Do you know your Communists?
A. Alexi Bukharin: youngest member of the Politburo, joined in 1906.
Arrested and exiled to the Arctic Circle, but escaped and lived abroad until
February, 1917. Responsible for ‘coining’ ‘Socialism in One Country’. Cowrote ‘ABC’s of Communism’ and became enthusiastic supporter of NEP.
B. Married to Trotsky’s sister, Kamenev was in exile with Lenin. After the
February Revolution, he wanted co-operation with the Provisional
Government as he believed that Russia wasn’t ready for a socialist
revolution. After the October Revolution, he resigned his chairmanship of
the Central Executive of the Committee of Soviets when Lenin refused to
form a broad coalition. In 1922, he formed a triumvirate with Zinoviev and
Stalin to prevent Trotsky becoming more powerful.
C. Rykov was regarded as a party moderate. He was exiled to Siberia seven
times, and escaped seven times. After Lenin’s death he was elected to
succeed him as the Chairman of the Sovnarkom and Prime Minister of the
USSR.
D. Josef Stalin: Stalin was from Georgia and joined the Bolsheviks in
1907. He was famous for robbing banks and sent to Siberia many
times, escaping each time. He was the Commissar for Nationalities
after the Revolution. In 1919, he was made head of Rabkin, which
gave him powers to inspect all government departments. In 1922, he
was asked to be General Secretary of the Party, though he declined
at first. When Lenin had his first stroke, he was part of the unofficial
‘triumvirate’. His nickname was ‘Comrade Card Index’.
E. Trotsky: Gifted writer and speaker, Trotsky, alongside Lenin,
helped seize power for the Bolsheviks in October, 1917. In March,
1918, he was the Commissar for War, creating the Red Army from
next to nothing. He was elected to the Politburo in 1919. In 1923, he
spoke out against the NEP and wanted the party to concentrate
more on the international revolution.
F. Zinoviev: Joined the Bolsheviks in 1901 and spent 14 years in exile
with Lenin working on the party newspapers. Became the first
Chairman of the Comintern in 1919. In 1922, he formed the
triumvirate to combat Trotsky’s influence in the party was
Chairman of the Petrograd Party.
G: Franz Johann Martens: my grandfather. A Kulak in central
Russia, and because of his religious beliefs, a pacifist, he was not
required to fight in the First World War. His uniform is that of a
Red Cross ambulance driver. After the war, he and his family
were targeted by the Communists which resulted in their decision
to leave Russia and go to Canada in 1925.
F. V.I. Lenin: Set up the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party
(RSDRP) in 1898. Was exiled in Switzerland, and then England
for the majority of the early 20th century. When the revolution
came in February, 1917, Lenin, in exile in Switzerland, was taken
by surprise and did not arrive in Russia until April (photo is of
Lenin in disguise.) He did, however, lead the October Revolution
and would lead the new state until his death in 1924.