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An attempt is made to analyze the influence of Josip Broz Tito’s work in the Comintern, in particular his training at the so-called “Partisan Academy” of the Comintern, on his subsequent life and work, especially on how Josip Broz organized the work of the “agitation” and propaganda department under the leadership of the partisan movement (Agitprop). It is concluded that it was in the “crucible of the Comintern,” under the influence of the specific experience gained there, that Tito’s political personality was formed.

In Mediating Spaces James Robertson offers an intellectual history of the diverse supranational politics of Yugoslav socialism, beginning with its birth in the 1870s and concluding with its violent collapse in the 1990s.

During inter-war Czechoslovakia, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ) profiled itself as an anti-system revolutionary political party, which after 1935 managed to strengthen its relatively stable position in society via antifascist rhetoric. With the support of the Soviet leadership, it unconstitutionally seized power and established a totalitarian regime after 1948. The events of 1989 meant a fall of the undemocratic regime, though surprisingly they did not mark the end of the Communist Party. This status did not change even after the breakup of Czechoslovakia, and the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSČM) still figures in the Czech political scene as a relevant actor. A hundred years of existence brings the opportunity to look back at the party development. The logical question presents itself about whether, and how, KSČM is comparable to KSČ and what differentiates them. Our analysis focuses on the ideological basis, the membership base development, voter support and the international anchorage. Specifically, we focus on the nostalgic character of KSČM and its reform rejection, which was, after 1989, a significant factor in securing the support of nostalgic voters. However, as the decline of the membership base and support during elections show, this unwillingness towards reforms can lead to its marginalisation. This was confirmed in the 2021 elections, when the KSČM did not reach the electoral threshold and abandoned the parliament.

Introduction. The article examines the Comintern “trace” in the formation of modern “Bolivarian socialism”, proclaimed by the leaders of Venezuela at the beginning of the 21st century. Communist postulates (in the Comintern perception) were, certainly, not the only source of the formation of the ideology of the ruling Socialist United Party of Venezuela. At the same time, a number of the postulates were formulated back in the 1920s by activists of the Venezuelan Revolutionary Party (later they became members of the country’s Communist Party) and the Socialist Party of Ecuador. A number of similar concepts were the subject of discussions between the leadership of the Comintern and the Peruvian People’s Revolutionary Alliance and were also debated during one of the congress of the Communist International. Another important aspect explored by the authors is the analogy between the processes of the formation of a united left party in Venezuela in the 1930s and in the 2000s (as a comparative example, the pattern of creating a united revolutionary party within the framework of the Castro revolution in Cuba was also used). Methods and materials. The study uses a set of methods of analysis adopted in historical and political science, namely documentary analysis, systemic and comparative analysis. Analysis and Results. The cases presented in the article prove that Socialism of the 21st century is not the exclusive creation of Hugo Chavez, but is closely related to ideological discussions in the international left-wing movement of the first half of the 20th century. The article is based primarily on archival documents, which allowed the authors to show little-known pages in the history of Latin American left-wing parties. Authors’ contribution. V.L. Jeifets and L.S. Jeifets made joint analysis of the archival documents, carried out the study of historiography, and developed the theoretical framework of the research. The conclusions also are the product of joint work.

Perhaps the first thing to note about a forum on the subject of 1919 in Asia is how awkwardly the spatial frame of “Asia” maps onto the international history of that moment. To be sure, the postwar international conjuncture, which I have elsewhere called the “Wilsonian Moment,” had a revolutionary impact across Asia, perhaps more so than in any other world region outside of Europe. As the three preceding essays in this forum note, that year was a waypoint, and sometimes a launching pad, for a rush of novel or renewed revolutionary discourses, connections, and mobilizations in China, India, and Korea, as it was in other parts of Asia and of the world. These were all propelled by the accumulated material and ideological transformations of the years of war, transformation that imbued the moment with revolutionary potential and gave contemporaries a sense that the international order, its power structures and its norms of legitimacy, were uniquely malleable, amenable to concerted action. Indeed, 1919 was a moment in which the very idea of “Asia”—its spaces, the identities they attached to, and the solidarities that ran across and beyond it—was reimagined in ways that at once stitched it together and rent it apart.

