The Communist International, or Comintern (1919-1943), was a global organization dedicated to the advancement of revolutionary movements worldwide. Acting as a hub for international communists, it facilitated connections and provided practical and theoretical guidance to forward Marxist revolution worldwide.
By the mid-1930s, the Communist International became key to the formation of a “popular front” against fascism. However, in 1943, Stalin formally dissolved the Comintern. In the context of war, his decision aimed to solidify alliances with the Allied powers; politically, he sought to redirect focus from the dream of global revolution to the vision of “socialism in one country.
What Circumstances Led to the Comintern’s Formation?
The Communist International (Comintern), or ‘Third International’, was founded in March 1919. The First Congress of the Comintern in Moscow drew representatives from over 30 countries representing a wide array of revolutionary movements. The Bolsheviks nonetheless dominated proceedings.
Founded in an official capacity by Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin, Radek, and Bukharin, with Grigory Zinoviev as First Chairman (1919-1926), the Russian Revolution was held up as a model for other revolutionary movements to follow. The idea of the USSR as central to communist ambitions was underscored by the decision to headquarter the Executive Committee of the Communist International (ECCI) in Moscow.
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Yet the history of the Comintern is not just about its leadership. Between 1919 and its quiet dissolution in 1943, thousands of militants on the fringes of the communist movement worked as political operatives and spies, and technical staff, such as couriers, translators, and secretaries. With world revolution as its declared goal, the Communist International sought to reshape the course of history.
Was There an Anti-Colonial Revolution?
One of the Comintern’s key missions was supporting anti-imperialist and revolutionary struggles across the colonial world. Accordingly, it became a vital network for revolutionaries from the colonies to exchange ideas and receive training and support.
Revolutionaries from the colonies often travelled to the USSR to study Marxist theory, later returning to build communist parties in their home nations. In some instances, the networks of the Comintern were more curious. For instance, Ho Chi Minh initially travelled to France, where he helped found the French Communist Party in 1920, before studying in the USSR and ultimately returning to Indochina to lead his country to revolution. Such examples were not uncommon (Prashad, 2017).
However, tensions also emerged between European communists and their counterparts in the colonies. European members were forced to grapple with fellow pro-imperialist workers, while communists in the colonies found it difficult to relate to anti-colonial nationalists, with no gripe with capitalism. These contradictions, as Vijay Prashad (2017) has argued, hindered communist solidarity between Europe and the colonial world.
Did The Comintern Champion Women’s Rights?
The Comintern was a pioneer in championing female emancipation as central to the socialist revolution. Early Soviet legislation under Bolshevik rule granted women full legal and political rights. The Zhenotdel (Women’s Bureau), led by Alexandra Kollontai, spearheaded initiatives such as the establishment of nurseries, schools, maternity protections, and efforts to involve women in the Workers Councils (Soviets).
The Comintern extended these efforts globally, recognizing that women, as much as men, were integral to the success of socialism. However, it was also recognized that the gains of the revolution for women had to be fiercely defended, from their political opponents, but also from a significant proportion of their male comrades. Speaking at the inaugural Congress of the People of the East in 1920, Turkish communist Naciye Hanim, underscored the necessity of a dual struggle: to fight the despotism of capital, communists must first overcome the “despotism of men” (Prashad, 2017).
Alongside the establishment of women’s departments, akin to the Zhenotdel in Russia, the Comintern published on women’s issues in its journals, It championed the progressive reforms enacted in Russia as a model for other nations and laid the theoretical and practical foundations for women’s participation in socialist movements worldwide.
When Was the Dissolution of the Comintern?
On May 22nd, 1943, the Executive Committee of the Communist International announced an extraordinary resolution: the dissolution of the Comintern. Officially the motive was to assuage the fears of the Soviet Union’s World War II allies, the United States and Britain, that Moscow was intent on fomenting revolution within their borders. By dissolving the Comintern Stalin sought to prove that the USSR prioritized the war against Nazi Germany over ideological subversion of the “free world.”
Under the leadership of Grigory Zinoviev, the Comintern represented a unique experiment in the transnational promotion of global revolution. Its original mission was to unify the international communist movement towards a new proletarian world order. However, by the mid-1930s, the Comintern shifted focus. At its seventh and final congress (1935), it officially endorsed the concept of a “popular front” against fascism, advocating collaboration with all parties – communist or not – that opposed fascism.
In the context of war, the dissolution of the Comintern allowed Stalin to consolidate the national interests and security of the Soviet Union and strengthen his alliance with the Allied Powers. By extension, the dream of world revolution was shelved in favor of Stalin’s doctrine of “socialism in one country.”
