Table Of ContentTheCharismaofWorldRevolution
Historical Materialism
Book Series
EditorialBoard
LorenBalhorn(Berlin)
DavidBroder(Rome)
SebastianBudgen(Paris)
SteveEdwards(London)
JuanGrigera(London)
MarcelvanderLinden(Amsterdam)
PeterThomas(London)
volume 272
Thetitlespublishedinthisseriesarelistedatbrill.com/hm
The Charisma
of World Revolution
Revolutionary Internationalism in Early Soviet Society,
1917–1927
By
GlebJ.Albert
Translatedby
ZacharyMurphyKing
leiden | boston
ThisbookwasoriginallypublishedinGermanasDasCharismaderWeltrevolution:Revolutionärer
InternationalismusinderfrühenSowjetgesellschaft1917–1927,byBöhlauKöln,2017.
ThetranslationofthisworkwasfundedbyGeisteswissenschaftenInternational–Translationfundingfor
WorkintheHumanitiesandSocialSciencesfromGermany,ajointinitiativeoftheFritzThyssen
Foundation,theGermanFederalForeignOffice,thecollectingsocietyvgwortandtheBörsenvereindes
DeutschenBuchhandels(GermanPublishersandBooksellersAssociation).
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Names:Albert,Gleb,1981-author.|MurphyKing,Zachary,translator.
Title:Thecharismaofworldrevolution:revolutionaryInternationalisminearly
Sovietsociety,1917-1927/byGlebJ.Albert;translatedbyZacharyMurphyKing.
Othertitles:CharismaderWeltrevolution.English|Revolutionary
InternationalisminearlySovietsociety,1917-1927
Description:Leiden;Boston:Brill,[2023]|Series:Historicalmaterialismbook
series,1570-1522;272|"|Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
Identifiers:lccn2022052548(print)|lccn2022052549(ebook)|
isbn9789004527768(hardback)|isbn9789004527775(ebook)
Subjects:lcsh:SovietUnion–History–1917-1936.|Worldpolitics–20thcentury.|
Internationalism.
Classification:lccdk266.a545132023(print)|lccdk266(ebook)|
ddc947.084/1–dc23/eng/20221122
lcrecordavailableathttps://lccn.loc.gov/2022052548
lcebookrecordavailableathttps://lccn.loc.gov/2022052549
TypefacefortheLatin,Greek,andCyrillicscripts:“Brill”.Seeanddownload:brill.com/brill‑typeface.
issn1570-1522
isbn978-90-04-52776-8(hardback)
isbn978-90-04-52777-5(e-book)
Copyright2023byGlebJ.Albert.PublishedbyKoninklijkeBrillnv,Leiden,TheNetherlands.
KoninklijkeBrillnvincorporatestheimprintsBrill,BrillNijhoff,BrillHotei,BrillSchöningh,BrillFink,
Brillmentis,Vandenhoeck&Ruprecht,Böhlau,V&RunipressandWageningenAcademic.
KoninklijkeBrillnvreservestherighttoprotectthispublicationagainstunauthorizeduse.Requestsfor
re-useand/ortranslationsmustbeaddressedtoKoninklijkeBrillnvviabrill.comorcopyright.com.
Thisbookisprintedonacid-freepaperandproducedinasustainablemanner.