This article explores the meaning of the Bolshevik Revolution and the founding of the Communist International (Comintern) as revolutionary icons for the “workerist” environment in Puerto Rico between 1919 and 1936. The analysis focuses on the constructions, discursive mechanisms and allegorical references to these topics through a selection of items from the local internationalist-oriented workers press, covering three stages (1919-1921, 1927, 1934-1936) in the development of local communist radicalism. It presents examples on the construction of the concepts of bolshevism and international communism beyond the ideological and political context, suggesting an evolution from an anarchistic type of workers culture to one increasingly based on class struggle. The sources, taken from both the radical workers press and official Communist Party publications, provide a preliminary picture of revolutionary attitudes and dreams that would serve as the cultural and genealogical basis for local communism at a crucial stage in the island’s process of ideological and political formation. Este artículo explora el significado de la Revolución Bolchevique y la fundación de la Internacional Comunista (Comintern) como íconos revolucionarios para el entorno obrerista puertorriqueño entre 1919 y 1936. El análisis se enfoca en las construcciones, los mecanismos discursivos y las referencias alegóricas sobre dichos temas, a través de una selección de prensa obrera local de tendencia internacionalista, que se observan durante tres etapas (1919-1921, 1927, 1934-1936) del desarrollo del radicalismo comunista local. Se presentan ejemplos sobre la construcción del concepto bolcheviquismo y el comunismo internacional más allá del contexto ideológico y político, en los que se sugiere una evolución de una cultura obrera de tono anarquista hacia una de enfoque cada vez más clasista. Las fuentes, tanto de la prensa obrera radical como de publicaciones oficiales del Partido Comunista, aportan un cuadro preliminar sobre actitudes y sueños revolucionarios que servirían de base cultural y genealogía para el comunismo local en una etapa crucial del proceso de formación ideológica y política de la Isla. Este artigo explora o significado da Revolução Bolchevique e a fundação da Internacional Comunista (Comintern) como ícones revolucionários para o contexto operário porto-riquenho entre 1919 e 1936. A análise foca as construções, os mecanismos discursivos e as referências alegóricas sobre esses temas, por meio de uma seleção de imprensa operária local de tendência internacionalista, que se observam durante três etapas (1919-1921, 1927, 1934-1936) do desenvolvimento do radicalismo comunista local. Apresentam-se exemplos sobre a construção do conceito bolchevismoe o comunismo internacional mais além do contexto ideológico e político, nos quais se sugere uma evolução de uma cultura operária em tom anarquista para uma abordagem cada vez mais classista. As fontes, tanto da imprensa operária radical quanto de publicações oficiais do Partido Comunista, contribuem com um quadro preliminar sobre atitudes e sonhos revolucionários que serviriam de base cultural e genealogia para o comunismo local numa etapa crucial do processo de formação ideológica e política da ilha.

This article analyzes the background and evolution of the affiliation of the Cuban left with the Comintern (Communist International), from their first contacts with the Bolshevik Revolution until the end of the 1920s. The authors recover a little-known history in historiography to show that, despite a series of disagreements between Moscow and Cuban communism, Comintern influence was by no means considered unfavorable to interests for Cuba’s communist movement. In fact, it helped to strengthen the left in that nation. Este artículo analiza los antecedentes y evolución de la afiliación de la izquierda cubana con la Comintern (Internacional Comunista), desde sus primeros contactos con la Revolución Bolchevique hasta finales de la década de 1920. Los autores recuperan una historia poco conocida en la historiografía, con el objetivo de demostrar que durante una serie de desacuerdos entre Moscú y el comunismo cubano, la influencia de la Comintern estaba lejos de ser considerada una institución desfavorable a los intereses del movimiento comunista de Cuba, y, más bien, contribuyó al fortalecimiento de la izquierda nacional. Este artigo analisa os antecedentes e a evolução da afiliação da esquerda cubana com a Comintern (Internacional Comunista), desde seus primeiros contatos com a Revolução Bolchevique até o final da década de 1920. Os autores recuperam uma história pouco conhecida na historiografia com o objetivo de demonstrar que, durante uma série de desacordos entre Moscou e o comunismo cubano, a influência da Comintern estava longe de ser considerada uma instituição desfavorável aos interesses do movimento comunista em Cuba, e sim contribuiu para o fortalecimento da esquerda nacional.

