Lenin's Moscow

Description

When Alfred Rosmer arrived in Russia in 1919 it was considered by millions to be the center of world revolution. It was also a society beleaguered by civil war and encircled by hostile powers seeking to snuff out the promise and potential the first successful workers’ revolution represented. It was in this context that revolutionaries from across the globe undertook the creation of the Communist International, hoping to forge an instrument to fan the flames of the struggle against global capitalism. In this gripping political memoir of his time in Moscow, Rosmer draws on his unique perspective as both a delegate to the Comintern—and as a member of its Executive Committee—to paint a stunning and inspiring picture of the early years of Soviet rule. From the debates sparked by the publication of Lenin’s State and Revolution and Left-Wing Communism to the efforts of the International to extend its influence beyond Europe with the Congress of the Peoples of the East in Baku, Rosmer documents key developments with an unparalleled clarity of vision and offers invaluable insights. Translator’s Introduction to the Third Edition Introduction Author’s Foreword 1920 1: Europe in 1920 2: The journey to Moscow 3: May Day in Vienna 4: Masaryk’s Czechoslovakia 5: Clara Zetkin. Shlyapnikov. Great demonstration at Berlin 6: From Stettin to Reval (Tallinn) 7: Petrograd. Zinoviev 8: Moscow: at the Executive Committee of the Communist International. Sadoul/Radek/Bukharin 9: Trotsky 10: At the Kremlin: Lenin 11: Among the delegates to the Second Congress of the Communist International 12: Radek speaks of Bakunin 13: Smolny: Solemn opening session of the Second Congress 14: The debates of the Second Congress 15: Trotsky’s closing speech presents the Manifesto 16: The Eastern peoples at the congress of Baku 17: The Russian trade unions 18: The Anarchists. Death and funeral of Kropotkin 19: Congress of the French Socialist Party: a majority for affiliation to the Communist International 20: The French Communist group in Moscow 21: ‘Trotsky’s Train’. Wrangel. End of the Civil War 1921 1: The trade-union question provokes a great debate 2: The Kronstadt rising 3: Lenin presents the New Economic Policy (NEP) to the Third Congress of the Communist International 4: The Red International of Labour Unions holds its founding congress 5: Balance-sheet of seventeen months in Russia 6: Return to Paris—a different world 1922 1: Return to Moscow; the United Front; Shlyapnikov and Cachin 2: World economic crisis. Lloyd George proposes a conference. Cannes. 3: The delegates of the three internationals at Berlin 4: Genoa and Rapallo 5: The trial of the Social-Revolutionaries 6: Fifth anniversary of the October Revolution. Fourth Congress of the Communist International 7: The French Communist Party and its difficulties 8: Frossard resigns—Cachin remains 1923 1: Poincaré has the Ruhr occupied 2: Hamburg: Fusion of the Second International and the Vienna International 3: Confusion in the leadership of the Communist International. Revolutionary situation in Germany 1924 1: Lenin’s Death Appendixes 1: Lenin’s Final Recommendations to the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party, considered as his political testament 2: Fortunes of Lenin’s Testament 3: Lenin’s last speech to the Communist International (Fourth Congress; 13 November 1922) Conclusion Biographical Notes Index