Contents
Acknowledgements vii
Abbreviations x
EditorialNote xiii
1 Introduction 1
2 ‘WorldRevolution’,theBolsheviksandSovietSociety 46
1 BolshevikInternationalismthroughtheWorldWarandRevolution 46
2 1918/19,1923,1926:ThreeWorld-Revolutionary‘Windowsof
Opportunity’inTheirSovietReflection 57
2.1 1918/19:TheConflagrationinCentralEurope 57
2.2 1923:ThePhantomofthe‘GermanOctober’ 75
2.3 1926:SolidaritybyDecree:TheBritishGeneralStrike 89
3 ActivistsandtheCharismaofWorldRevolution 104
1 Activists,OpportunistsandFunctionaries:TypesofEarlySovietPolitical
Actors 104
2 TheWorldRevolutionasa‘DelightfulThing’ 126
3 CommunistWorldSocietyorRussianDomination?ActivistsImagine
theFuture 142
4 InternationalistPracticesi:CharismaandActivismbetween
theRevolutionandnep 172
1 Informing,PerformingandIntervening:PublicSpeechabouttheWorld
Revolution 172
2 InternationalistGreetingMessagesandTheirAuthors 186
3 TheBolshevikProvincialPress:FromActivistMouthpieceto‘Mass’
Newspaper 206
5 InternationalismandtheSoviet‘Masses’ 234
1 WaysandMeansofTransmittingInternationalistKnowledge 234
1.1 ExpectationsandLinesofArgument 234
1.2 TheInstrumentariumofAgitprop 244
2 Reactionsofthe‘Masses’:Disinterest,Resistance,Appropriation 267
6 mopr:TheInstitutionalisationofInternationalSolidarityin
theobshchestvennost’ 289
vi contents
7 InternationalPracticesii:Activismandobshchestvennost’fromnep
toStalinism 334
1 DonationsandFundraising:ClassSolidarity,Philanthropy
andEntertainment 334
2 ObjectsandSubjectsof‘Shefstvo’:ComparingTwoTypes
ofInternationalSponsorship 358
3 InternationalistPenPalCorrespondence–Collectiveand
Individual 385
4 BannersWanted:TheTwistsandTurnsofInternationalFlag
Exchange 409
5 DealingwithComradesfromAbroad:ForeignRepresentatives
oftheLabourMovementintheSovietUnion 435
8 APracticeForestalled:GoingAbroadfortheWorldRevolution 465
9 ConcludingRemarks 481
Bibliography 501
Index 564
Acknowledgements
A book is not just written quietly on one’s own, especially if it is a doctoral
thesis, the ticket to the academic world. Not only does it involve extensive
visits to the archives, it also means having daily exchanges with colleagues
and friends who question, reject and contextualise one’s initial conclusions,
or simply help the author get over the frustration of work over a coffee or a
beer.Thisexchangeispartandparcelofacademicwork,anditwouldbehighly
dispiriting if this were not the case. The people and institutions that create
thebasic conditionsfor productiveworkareequally essential:open-minded
andhelpfulacademicsupervisors,archivistsanditspecialists;institutionsthat
createopportunitieswithscholarshipstoenjoytripsabroadandcoffeebreaks
withouthavingtoconstantlycheckone’sbankbalance;conferenceorganisers
whoprovidetheinfrastructuretoenabledoctoralstudentsnotonlytowrite‘for
thedrawer’,astheysaidintheSovieteraaboutworkwrittenwithouthopefor
publication,butalsotosharetheirfreshlygainedinsightswiththeacademic
worldbeforethedefence.Itwasmygoodfortunetoreceivealltheseblessings
whileworkingonthisthesis.
Most of all I am indebted to my academic supervisors,ThomasWelskopp
andKlausGestwa.Independentlyof oneanother,theyplacedagreatdealof
trust in me and my project and supported me throughout with suggestions,
criticismandhelpwithcontentandorganisation.Withouttheircommitment
andsupport,whichIfeltatalltimes,itwouldnothavebeenpossibleformeto
realisethisproject.Sadly,ThomasWelskopp,whopassedawayinAugust2021,
willnotwitnessthepublicationoftheEnglishtranslationofthisbook,which
heencouragedmetopursue.
IamlikewisegratefultoBernhardH.Bayerlein,whoawakenedmyinterestin
thehistoryofcommunism,taughtmethehistorian’stradeinthefullestsense
of theterm,andalwayshelpedmeinwordanddeed.Itisnoexaggerationto
saythatwithouthishelpIwouldmostlikelynothavebecomeahistorian.
