connotation and is often linked to treason and pessimism, or even a hopeless situation such as a Catch-22...
of the imperial powers behind the war, and their decisive replacement by socialist governments. This tendency was given impetus by the success of the Russian Revolution, first through the victory of the moderate socialist tendency
Menshevik
The Mensheviks were a faction of the Russian revolutionary movement that emerged in 1904 after a dispute between Vladimir Lenin and Julius Martov, both members of the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party. The dispute originated at the Second Congress of that party, ostensibly over minor issues...
in March 1917
February Revolution
The February Revolution of 1917 was the first of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. Centered around the then capital Petrograd in March . Its immediate result was the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, the end of the Romanov dynasty, and the end of the Russian Empire...
and more by the victory of the radical Bolshevik party
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
in November
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
.
After the 1917 victory of V.I. Lenin and the Bolsheviks, radical factions espousing revolutionary socialism
Revolutionary socialism
The term revolutionary socialism refers to Socialist tendencies that advocate the need for fundamental social change through revolution by mass movements of the working class, as a strategy to achieve a socialist society...
emerged around the world. Soviet Russia
Soviet Russia
Soviet Russia usually refers to the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, one of the fifteen republics of the Soviet Union. It may also denote:* Soviet Russia , magazine of the Friends of Soviet Russia in the United States...
, the source of inspiration for this movement, remained cut off from the rest of the world, the object of intervention and blockade
Blockade
A blockade is an effort to cut off food, supplies, war material or communications from a particular area by force, either in part or totally. A blockade should not be confused with an embargo or sanctions, which are legal barriers to trade, and is distinct from a siege in that a blockade is usually...
by the combatant powers and the site of a multi-fronted civil war
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
. Even after the Brest-Litovsk Treaty of 1918 and the subsequent end to World War I, the ring against the new Soviet regime drew tighter. It seemed to the Bolshevik leaders and their supporters around the world that only through widespread European revolution could the revolutionary government of Russia be saved.
In the fall of 1918 the beleaguered Russian Communists saw their urgent wish realized with the eruption of revolutions in Germany and elsewhere in Central Europe. The Austro-Hungarian empire disintegrated and the Soviet government of Russia no longer seemed to stand alone. By the end of the year, Communist parties had already been established in Germany
Communist Party of Germany
The Communist Party of Germany was a major political party in Germany between 1918 and 1933, and a minor party in West Germany in the postwar period until it was banned in 1956...
, Austria
Communist Party of Austria
The Communist Party of Austria is a communist party based in Austria. Established in 1918, it was banned between 1933 and 1945 under both the Austrofascist regime, and German control of Austria during World War II...
, Hungary
Hungarian Communist Party
The Communist Party of Hungary , renamed Hungarian Communist Party in 1945, was founded on November 24, 1918, and was in power in Hungary briefly from March to August 1919 under Béla Kun and the Hungarian Soviet Republic. The communist government was overthrown by the Romanian Army and driven...
, the Netherlands
Communist Party of the Netherlands
The Communist Party of the Netherlands was a Dutch communist political party. The CPN is one of the predecessors of the GreenLeft.- Foundation :...
, and Poland
Communist Party of Poland
The Communist Party of Poland is a historical communist party in Poland. It was a result of the fusion of Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania and the Polish Socialist Party-Left in the Communist Workers Party of Poland .-1918-1921:The KPRP was founded on 16 December 1918 as...
.
Convention call
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...
decided that the time was ripe for the convocation of a new international association of radical political parties to supplant the discredited Second International. On December 24 a radio broadcast was made from Moscow calling upon the "communists of all countries" to "rally around the revolutionary Third International."
Lenin sought to invite only those organizations which stood for a break with the more conservative elements in their group and who stood for immediate socialist revolution and the establishment of a dictatorship of the proletariat
Dictatorship of the proletariat
In Marxist socio-political thought, the dictatorship of the proletariat refers to a socialist state in which the proletariat, or the working class, have control of political power. The term, coined by Joseph Weydemeyer, was adopted by the founders of Marxism, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, in the...
and a Soviet-style form of government. Lenin hoped for a gathering to be held beginning February 1, 1919, either openly in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
or, if necessary, secretly in Holland. Owing to political difficulties between Soviet Russia and the rather conservative social democratic
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
government of Germany and the eruption of civil war
Civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
there, Berlin was quickly rejected as inhospitable for a foundation congress.
