Lenin's Moscow

by Alfred Rosmer, Ian Birchall (Translator)

Overview

This memoir by a Comintern leader in the early Soviet Union is “a vital primary source . . . clear and unpretentious”(Ian Birchall, from the new preface).

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 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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781608466672
Publisher:	Haymarket Books
Publication date:	06/04/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	306
File size:	764 KB

About the Author

Alfred Rosmer (1877–1964) became a committed revolutionary syndicalist in the early years of the twentieth century, and was one of only a handful of French socialists who opposed the First World War from the outset. The victory of the Bolshevik revolution in Russia led him to become a communist. He attended the Second, Third and Fourth Congresses of the Communist International and was a member of its Executive Committee. He also played a leading role in the founding of the Red International of Labour Unions and was a member of the political bureau of the French Communist Party. Though he was expelled from the French Communist Party in 1924, he remained a convinced revolutionary until his death.

Ian Birchall is a socialist historian and translator based in London. His books include The Spectre of Babeuf, Sartre Against Stalinism, A Rebel’s Guide to Lenin, and Tony Cliff: A Marxist for His Time.

Table of Contents

Translator's Introduction to the Third Edition ix

Introduction 1

Author's Foreword 11

1920

1 Europe in 1920 15

2 The journey to Moscow 19

3 May Day in Vienna 26

4 Masaryk's Czechoslovakia 29

5 Clara Zetkin. Shlyapnikov. Great demonstration at Berlin 30

6 From Stettin to Reval (Tallinn) 34

7 Petrograd. Zinoviev 37

8 Moscow: at the Executive Committee of the Communist International. Sadoul/Radek/Bukharin 39

9 Trotsky 42

10 At the Kremlin: Lenin 45

11 Among the delegates to the Second Congress of the Communist International 63

12 Radek speaks of Bakunin 67

13 Smolny: Solemn opening session of the Second Congress 69

14 The debates of the Second Congress 72

15 Trotsky's closing speech presents the Manifesto 83

16 The Eastern peoples at the congress of Baku 91

17 The Russian trade unions 98

18 The Anarchists. Death and funeral of Kropotkin 104

19 Congress of the French Socialist Party: a majority for affiliation to the Communist International 109

20 The French Communist group in Moscow 111

21 'Trotsky's Train. Wrangel. End of the Civil War 115

1921

1 The trade-union question provokes a great debate 121

2 The Kronstadt rising 124

3 Lenin presents the New Economic Policy (NEP) to the Third Congress of the Communist International 128

4 The Red International of Labour Unions holds its founding congress 141

5 Balance-sheet of seventeen months in Russia 147

6 Return to Paris-a different world 148

1922

1 Return to Moscow; the United Front; Shlyapnikov and Cachin 151

2 World economic crisis. Lloyd George proposes a conference. Cannes. 160

3 The delegates of the three internationals at Berlin 162

4 Genoa and Rapallo 167

5 The trial of the Social-Revolutionaries 169

6 Fifth anniversary of the October Revolution. Fourth Congress of the Communist International 173

7 The French Communist Party and its difficulties 179

8 Frossard resigns-Cachin remains 187

1923

1 Poincaré has the Ruhr occupied 199

2 Hamburg: Fusion of the Second International and the Vienna International 207

3 Confusion in the leadership of the Communist International. Revolutionary situation in Germany 209

1924

1 Lenin's Death 219

Appendixes 221

1 Lenin's Testament 221

2 Fortunes of Lenin's Testament 223

3 Lenin's last speech to the Communist International 224

Conclusion 227

Biographical Notes 239

Index 269

Editorial Reviews

"Rosmer's book should be on the shelf of every militant."
—Christopher Hitchens

“Lenin’s Moscow remains a vital primary source for historians of the International, written by a
participant witness. Rosmer’s account is clear and unpretentious, and can also serve as an introduction for those beginning to study the subject. Rosmer’s narrative sets the debates in
their historical context, making us aware of the danger of repeating quotations from Lenin
or Trotsky torn from the circumstances in which they were originally made.”
—Ian Birchall, from the new preface



"Rosmer's book should be on the shelf of every militant."
—Christopher Hitchens

“Lenin’s Moscow remains a vital primary source for historians of the International, written by a
participant witness. Rosmer’s account is clear and unpretentious, and can also serve as an introduction for those beginning to study the subject. Rosmer’s narrative sets the debates in
their historical context, making us aware of the danger of repeating quotations from Lenin
or Trotsky torn from the circumstances in which they were originally made.”
—Ian Birchall, from the new preface

From the Publisher