TheBielefeldGraduateSchoolinHistoryandSociologygavemetheoppor-
tunitytorealisemyprojectwithagenerousscholarship.Theinstitutionalback-
ing,theopportunitiestoconnectwithotherscholars,theworkingatmosphere
and,lastbutnotleast,thestaff andfellowdoctoralstudentscreatedthebest
conditionsIcouldwishfor.ThisisespeciallytrueforFrankLeitenberger,whom
Icouldnotthankenoughforeverythinghehasdoneformeovertheseyears,
andUlfOrtmannforbeingagreatoffice-mateandneighbour.TheLeibnizInsti-
tute for European History in Mainz made it possible for me to complete the
thesiswithawrite-upscholarship.Iwouldliketoexpressmysincerethanksto
viii acknowledgements
theinstitute’smanagement,staffandfellowscholarshiprecipients,especially
Zaur Gasimov, Kevin Anding and Robert Bernsee. My new workplace at the
Departmentof Historyof theUniversityof Zurichwascrucialforturningthe
thesismanuscriptintotheGermaneditionof thisbook.Iamverygratefulto
mynewcolleagues,firstandforemostWendelinBrühwilerandMonikaDom-
mann,fortheirwarmwelcomeandunderstandingthatIstillhadto‘tieupthe
looseends’ofmyoldprojectdespitemynewcommitments.Ithanktheeditors
oftheHistoricalMaterialismBookSeries,firstandforemostSebastianBudgen,
forembracingthebook,welcomingitsEnglishtranslationfortheseries,and
encouragingmetoapplyfortheGeisteswissenschaftenInternationaltransla-
tionprize,thankstowhichthiseditioncannowbepublished.ZacharyMurphy
KingmasterfullytranslatedthebookintoEnglish,andIamimmenselygrateful
forhismeticulousandskilfulwork.Workingwithhimwasapleasure.
Thanks are also due to the institutions that maintain and preserve the
sourcesonwhichthisworkisbased.InMoscow,itwasthestaffofthergaspi
(especially Irina Selezneva, Irina Kremen’, Larisa Reshetilo and Yuri Tutoch-
kin), the garf, the rgae, theTsAGM and various libraries that enabled me
toaconductfruitfulsearchforprimarysources.Iwouldliketothankthestaff
oftheGermanHistoricalInstituteinMoscowfortheirorganisationalsupport.
InBerlin,itwasthestaffofthesapmo-BArchandtheDeutschesHistorisches
Museum(especiallyRegineFalkenberg)whosehelpfulnessenabledmetosup-
plement the Soviet perspective with a German one. Freddy Litten from the
BavarianStateLibrarysavedmemanyajourneybyprovidingessentialmicro-
filmedarchivematerials.VeryspecialthanksgotoSabineRahmsdorfandher
teamfromtheHistoryDepartmentof BielefeldUniversityLibraryforagreat
collectionandforimplementingeventhemostexoticacquisitionsuggestions.
AtcolloquiainBielefeld,Konstanz,Tübingen,Potsdam,Düsseldorf,Cardiff,
Mainz, Norwich and Bern, I had the opportunity to share my findings with
expertcolleaguesandtoreconsiderthemagainandagain.Theresearchwork-
shop of the department ‘History of Modern Societies’ at Bielefeld University
also provided me with the reassurance that I was on the right track thanks
to the intensive discussion of my work. Similarly, I am also grateful to those
friends and colleagues who stood by my project in many ways and fuelled
it through discussions, tips, suggestions and assistance: Robert Bache, Sarah
Badcock, Marcel Bois, David Brandenberger, Kasper Braskén, Katja Bruisch,
Barry Carr, Vito Gironda, Susan Grant, Malte Griesse, Julia Herzberg, Alexis
Hofmeister, Mark Jones, Norman LaPorte, Daniel Laqua, Semion Lyandres,
Thomas Maier, Christina Morina, Timur Mukhamatulin, Manfred Mugrauer,
MatthiasNeumann,FredrikPetersson,JetteProchnow,AndreasRenner,Aaron
B.Retish,JamesRyan,VladimirSapon(†),DanielSiemens,UweSonnenberg,
acknowledgements ix
DavidR.Stone,JonathanWaterlow,KlausWeinhauerandAndyWillimott.Very
specialthanksgotoMelanieDejnegaandTimWätzoldfortheircriticaland
stimulatingreadingofindividualchapters.