On January 21, 1919, a meeting of about a dozen communists living in Moscow determined to hold a formal gathering in that city, to begin February 15 — little more than 3 weeks hence. The formal convention call was composed by People's Commissar of War Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky , born Lev Davidovich Bronshtein, was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and theorist, Soviet politician, and the founder and first leader of the Red Army....
and listed invited political organizations by name.
Invited organizations from the English-speaking world included "the left forces in the British Socialist Party
British Socialist Party
The British Socialist Party was a Marxist political organisation established in Great Britain in 1911. Following a protracted period of factional struggle, in 1916 the party's anti-war forces gained decisive control of the party and saw the defection of its pro-war Right Wing...
(in particular, representatives of the Maclean
John Maclean (Scottish socialist)
John Maclean MA was a Scottish schoolteacher and revolutionary socialist. He is primarily known as a Marxist educator and notable for his outspoken opposition to the First World War....
current)," the British Socialist Labour Party
Socialist Labour Party (UK, 1903)
The Socialist Labour Party was a socialist political party in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1903 as a splinter from the Social Democratic Federation by James Connolly, Neil Maclean and SDF members impressed with the politics of the American socialist Daniel De Leon, a Marxist...
, the Industrial Workers of the World in Britain, the Industrial Workers group in Britain, "revolutionary forces in the shop stewards' movement in Britain, "revolutionary forces in Irish workers organizations," and the Industrial Workers of the World in Australia.
In addition to these, from the United States were invited the American Socialist Labor Party
Socialist Labor Party of America
The Socialist Labor Party of America , established in 1876 as the Workingmen's Party, is the oldest socialist political party in the United States and the second oldest socialist party in the world. Originally known as the Workingmen's Party of America, the party changed its name in 1877 and has...
, "left forces of the American Socialist Party
Socialist Party of America
The Socialist Party of America was a multi-tendency democratic-socialist political party in the United States, formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party which had split from the main organization...
(especially the current represented by Debs
Eugene V. Debs
Eugene Victor Debs was an American union leader, one of the founding members of the International Labor Union and the Industrial Workers of the World , and several times the candidate of the Socialist Party of America for President of the United States...
and that represented by the Socialist Propaganda League
Socialist Propaganda League of America
The Socialist Propaganda League of America was established in 1915, apparently by C.W. Fitzgerald of Beverly, Massachusetts. The group was a membership organization established within the ranks of the Socialist Party of America and is best remembered as direct lineal antecedent of the Left Wing...
)," the Industrial Workers of the World
Industrial Workers of the World
The Industrial Workers of the World is an international union. At its peak in 1923, the organization claimed some 100,000 members in good standing, and could marshal the support of perhaps 300,000 workers. Its membership declined dramatically after a 1924 split brought on by internal conflict...
in America, and the SLP-affiliated Workers International Industrial Union.
Owing to communications difficulties ensuing from the Allied blockade, few organizations outside of Soviet Russia heard of the convention call in sufficient time to send delegates. About two dozen special messengers were said to have been sent out with the news, but only three or four managed to reach their destinations in time with the news. The call was published in the press, however, in Soviet Russia on January 24, 1919, and in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
by the end of the month.
Transport difficulties forced a further postponement of the gathering, with the start date moved back two weeks to March 2, 1919. Despite this additional delay only two parties managed to credential delegates and to successfully get them to Moscow on time for the opening of the meeting. Two prospective delegates — Fritz Platten
Fritz Platten
Fritz Platten was a Swiss Communist.After the collapse of the Second International, Platten joined the Zimmerwald Movement and became a Communist....
of Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and Karl Steinhardt of Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
— were arrested and briefly jailed in transit.
As a result, the vast majority of those who sat as delegates to this founding congress of the Communist International had no formal status with the parties which they claimed to represent and the delegates initially decided that the session would be a preparatory conference rather than a formal foundation convention. This initial decision was later overturned by the assembled delegates and the Third, Communist International was declared established.
Delegate composition
Over the six days of the congress a total of 51 delegates were registered, representing 35 organizations in 22 countries. All political tendencies in the Zimmerwald Left movement were represented at the gathering with the exception of the left wing of the International Union of Socialist Youth
International Union of Socialist Youth
The International Union of Socialist Youth encompasses socialist, social democratic and Labour Party youth organizations from more than 100 states of the world...
.
