International Lenin School
Encyclopedia
Situated in Moscow
and shrouded in secrecy, the International Lenin School (ILS) was founded in 1926 as an instrument for the "Bolshevisation" of the Communist International (Comintern
) and its national sections, following the resolutions of the fifth Congress of the Comintern. Between 1926 and 1938 the school provided up to 3,000 communists with such a training. Most of them were from European and American communist parties, with another Comintern-affiliated institution, the Communist University of the Toilers of the East
, catering for the majority of students from colonial countries. The students were taught courses in working-class history, the political economy of imperialism
, Marxist
theory, and the experience of proletarian dictatorship – consolidated by practical work in a Soviet economic enterprise. In the earlier part of the school’s operation they also became members of the Soviet communist party
.
Internationally, Lenin School students can be traced as late as the 1960s and beyond exercising significant responsibilities either as heads of communist governments, like Yugoslavia
’s Josip Broz Tito
, Poland
’s Władysław Gomułka and the GDR’s Erich Honecker
, or as leaders of significant oppositional parties elsewhere, such as the general secretaries of the French
, Greek
and South African
communist parties, Waldeck Rochet
, Nikolaos Zachariadis
and Moses Kotane
. Other important students of the Lenin School include such figures as Harry Haywood
and David Alfaro Siqueiros
.
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
and shrouded in secrecy, the International Lenin School (ILS) was founded in 1926 as an instrument for the "Bolshevisation" of the Communist International (Comintern
Comintern
The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern, also known as the Third International, was an international communist organization initiated in Moscow during March 1919...
) and its national sections, following the resolutions of the fifth Congress of the Comintern. Between 1926 and 1938 the school provided up to 3,000 communists with such a training. Most of them were from European and American communist parties, with another Comintern-affiliated institution, the Communist University of the Toilers of the East
Communist University of the Toilers of the East
The Communist University of the Toilers of the East or KUTV was established April 21, 1921, in Moscow by the Communist International as a training college for communist cadres in the colonial world. The school officially opened on October 21, 1921...
, catering for the majority of students from colonial countries. The students were taught courses in working-class history, the political economy of imperialism
Imperialism
Imperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationships, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." The imperialism of the last 500 years,...
, Marxist
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
theory, and the experience of proletarian dictatorship – consolidated by practical work in a Soviet economic enterprise. In the earlier part of the school’s operation they also became members of the Soviet communist party
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...
.
Internationally, Lenin School students can be traced as late as the 1960s and beyond exercising significant responsibilities either as heads of communist governments, like Yugoslavia
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
’s Josip Broz Tito
Josip Broz Tito
Marshal Josip Broz Tito – 4 May 1980) was a Yugoslav revolutionary and statesman. While his presidency has been criticized as authoritarian, Tito was a popular public figure both in Yugoslavia and abroad, viewed as a unifying symbol for the nations of the Yugoslav federation...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
’s Władysław Gomułka and the GDR’s Erich Honecker
Erich Honecker
Erich Honecker was a German communist politician who led the German Democratic Republic as General Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party from 1971 until 1989, serving as Head of State as well from Willi Stoph's relinquishment of that post in 1976....
, or as leaders of significant oppositional parties elsewhere, such as the general secretaries of the French
French Communist Party
The French Communist Party is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism.Although its electoral support has declined in recent decades, the PCF retains a large membership, behind only that of the Union for a Popular Movement , and considerable influence in French...
, Greek
Communist Party of Greece
Founded in 1918, the Communist Party of Greece , better known by its acronym, ΚΚΕ , is the oldest party on the Greek political scene.- Foundation :...
and South African
South African Communist Party
South African Communist Party is a political party in South Africa. It was founded in 1921 as the Communist Party of South Africa by the joining together of the International Socialist League and others under the leadership of Willam H...
communist parties, Waldeck Rochet
Waldeck Rochet
Waldeck Rochet was a French communist politician.-Early life and career:...
, Nikolaos Zachariadis
Nikolaos Zachariadis
Nikolaos Zachariadis was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Greece from 1931 to 1956.-Early life:Born in Adrianopole in 1903, the son of an employee of the Ottoman tobacco monopoly. He worked as a seaman on the Black Sea, where he came under the influence of the Bolshevik Revolution...
and Moses Kotane
Moses Kotane
Moses Mauane Kotane was a South African politician and activist. Kotane was secretary general of the South African Communist Party from 1939 until his death in 1978.-Early life:...
. Other important students of the Lenin School include such figures as Harry Haywood
Harry Haywood
Harry Haywood was a leading figure in both the Communist Party of the United States and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union . He contributed major theory to Marxist thinking on the national question of African Americans in the United States...
and David Alfaro Siqueiros
David Alfaro Siqueiros
José David Alfaro Siqueiros was a social realist painter, known for his large murals in fresco that helped establish the Mexican Mural Renaissance, together with works by Diego Rivera and José Clemente Orozco, and also a member of the Mexican Communist Party who participated in an...
.
Further reading
- British and Irish Students at the International Lenin School, Moscow, 1926-37. by John Halstead and Barry Mc Loughlin, from Saothar, the journal of the Irish Labour History Society.
- "The Irish in the Lenin School" article comments by Eugene Downing