Ida Mett – the Kronstadt Uprising
Ida Mett was born as Ida Markovna Gilman on July 20th, 1901 in Smorgon in the Russian m!ire "now Smarhon#, Belarus)& 'redomin( antly Jewish, the small industrial town was a hotbed of radi*alism& Ida be*ame an anar*hist while studying medi*ine in Moscow& She was soon arrested )or +anti(Soviet a*tivities’ and was e,!elled )rom the *ountry with her -rst husband, .avid /ennenbaum, in 1920& In 1921, Ida was in 'aris& Here she be*ame involved with the Grou! of Russian 3nar*hists 3broad, whi*h in*luded the great -ghter Neestor Makhno, his sometime *ollaborator 'eter 3rshinov, and )ellow anar*ho-syndi*alist Nei*olas 5a6ar7vit*h, who she later married& 3s well as editing the journal, Dielo Truda "9orkers’ :ause%, Mett was one o) the *o-authors of the Grou!#s *ontroversial but infuential +Organisational Platform of the General Union of Anarchists (Draft)# < the 'lat)orm& 19=1 )ound her *elebrating May .ay with anar*hist heroes Buenaventura .urruti and >ran*isco 3scaso in $ar*elona& 'resent at this meeting were also the veteran Russian anar*hist ?oline, 3ugustin Sou*hy "author of With the Peasants of Aragon, available )rom this !ublisher% and :amilo Berneri "murdered by the :ommunists during the Bar*elona May vents of 19=@%& Ba*k in 'aris, Ida served as se*retary o) the local gas workers’ union, all the time writing and agitating, being arrested many times. It was in this !eriod that the booklet you are reading now was written& 3Aer the >all o) >ran*e in 1900, Mett was briefy interned by the ?i*hy regime in Rieu*ros *am!, be)ore the renegade :ommunist Boris Souvarine su**essfully arranged her release& She spent the rest of the war, with her husband and their ten year old son Mar*, in 5a Garde(>reinet, a quiet mountain village near the :ôte d#36ur& Returning to 'aris, !ost(war Ida worked as a nurse in a sanat( orium )or Jewish *hildren in Brunoy, and later as a translator& She was never able to !ra*ti*e as a doctor be*ause her Buali-*ations were not re*ognised by the authorities.
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