v... m 8HANGHAI. NOVEMBER IMJ No.6 THE RED ROAD By KLAUS MEHNERT TAe preHN World War ~ Bol6AetM",'. laM Gnd ~ c.limIce f() IJtM'J'fIIM Reooluti<m ,nco oeMr ",.,. 0.' 1M VIOrld. 1", view oj 1M P"""" "'NiIcarr ~ oJ 1M 8rwiM U",icm. e1a.. may _nd like G pGrodoz: but, ~ from eM poi'" oJ ..... oJ World Bol6MtMnt. eM IoN oJ mM PIJ"" oJ eM 80uia U",itm Gftd eM tUalA oJ MUlicm.t oj Ruui.ta",. .. oj _ imporlGnu if, III eM Nme 'ime. II .lwuld ". ~ 10 OJ*' 04_ Iot'fI' _ of 1M VIOrld 10 Bot.Mvi."". M CNC01D knolN 10 1Im.D "..., _ .."" eM BriI..,. hpj,. Gnd 1M USA. rww Upend on lite Red A.rmy. Gnd lAllI, oW oj 1M diNtUi8flJdion tDilA eMir 01Dn conducl oj 1M war, oul oj 1M loud od",irGIion for lAe Red Army, Gnd OW oj ,he 'P""ring ckmandlr Jor a m:ondJro"', a .lIUGlio", .. orVing tDilAin theH 'wo world power. which oJJer. greaIer pouihililiu Jor ,he pene· lr/Jlion oj Bol6hetMI ~ lOOn eller beJore. The rapidly progreuilllJ Bol6helli=lion oj ,he call... oj 1M Sovial U",ion w OM oj the moat important political phenorneno oj our 'imN. 1" order 10 undlrr_nd II fWO'Perly, II .. neuuory 10 COMicler pa8I dwelop,..."". and 10 G~1/U 1M i"'riooIe problem oj 1M relatioMhip ~ eM CommunWllnUlmalional (1M Oomiftl.em) Gftd 1M 8rwiM U..Jon. Europe r.o. flO quornI willa 1M Rvuitm ~. BuI.Ae r.o. recopiud Bot.lMt1Nmt _ Aer Ikodl... .....1'. lIM eM Oom''''''''''' Gnd 1M USSR ... 1M IwoJwoJB~. The Gulhor oj eM JolWtDing Grlicle ."enI uwrol yeor••", ,he Soma U",ion up '0 1936 and Iw.8 made G ~cial .tully oj 1M ~ oj 1M Oomi1ll&rn. IN THB PALAOE 01' NOBLllIS Eastem Europe. To the left of the Chairman, starting from the front: the NEXPECTEDLY and unannounced, United States, Latin America, the British • probably out of consideration for Dominions, the colonies, and Germany. U the police forces of Europe. the last World Congress of the Comintem met in Communist leaders from all over the Moscow on July 25, 1935, at half past world sat on the presiding committee seven in the evening. For almost a full of the Congress. Among them were month. until late in the evening of two women, a Spaniard and a NegreBB f August 20. the "General Staff of the Among the representatives of the Soviet World Revolution," as it was called. sat Union was Stalin. There were roars of in the clasaical Hall of Columns of the applaU8e when he was elected Chairman. former Pa1aoe of Nobles. Over the plat­ Although he did not make a single speech form on which the presiding oommittee and was often absent during the Be88ions, of the Congreea was enthroned. hung four· he dominated the Congress. There was huge portraits: Marx, Engels, Lenin. and hardly a speaker who failed to extol him Stalin. In the auditorium sat 510 dele­ as the "Leader of the World Proletariat." gatee repreeenting 65 national groupe. or as the "Leader of the World Revoluj oalled eeotions. of the Comintem. In tion." Since I,.enin's death, this was th~ front, on the presiding committee's first Congress at which one and the same right, were the Communists of Asia; man participated unequivocally as the further back, those of Western leader of the Soviet Union as well as the Europe; and behind them. those of leader of the Comintem. And the fact' '. THE XXt.b CENTURY that the famous Bulgarian revolutionary toward the same goal, i.e., World Revo­ Dimitroff W&8 later made only Secretary lution, officially they have nothing to do General of the new Executive Com­ with one another and go out of their way mittee of the Comintern (EKKI) and not to demonstrate their independence of Presideni (which had been the former each other. Actually, the central title), W&8 doubtle88 intended to indicate management of the Soviet Union as well that only Stalin was entitled to the office &8 of the Comintem are in the same of President; since, for obvious reasons, hands. For, just as the Communist he could not a88ume this office, the only Party predominates in the Soviet Union, title that remained for Dimitroff W&8 that so the Communist Party of the Soviet of Secretary General. Union holds the leading position in The Communist Parties of the world the Comintem. This W&8 even offioially represented at the Congress were divided laid down in the first statutes of the into two "ruling" parties (Soviet Union Comintem, which were accepted by its and Soviet China), fifteen legal ones second World Congress in 1920. Para­ (Great Britain, Ireland, France, the USA, graph 8 of these statutes •reads: "The Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Nor­ main share of the work of the EKKI is way, Sweden, Iceland, Switzerland, South to be borne by the Party of that country Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and