How influential was communism during the interwar period outside the USSR?
- Created by: Alasdair
- Created on: 21-05-18 14:43
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- How influential was communism during the interwar period outside the USSR?
- Stalin's influence and interests
- According to Thompson
- Stalin could not control Communists outside of USSR, his power was limited strictly to inside Soviet Union
- According to Thompson
- Communist Parties outside of USSR subscribed to Stalin's views
- Revolution in Russia, weakest link in imperialist chain, was merely overture to rapid worldwide revolution
- Were convinced that socialism in former Russian Empire was impossible without similar revolution in advanced countries
- Communist Parties outside of USSR subscribed to Stalin's views
- According to Richards
- Stalin was disinterested in Communism outside Russia
- Stalin was indifferent to internalist ideals of Comintern
- Hardly ever attended meetings personally, sent representatives
- Stalin was indifferent to internalist ideals of Comintern
- Clear even in 1920s, from his declaration in 1924, in favour of "Socialism in One Country"
- World revolution would take backseat
- Stalin more interested in Soviet Security
- Stalin was disinterested in Communism outside Russia
- According to Thompson
- Popular Front (France and Spain) - according to Richards
- Supports notion communism was influential
- Closest political left in Europe came to effective strategy of unified anti-fascist action
- Consisted of alliances of political parties including Marxists, socialists, liberals, moderates and even conservatives
- But were Communists poweful?
- Marxists contributed to efforts
- Rejected fascism
- Electoral victories of French and Spanish coalitions of 1936 were greatest achievements
- But were these achievements of other parties?
- Doesn't support idea communism was influential
- Political Pact
- Defend French and Spanish Republics
- Bring about social and cultural change
- Preserve international peace
- Attack causes and symptoms of economic crisis
- Negation of fascism (even though contained in promotion of peace, democracy and end of hunger) ultimately proved weak basis for unity
- Effects of far-reaching social legislation enacted by Popular Front governments in France and Spain were severely constrained by:
- advance of fascist threat
- economic circumstances
- Internal differences within Front itself
- Popular Frontism unable to develop active and effective alternative to policy of appeasement of Nazism pursued by major democracies
- Also impeded because unable to become political focus of collective security largely because such a strategy was associated by democracies with interests of Communist Russia
- Political Pact
- Supports notion communism was influential
- Comintern according to Richards
- Organisational weaknesses, doctrinal disputes and rivalries, and effects of internal terror within Stalinist system also limited effectiveness
- International's initial president, Zinoviev, executed in August 1936, after first of fake show trials (start of Stalin's Terror)
- Under such pressures, considerable tension existed between Comintern orthodoxy, expressed in publicly declared strategic "theses", national Party leaderships, and activist rank and file
- Attempts made to impose broad strategic measures from outside regardless of specific national factors
- In process, division of European labour movement, begun by secession of revolutionaries from social democratic parties following 1917 Russian Revolution and immediate aftermath of war in 1918, became irreconcilable
- Fatal divide opened up in spite of sporadic attempts by rank-and-file activists to achieve pragmatic unity of action
- Splits in Italy (according to Richards)
- 1919-1921
- witnessed irreparable split in ranks of Socialist Party (PSI), resulting in secession of a "Bolshevik" wing and founding of Italian Communist Party (PCI) in January 1921
- By 1926, PCI's leaders would be arrested, imprisoned, or forced into exile and party's Congress that year would be held in Lyons
- Right to strike formally abolished as prelude to establishing dictatorial state structure
- Included 'fascistised' judicial system complete with special courts for political crimes
- Antonio Gramsci, founding leader of PCI and its best-known and most insightful thinker
- In 1928, sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment
- 1919-1921
- Germany (according to Richards)
- In 1917, Socialist SPD split in two
- The communist KPD was a breakaway movement
- German Communist Party (KPD) and Socialist Party (SPD) hurled insults and sabotaged each other's initiatives during Weimar years, while Nazi support burgeoned
- Free trade unions abolished by Nazi regime and SPD outlawed by 1933
- Reichstag Fire in Feb 1933 allowed Hitler to outlaw Communists and institutionalise authoritarian measures
- Richards states:
- Historians speculated that if the left in Germany had not been so divided, Hitler may have been prevented from coming to power in 1933 thereby avoiding war in 1939
- Richards argues ultimately it could not have been prevented due to divisions in German society exacerbated by unemployment because of the Wall Street Crash
- Historians speculated that if the left in Germany had not been so divided, Hitler may have been prevented from coming to power in 1933 thereby avoiding war in 1939
- In 1917, Socialist SPD split in two
- Stalin's influence and interests
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