László Rudas
Encyclopedia
László Rudas was a Hungarian communist newspaper editor and politician who survived the Great Purge
in the Soviet Union
to become director of the Central Party School of the Communist Party of Hungary.
on 21 February 1885. He joined the Social Democratic Party of Hungary
(SDP) in 1903 as a university student and identified with the revolutionary socialist left wing of the party. From 1905 he was on the staff of Népszava (People's Voice), the official organ of the Hungarian SDP.
Following the October 1918 Hungarian Revolution
, Rudas consistently stood on the left wing of the Hungarian SDP, voting with a minority of the Central Committee to condemn the Hungarian majority socialists for participation in the independent Hungarian government of Mihály Károlyi
. Whereas the majority socialists sought an independent Hungary within the framework of a monarchy, the left wing sought insurrection leading to establishment of a workers' republic of the Bolshevik
type, as was currently being established in Soviet Russia
.
On November 17, 1918, Rudas and his co-thinker, János Hirrosik, called a secret meeting of 50 left wing members of the SDP. Rudas denounced the compromises made by the leadership of his party and called for the immediate formation of a new radical political organization, an idea which was not immediately supported by a majority of the session's participants. However, a week later, on November 24, members of the SDP met in a private apartment in Buda
and acceded to Béla Kun's demand for the establishment of the Communist Party of Hungary. Rudas was a member from the Party's inception and was one of 18 original members on its first Central Committee. members. He also served as editor-in-chief of the party's official newspaper, Vörös Ujság ("Red Gazette").
Rudas was the first translator of V.I. Lenin's State and Revolution into Hungarian and also produced a number of other translations of Russian pamphlet literature.
Rudas was designated as the delegate of the Hungarian party to the founding congress
of the Communist International (Comintern) in March 1919, but was unable to reach Moscow
until a month after the gathering had concluded. Rudas stayed in Moscow for several months, attending meetings of the Executive Committee of the Communist International (ECCI). He then left for Germany
and Austria
, where he took part in the highly factionalized politics of the exiled Hungarian Communist Party (CP).
During the Hungarian Revolution, Rudas stood with the far left of the revolutionary government, urging "strong and merciless" application of the proletarian dictatorship "until the world revolution spreads elsewhere in Europe." He was regarded by revolutionary leader Béla Kun as an advisor on ideological matters, along with György Lukács.
.
Rudas, ever the leftist, drew a radical conclusion from the fall of the Kun regime, declaring in 1920 that "the mistake lay not in unification [of various strata of the country behind the revolutionary government]. The mistake was in the communists' abandonment of the struggle to captivate the masses." In the extreme factional politics following the fall of the revolution, the hardline Rudas was an opponent of Jószef Pogány (John Pepper
), regarded by the left wing as an opportunist
; the moderate wing of the Communist Party regarded Rudas and his associates as dangerous revolutionary adventurers.
In March 1922 Rudas returned to Moscow to attend meetings of ECCI and its Presidium. He was co-opted into the Comintern apparatus, remaining to teach in Moscow at the Institute of Red Professors
, later at the Comintern's Lenin School.
During the 1930s, Rudas worked at the Marx-Engels-Lenin Institute in Moscow and contributed frequently to the theoretical journal Pod znamia Marksizma ("Under the Banner of Marxism"). He was arrested in 1938, during the last days of the Great Terror
, but was subsequently released. He was arrested again in 1941 during the first panicky days of the German invasion but was released again, along with Lukács, who had also been taken in the roundup.
After the conclusion of the Second World War, Rudas returned to Hungary, where he became director of the Central Party School of the Communist Party of Hungary as well as a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
. He also served as a member of parliament from 1945 to 1950.
Rudas was a voice of staunch party orthodoxy, leading a criticism of the ideas of Lukács in 1949.
László Rudas died in Budapest
on 29 April 1950.
Great Purge
The Great Purge was a series of campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin from 1936 to 1938...
in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
to become director of the Central Party School of the Communist Party of Hungary.
Before the 1918 Revolution
László Rudas was born in Sárvár, HungaryHungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
on 21 February 1885. He joined the Social Democratic Party of Hungary
Social Democratic Party (Hungary)
The Social Democratic Party often known as the "Historical" Social Democratic Party is a Hungarian political party that emerged following a split within the Hungarian Social Democratic Party in 1989...
(SDP) in 1903 as a university student and identified with the revolutionary socialist left wing of the party. From 1905 he was on the staff of Népszava (People's Voice), the official organ of the Hungarian SDP.
Following the October 1918 Hungarian Revolution
Hungarian Soviet Republic
The Hungarian Soviet Republic or Soviet Republic of Hungary was a short-lived Communist state established in Hungary in the aftermath of World War I....
, Rudas consistently stood on the left wing of the Hungarian SDP, voting with a minority of the Central Committee to condemn the Hungarian majority socialists for participation in the independent Hungarian government of Mihály Károlyi
Mihály Károlyi
Count Mihály Ádám György Miklós Károlyi de Nagykároly was briefly Hungary's leader in 1918-19 during a short-lived democracy...
. Whereas the majority socialists sought an independent Hungary within the framework of a monarchy, the left wing sought insurrection leading to establishment of a workers' republic of the Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
type, as was currently being established in Soviet Russia
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic , commonly referred to as Soviet Russia, Bolshevik Russia, or simply Russia, was the largest, most populous and economically developed republic in the former Soviet Union....