This article traces the development of Soviet policy towards the communist partisan movement in Yugoslavia from the German invasion in 1941 to the liberation of the country at the end of 1944. In doing so, it addresses this topic for the first time through the lens of the Soviet decision-making process, following developments across the entire duration of the war. Based on Soviet sources, it shows that, in the context of the shifting balance of forces among the Western Allies, Moscow was ready to put aside the popular front strategy and to encourage local communists to challenge the political order supported by the British and the Americans while the Second World War was still raging. The example of Yugoslavia, however, also shows that this apparently clear strategy covered deep uncertainties on the Soviet side as to the real intentions of the British, the room for manoeuvre enjoyed by Moscow, and the way in which relations with a new communist state in the making should be established. The Soviets were largely successful in their attempt to support Tito while avoiding repercussions for the Great Alliance, although in the long term their achievements backfired.

This article studies an important period 1929–1931 in the life of Kim Il-sung (C. Jin Richeng), the first leader of North Korea, through an analysis of his previously unknown personal file written by officials of the Communist International in the Soviet Union in 1941 after Kim had escaped to the USSR from Manchukuo. It is possibly the first biography of Kim Il-sung ever written. The document sheds new light on some aspects of Kim’s early life, including his arrest in 1929, his service in the Chinese People’s National Salvation Army, and the events surrounding his admission into the Chinese Communist Party. On the basis of this file and other documents of the era, such as diaries of Kim’s superior Zhou Baozhong and Comintern chief Dimitrov, this paper presents an account of Kim Il-sung’s life and career in the late 1920s – early 1930s and reveals the distortions of the official North Korean biography of Kim Il-sung in service to the ideological goals of the state.

This article analyses the little known episode of the English working movement – the People’s Convent Movement in summer of 1940 - spring of 1941. This event is researched neither in English, nor Soviet and Post-Soviet historiography. This fact determines the scientific novelty and relevance of the article. However, this episode not only fills in the “blank spot” in the history, it is also relevant in modern life. The author determines the reasons, motive powers and the character of the Movement. At that time W. Churchill was at the head of the government. He stood on the position of active resistance to German fascism. But former supporters of policy appeasement with Hitler (“munichs”) yet remained in the government. The unemployment was considerable as before, strikes were forbidden because of the war. Working masses were burdened with war hardships, while capitalists received vast profits. In this situation the Communism Party of Great Britain (CPGB) headed the People’s Convent Movement. The party demanded the creation of People’s Convent government, the dismissal of “munichs” from the government, the renewal of trade unions rights, the alliance with the USSR, and war termination. The representatives of different working class parties and democratic organizations took part in this movement. For example, the participants included a number of big trade unions, the unemployed, big number of Labour Party representatives, communists. The Movement had the great public resonance. The influence of the Communism Party grew considerable.nBut the leadership of the Labour Party appeared sharp against the People’s Convent Movement. So, the majority ofntrade unions did not take participate in it. Due to this fact, the movement was doomed to failure. Besides, thenmovement advanced the democratic demands but it didn’t project the means to create the People’s Conventngovernment. The estimation of international situation was not correct: the central task at that time was the organizationnof the struggle against German fascism. The Labour leadership used it to accuse the communists and all thenparticipants in antipatriatism. The attack of German on the USSR had revealed the delusiveness of the CPGB tacticsnand put an end to the movement. The Communists changed their position.