Inaddition,specialmentionmustbemadeofthreefriendsandcolleagues.
First, Brendan McGeever and Aleksandr Reznik. Together we shared the
Moscow ‘historians’ commune’, explored the party archives, exchanged an
enormous amount of sources and invited each other to Bielefeld, Glasgow,
St.PetersburgandPerm’.Withouttheirsupportandnumeroustipsthiswork
wouldbeincomparablypoorer.Theworkonthethesiswasworthalltheeffort
if only to have found such friends. Frank Wolff is another great friend and
colleaguewhoaccompaniedmyworkandspurredmeonfromtheveryfirst
projectoutlinetothefinalchapter,proofreadtheentirethesis,founditsweak
pointswithhiswell-groundedandunsparingcriticism,andatthesametime
alwaysencouragedmeindifficultmoments.Iowehimmydeepestgratitude.
Withouthim,thisbookwouldnotexist.
TheworkisdedicatedtoYuriBirteAnderson,notonlyforherattentiveread-
ingofindividualchapters,butalsoforherunderstandingandpatiencethrough
themosttryingphasesofwork,andfortheloveandcomfortshegivesmeevery
day–andtoLilwen,ourmarvellousdaughter,whosawthelightofdayduring
thefinalproofreadingphaseoftheEnglishtranslation,andwhowillhopefully
readthisbookoneday.
Abbreviations
Agitprop AgitationandPropaganda
cc CentralCommittee
ccc CentralControlCommission
Cheka →VChK
ci CommunistInternational
Com. Comrade
Comfaction CommunistFaction
Comintern CommunistInternational
cp CommunistParty
dhm DeutschesHistorischesMuseum(GermanHistoricalMuseum)
ec ExecutiveCommittee
ecci ExecutiveCommitteeoftheCommunistInternational
garf GosudarstvennyiarkhivRossiiskoiFederatsii(StateArchivesofthe
RussianFederation)
Glavpolitprosvet GlavnoeupravleniepoliticheskogoprosveshcheniiaNarkomprosa
rsfsr(MainAdministrationforPoliticalEducationatthePeople’s
CommissariatforEnlightenmentofthe→rsfsr)
iah InternationaleArbeiter-Hilfe,Germannameofthe→iwr
ira InternationalRedAid
ituc InternationalTradeUnionConfederation
iwr InternationalWorkers’Relief
kjvd KommunistischerJugendverbandDeutschlands(CommunistYouth
LeagueofGermany)
Komsomol Kommunisticheskiisoiuzmolodezhi(CommunistYouthLeague)
kp(b)U Kommunisticheskaia partiia (bol’shevikov) Ukrainy (Communist
Party(Bolsheviks)ofUkraine)
kpd Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands (Communist Party of Ger-
many)
Krestintern Krest’ianskiiInternatsional(RedPeasantInternational)
Mezhrabpom Mezhdunarodnaia Rabochaia Pomoshch’,Russian name of the →
iwr
mopr Mezhdunarodnaia organizatsiia pomoshchi bortsam revoliutsii
(InternationalOrganisationforAidtotheFightersof theRevolu-
tion,Sovietsectionofthe→ira,also:Russiannameofthe→ira).
nep NewEconomicPolicy
nkid Narodnyikomissariatinostrannykhdel(People’sCommissariatfor
ForeignAffairs)