.
On November 17, 1918, Rudas and his co-thinker, János Hirrosik, called a secret meeting of 50 left wing members of the SDP. Rudas denounced the compromises made by the leadership of his party and called for the immediate formation of a new radical political organization, an idea which was not immediately supported by a majority of the session's participants. However, a week later, on November 24, members of the SDP met in a private apartment in Buda
Buda
For detailed information see: History of Buda CastleBuda is the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest on the west bank of the Danube. The name Buda takes its name from the name of Bleda the Hun ruler, whose name is also Buda in Hungarian.Buda comprises about one-third of Budapest's...
and acceded to Béla Kun's demand for the establishment of the Communist Party of Hungary. Rudas was a member from the Party's inception and was one of 18 original members on its first Central Committee. members. He also served as editor-in-chief of the party's official newspaper, Vörös Ujság ("Red Gazette").
Rudas was the first translator of V.I. Lenin's State and Revolution into Hungarian and also produced a number of other translations of Russian pamphlet literature.
Rudas was designated as the delegate of the Hungarian party to the founding congress
Founding Congress of the Comintern
The Founding Congress of the Comintern was an international gathering of communist, revolutionary socialist, and syndicalist delegates held in Moscow which established the Communist International...
of the Communist International (Comintern) in March 1919, but was unable to reach Moscow
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...
until a month after the gathering had concluded. Rudas stayed in Moscow for several months, attending meetings of the Executive Committee of the Communist International (ECCI). He then left for Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, where he took part in the highly factionalized politics of the exiled Hungarian Communist Party (CP).
During the Hungarian Revolution, Rudas stood with the far left of the revolutionary government, urging "strong and merciless" application of the proletarian dictatorship "until the world revolution spreads elsewhere in Europe." He was regarded by revolutionary leader Béla Kun as an advisor on ideological matters, along with György Lukács.
After the fall of the Hungarian Revolution
After the fall of the Hungarian revolutionary government, Rudas was among the 100,000 people who emigrated from the country, avoiding the fate of many — some 5,000 executions were conducted and 75,000 imprisonments made of revolutionary participants by the right wing regime of Miklós HorthyMiklós Horthy
Miklós Horthy de Nagybánya was the Regent of the Kingdom of Hungary during the interwar years and throughout most of World War II, serving from 1 March 1920 to 15 October 1944. Horthy was styled "His Serene Highness the Regent of the Kingdom of Hungary" .Admiral Horthy was an officer of the...
.
Rudas, ever the leftist, drew a radical conclusion from the fall of the Kun regime, declaring in 1920 that "the mistake lay not in unification [of various strata of the country behind the revolutionary government]. The mistake was in the communists' abandonment of the struggle to captivate the masses." In the extreme factional politics following the fall of the revolution, the hardline Rudas was an opponent of Jószef Pogány (John Pepper
John Pepper
John Pepper, also known as József Pogány, born József Schwartz was a Hungarian-Jewish Communist politician, active in the radical movements of both Hungary and the United States. He later served as a functionary in the Communist International in Moscow, before being cashiered in 1929...
), regarded by the left wing as an opportunist
Opportunism
-General definition:Opportunism is the conscious policy and practice of taking selfish advantage of circumstances, with little regard for principles. Opportunist actions are expedient actions guided primarily by self-interested motives. The term can be applied to individuals, groups,...
; the moderate wing of the Communist Party regarded Rudas and his associates as dangerous revolutionary adventurers.
In March 1922 Rudas returned to Moscow to attend meetings of ECCI and its Presidium. He was co-opted into the Comintern apparatus, remaining to teach in Moscow at the Institute of Red Professors
Institute of Red Professors
The Institute of Red Professors was an institute of graduate-level education in the Marxist social sciences located in the Orthodox Convent of the Passion, Moscow. It was founded in February 1921 to address shortage of Marxist professors but only about 25% of its graduates continued an academic...
, later at the Comintern's Lenin School.
During the 1930s, Rudas worked at the Marx-Engels-Lenin Institute in Moscow and contributed frequently to the theoretical journal Pod znamia Marksizma ("Under the Banner of Marxism"). He was arrested in 1938, during the last days of the Great Terror
Great Purge
The Great Purge was a series of campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin from 1936 to 1938...
, but was subsequently released. He was arrested again in 1941 during the first panicky days of the German invasion but was released again, along with Lukács, who had also been taken in the roundup.
After the conclusion of the Second World War, Rudas returned to Hungary, where he became director of the Central Party School of the Communist Party of Hungary as well as a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
Hungarian Academy of Sciences
The Hungarian Academy of Sciences is the most important and prestigious learned society of Hungary. Its seat is at the bank of the Danube in Budapest.-History:...
. He also served as a member of parliament from 1945 to 1950.
Rudas was a voice of staunch party orthodoxy, leading a criticism of the ideas of Lukács in 1949.
László Rudas died in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
on 29 April 1950.
Books and pamphlets
- Dialectical Materialism and Communism. London: Labour Monthly, 1934. 2nd ed., 1935.
Articles
- "The Proletarian Revolution in Hungary," The Communist International, vol. 1, no. 1 (May 1, 1919), p. 55.
- "The Meaning of Sidney Hook," The Communist, vol. 14, no. 4 (April 1935), pp. 326-349.
Additional reading
- "Lazlo Rudas: An Obituary," Labour Monthly, vol. 32, no. 7 (July 1950), p. 325.