With regard to the English-speaking world, no representative of the various parties and tendencies of Great Britain which were invited were in attendance at the founding congress. The only British representative present was Joseph Fineberg, a member of the British Socialist Party who had come to Soviet Russia on his own in 1918. Fineberg received only non-voting credentials as a representative of British Communists living in Russia.
From the United States there was only Boris Reinstein, a Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
member of the Socialist Labor Party of America (SLP) who had been previously sent to Europe as the party's representative to an altogether different international conclave. Although Reinstein was granted status as a voting delegate at the congress, at no time did the SLP authorize him to act as its representative at the congress and his independent action was subsequently repudiated by the organization. Dutch engineer S.J. Rutgers
S. J. Rutgers
Sebald Justin Rutgers was a Dutch Marxist theoretician and journalist who played an important role in the Left Wing section of the Socialist Party of America. He was also a construction engineer who was active in building industry in the Soviet Union.-Early years:S.J. Rutgers was born in Leiden,...
, at that time a resident of the United States, sat as a non-voting delegate of the American Socialist Propaganda League as well as holding similar status on behalf of the Dutch Social Democratic Group.
There were no delegates in attendance in either a voting or consultative status from the English-speaking countries of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, or South Africa.
The nationalities outside of Europe were surprisingly well-represented at the founding congress, including a group of five voting delegates from the "United Group of the Eastern Peoples of Russia," a voting delegate from Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
, as well as non-voting delegates from Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, Turkestan
Turkestan
Turkestan, spelled also as Turkistan, literally means "Land of the Turks".The term Turkestan is of Persian origin and has never been in use to denote a single nation. It was first used by Persian geographers to describe the place of Turkish peoples...
, Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
, Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
, Persia, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, and Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
. In all these 13 delegates represented fully one-quarter of the 52 voting and non-voting delegates to the gathering.
The largest and most influential delegation, not surprisingly, was that of Soviet Russia. In addition to the five delegates assigned as representatives of the various "Eastern peoples" of the former Russian empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, six regular and two consultative delegates were in attendance, including such key figures of the Russian Communist Party as Lenin, Trotsky, Grigori Zinoviev, Nikolai Bukharin
Nikolai Bukharin
Nikolai Ivanovich Bukharin , was a Russian Marxist, Bolshevik revolutionary, and Soviet politician. He was a member of the Politburo and Central Committee , chairman of the Communist International , and the editor in chief of Pravda , the journal Bolshevik , Izvestia , and the Great Soviet...
, Georgii Chicherin, V.V. Vorovsky
V. V. Vorovsky
Vatslav Vatslavovich Vorovsky was a Marxist revolutionary, literary critic, and Soviet Russian diplomat...
, and N. Osinsky. Although the name of Soviet People's Commissar of Nationalities Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
also appeared on the delegate list, there is no indication that he actually participated in the congress.
The delegates were, in general, younger than had been typical at previous international socialist gatherings. Of the 43 delegates for whom an age is known, 5 were in their 20s and 24 were in their 30s, with only the American Boris Reinstein over the age of 50.
Congress location
The Founding Convention was held at the KremlinKremlin
A kremlin , same root as in kremen is a major fortified central complex found in historic Russian cities. This word is often used to refer to the best-known one, the Moscow Kremlin, or metonymically to the government that is based there...
in Moscow in a small hall in the Courts of Justice. The long, narrow hall was barely large enough for 100 people, with the delegates seated upon flimsy chairs at small tables spaced throughout the room.
Further reading
- John Riddell (ed.), Founding the Communist International: Proceedings and Documents of the First Congress, March 1919. New York: Pathfinder Press, 1987.
- Alix Holt and Barbara Holland (trans.), Theses, Resolutions and Manifestos of the First Four Congresses of the Third International. Introduction by Bertil Hessel. London: Ink Links, 1980.
- James W. Hulse, The Forming of the Communist International. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1964.
- Branko Lazitch and Milorad M. Drachkovitch, Lenin and the Comintern: Volume 1. Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution Press, 1972.
See also
- CominternCominternThe Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern, also known as the Third International, was an international communist organization initiated in Moscow during March 1919...
- List of delegates of the 1st Comintern congress
- 2nd World Congress of the Comintern2nd World Congress of the CominternThe 2nd World Congress of the Comintern was a gathering of approximately 220 voting and non-voting representatives of Communist and revolutionary socialist political parties from around the world, held in Petrograd and Moscow from July 19 to August 7, 1920...