The Spanish Anarchists and the Russian Revolution, 191724

The book unearths the interactions between anarchists and Bolsheviks and assesses their significance for social conflict in Spain and for the foundation of international communism.

The Spanish Anarchists and the Russian Revolution, 1917-24 explores the impact of the Russian Revolution on the world's most powerful anarchist movement, the Spanish National Confederation of Labour. The monograph traces the curve of euphoria followed by scepticism that characterized anarchist reactions to the Soviet experiment in 1917-24.

This book unearths the interactions between anarchists and Bolsheviks, and assesses their significance for social conflict in Spain and for the foundation of international communism. The Spanish anarchists are a window to examine the global appeal of the Bolsheviks among diverse, non-Marxist militant groups at a time of cross-fertilization for the left internationally. Through the case study of the Spanish anarchists, this book highlights how identification with the victorious Russian Bolsheviks became a rousing device and a political asset at a time of intense social effervescence, when, in the eyes of many, world revolution seemed imminent. However, for heterodox, non-Marxist forces, such as the Spanish anarchists, the Soviet model had to be negotiated and adapted to local conditions and political traditions.

This book later traces the ending of this phase of cross-fertilization at a time of defeat and demoralization for the labour movement in Spain and across Europe.

Autorentext

Arturo Zoffmann Rodriguez is a full-time researcher and a lecturer at the Institute of Contemporary History (IHC) at the NOVA School of Social Sciences and Humanities / IN2PAST, in Lisbon, Portugal. His work has delved into the history of the post-First World War crises from a transnational and comparative perspective. His work is funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT).

Inhalt

1. The Three Bolshevik Years. 2. Negotiating Bolshevism, 1917-19 3. Three Missions 4. The Experience Of Defeat 5. Conclusion.