Editor | Peter Arshinov (1925-1930) Grigorii Maksimov (1930-1950) |
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Categories | Politics |
Frequency | Bimonthly |
First issue | 1925 |
Final issue | 1950 |
Country | France (1925-1930) United States (1930-1950) |
Language | Russian |
OCLC | 20578018 |
Part of a series on |
Platformism |
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The Cause of Labor (Russian : Дело Труда, romanized: Delo Truda) was a libertarian communist magazine published by exiled Russian and Ukrainian anarchists. Initially under the editorship of Peter Arshinov, after it published the Organizational Platform , the subsequent controversy resulted in his exit from the anarchist movement. The magazine was then picked up by Grigorii Maksimov, who moved it to the United States and edited it until his death in 1950.
In 1925, Delo Truda was founded in Paris by Peter Arshinov and Nestor Makhno, two former confederates of the Makhnovist movement, which had attempted to establish libertarian communism in Ukraine. [1] Ida Mett was brought on as the magazine's secretary and typist, serving until 1927. Maria Goldsmith then took over as secretary, until her suicide in 1933. [2]
From 1926 to 1929, Makhno published a series of articles in Delo Truda that covered a range of topics about the Makhnovshchina, from refutations against allegations of antisemitism to theoretical articles about the state and revolution. He also penned criticisms of the Bolsheviks and issued appeals to aid anarchist political prisoners in the Soviet Union through the Anarchist Black Cross. [3] Makhno's articles were often written in a confusing polemical manner, to the frustration of Arshinov, who as editor had to constantly make revisions and corrections, which became a point of contention between the two. [4]
In June 1926, Delo Truda published its Organisation Platform , written by Arshinov with contributions from Makhno. The Platform proposed the formation of a "general union of anarchists", with a central executive committee, that would be able to overcome the disorganisation of the anarchist movement. [5] The publication of the Platform caused an immediate split within the anarchist movement, as anarchists such as Volin and Alexander Berkman issued sharp criticisms of it for its centralist and authoritarian tendencies. [6] In 1930, a discussion of the Platform was held at the 10th congress of the Union of Revolutionary Anarchist-Communists, in which Volin's anti-Platformist faction won out. [7] Later that year, Arshinov joined the Communist Party and before long had returned to the Soviet Union, leaving Delo Truda in the hands of Grigorii Maksimov, who transferred the magazine to the United States. [8]
With the magazine relocated to Chicago, [9] it shifted ideologically towards anarcho-syndicalism, while still keeping its pages open for contributions from anarchists of other tendencies. [10] In 1940, the magazine was merged with the Detroit-based anarchist magazine Probuzhdenie, which Maximoff edited until his death in 1950. [11]
Peter Andreyevich Arshinov, was a Russian anarchist revolutionary and intellectual who chronicled the history of the Makhnovshchina.
Nestor Ivanovych Makhno, also known as Bat'ko Makhno, was a Ukrainian anarchist revolutionary and the commander of the Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine during the Ukrainian War of Independence. He established the Makhnovshchina, a mass movement by the Ukrainian peasantry to establish anarchist communism in the country between 1918 and 1921. Initially centered around Makhno's home province of Katerynoslav and hometown of Huliaipole, it came to exert a strong influence over large areas of southern Ukraine, specifically in what is now the Zaporizhzhia Oblast of Ukraine.
Grigorii Petrovich Maksimov was a Russian anarcho-syndicalist. From the first days of the Russian Revolution, he played a leading role in the country's syndicalist movement – editing the newspaper Golos Truda and organising the formation of factory committees. Following the October Revolution, he came into conflict with the Bolsheviks, who he fiercely criticised for their authoritarian and centralist tendencies. For his anti-Bolshevik activities, he was eventually arrested and imprisoned, before finally being deported from the country. In exile, he continued to lead the anarcho-syndicalist movement, spearheading the establishment of the International Workers' Association (IWA), of which he was a member until his death.
Vsevolod Mikhailovich Eikhenbaum, commonly known by his pseudonym Volin, was a Russian anarchist intellectual. He became involved in revolutionary socialist politics during the 1905 Russian Revolution, for which he was forced into exile, where he gravitated towards anarcho-syndicalism.
The Makhnovshchina was a mass movement to establish anarchist communism in southern and eastern Ukraine during the Ukrainian War of Independence of 1917–1921. Named after Nestor Makhno, the commander-in-chief of the Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine, its aim was to create a system of free soviets that would manage the transition towards a stateless and classless society.