Costa in which the EKKl flhall have its Rica), and five semilegal ones, with the seat according to the decision of the remainder all being illegal. The total World Congress." From the very number of members of the Communist beginning, this country W&8 the Soviet Parties including the Soviet Union was Union. given as 3.1 million (1928: 1.7 million); Incidentally, there were still 80me dele­ of these, however, there were only 760,000 gates at that second Congre88 who had (1928: 450,000) outside of the Soviet the courage to oppose the subjection of Union. the Comintern to the will of Moscow. A Dutch delegate, for instance, said: "While TWOFOLD CAPITAL it would seem that an international The aim of Bolshevism as it has been EKKI is being formed, actually an cn­ clearly expre88Cd in the teachings of larged RU8sian executive committee is Marx, Lenin, and Stalin is to organize a being created .... But then this should World Revolution and then to establish be openly said, and it should not be at­ a World Soviet Union after the pattern tempted to create the impression that we • of the present Soviet Union. At present, are going to have an international Bolshevism has at its disposal two weapons EKKI," Now for a long time no one for attaining this goal: a state-the has dared to complain and, although that Soviet Union, and a world organization­ Paragraph 8 has, for tactical reuoDI, the Comintern. The Comintern, the or­ long disappeared into oblivion, there can ganization of all Communist Parties in be even leas doubt of the leading position the world, is al80 known by the name of of the Soviet Union in the Comintem the "Third International." This name today than at a time when this candid serves to distinguish it from other in­ paragraph atill existed. ternational revolutionary organizations such &8 the short-lived "First Interna­ TOO JU.lfY SB0BJft'8t tional" of Karl Marx, the "Second In­ The reader might ask: What sense is ternational" of the Social-Democr-atio there in studying these questions and in Parties, which is today practically non­ citing protocols and statutes when all uiatent, and the "Fourth International" available documents and statements are created by Trotsky. obviously designed to throw dust iJl the Moacow is the capital of the Soviet eye8 of the world and to distract its at­ Union &8 well &8 of the Comintern. But, tention from the decisive events! We although both of these are working do not share this opinion. Of course, THE RED ROAD there'is enough that is only of declamatory COUNTING ON SOVIET EUBOPB significance as, for instance, the oft­ (FInt Period) repeated· contention that the Soviet The leading role of the Soviet Union Union has nothing to do with the Comin­ in the Comintern and the latter's de­ tern. But all this can eaBily be eliminated pendence on Moscow have resulted in the if one knows how to read. And the rest interests and demands of the Soviet is to be taken seriously. Union having the strongest possible in­ fluence on the tactical attitude of the . Those who have studied Marxism­ Comintem. Hence each of the variol,18 Leninism know that its leaders do not periods in the development of the Soviet believe in intuition or instinct but make Union (with which we dealt in the article a.n decisions dependent on tedious "analy­ "Bolshevism and Its Pedigree," in our ses," on cumbersome "theses, anti-, and issue of October 1941) also left its mark syntheses" and arrive at them usually only on the Comintem. after endless "discussions." Even Stalin, with all his brutal use of force and During the first period, which lasted ceaseless "purges" within the Party, from the founding of the Comintem in believes, like all materialists, that, by March 1919 up to March 1921, the minds applying Marxist methods, the course of of the men in the Kremlin were dominated the world and its individual phases can be by two ideas. First, the Communist calculated scientifically. Revolution in the most important Euro­ pean states seemed, in those years, to be This is equally true of th~ Comintern, within reach, in fad, a question of weeks. whose congresses and resolutions are, so Zinovyev, at that time the President of to say, the primers of all Communist the Comintem, wrote in the first number functionaries. EspeciaUy their detailed of the magazine Communist International: tactical inStructions are meant very "At the moment of writing these lines, seJ,io1'18ly. These, as well as the speeches the 'Third International' has already and ~lutions made at the congresses three Soviet repnblics as its foundation and me~tings, may have been touched stones-in Russia, Hungary, and Bavaria.