Semen Mykytovych Karetnyk was a Ukrainian anarchist revolutionary and military commander in the Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine (RIAU). He often replaced Nestor Makhno as supreme commander of the Insurgent Army in 1920. Karetnyk gained a reputation for his central role in defeating the White Army in Crimea in November 1920.
Ida Mett (1901–1973) was a Belarusian Jewish anarcho-syndicalist, physician and writer. Following her experiences in the Russian Revolution, she fled into exile in France, where she collaborated with other exiled revolutionary anarchists on the Delo Truda magazine and the constitution of platformism. She then went on to participate in the anarcho-syndicalist movements in Belgium, Spain and France, before repression by the fascist Vichy regime forced her to cease her activities. She spent the final decades of her life working as a nurse and publishing history books.
The Nabat Confederation of Anarchist Organizations, better known simply as the Nabat, was a Ukrainian anarchist organization that came to prominence during the Ukrainian War of Independence. The organization, based in Kharkiv, had branches in all of Ukraine's major cities. Its constitution was designed to be appealing to each of the different anarchist schools of thought.
Free soviets were the basic form of organization in the Makhnovshchina. These soviets acted independently from any central authority, excluding all political parties from participation, and met to self-manage the activities of workers and peasants through participatory democracy.
Aron Davydovych Baron was a Ukrainian Jewish anarchist revolutionary. Following the suppression of the 1905 Revolution, he fled to the United States, where he met his wife Fanya Baron and participated in the local workers movement. With the outbreak of the 1917 Revolution, he returned to Ukraine, where he became a leading figure in the Nabat and in the Makhnovshchina. He was imprisoned by the Cheka for his anarchist activities and was executed during the Great Purge.
Synthesis anarchism, also known as united anarchism, is an organisational principle that seeks unity in diversity, aiming to bring together anarchists of different tendencies into a single federation. Developed mainly by the Russian anarchist Volin and the French anarchist Sébastien Faure, synthesis anarchism was designed to appeal to communists, syndicalists and individualists alike. According to synthesis anarchism, an anarchist federation ought to be heterogeneous and relatively loosely organised, in order to preserve the individual autonomy of its members.
Platformism is an anarchist organizational theory that aims to create a tightly coordinated anarchist federation. Its main features include a common tactical line, a unified political policy and a commitment to collective responsibility.
Mark Mratchny was a Belarusian Jewish writer, anarcho-syndicalist and a member of the Makhnovist movement.
Agafya "Halyna" Andriivna Kuzmenko was a Ukrainian teacher and anarchist revolutionary. After moving to southern Ukraine, she became a prominent figure within the ranks of the Makhnovshchina, a mass movement to establish a libertarian communist society. Kuzmenko spearheaded the movement's educational activities, promoted Ukrainization and acted as an outspoken advocate of women's rights. Along with her husband, the anarchist military leader Nestor Makhno, in 1921 she fled into exile from the political repression in Ukraine. While imprisoned for subversive activities in Poland, she gave birth to her daughter Elena Mikhnenko, whom she brought with her to Paris. Following the death of her husband, the outbreak of World War II saw her deportation for forced labour, first by the Nazis and then by the Soviets. After her release, she spent her final days with her daughter in Kazakh SSR.
The Draft Declaration was a theoretical document, drafted by the Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine, which outlined the Makhnovshchina's program of free soviets as a foundation for its transition towards a stateless society of libertarian communism.
The flags of the Makhnovshchina consisted of a number of different black and red flags, each emblazoned with anarchist and socialist slogans.
The Battle of Dibrivka was a military conflict between Ukrainian insurgents, led by Nestor Makhno and Fedir Shchus, and the Central Powers that were occupying southern Ukraine. It took place on 30 September 1918, towards the end of World War I. The battle began when Makhno, Shchus, and a group of anarchist supporters ambushed Austrian and Ukrainian detachments stationed in Dibrivka. The anarchists were armed with machine guns and were assisted by local peasants, who together captured ammunition, arms, and prisoners of war. It resulted in an insurgent victory and the establishment of an autonomous territory in the region, following the subsequent defeat of the Central Powers.
The Polonsky conspiracy, also known as the Polonsky plot or Polonsky affair, was an attempt by Ukrainian Bolsheviks to overthrow the Makhnovshchina during the autumn of 1919.
Yosif Isaakovich Gotman, also known by his nom de plureYosif the Emigrant, was a Ukrainian anarchist and a leading member of the Nabat and the Makhnovshchina.
The Road to Freedom was the main newspaper of the Makhnovist movement, publishing 50 issues from May 1919 to November 1920.