Areas of Activity of the Agents of the Comintern in Europe in 1921–1925 (Based on the Materials from French Archives)

Abstract

This article dwells on the topic little studied in Russian and foreign historiography, namely, the intelligence work of foreigners in European countries in favour of the Communist International. The research involved documents from the Historical Service of the French Ministry of Defence and the French National Archives, in particular, the court cases of three French activists (J. Sadoul, A. Guilbeaux and R. Petit). The materials of the court cases were formed on the basis of the information gathered by the French intelligence about the activities of these people in European countries. The author of the paper, having analysed the above court cases, determined the chronological framework of this activity (1921–1925) and identified six areas of the Bolshevik agents’ work aimed to promote the communist movement in European countries. These areas included campaigning through organization and distribution of the Soviet press abroad; restoration of the cultural ties between the countries of Western Europe and Soviet Russia; propaganda measures in the occupied territories of Germany; establishment of additional contacts with representatives of the French Communist Party; attempts to revitalize the communist movement in Czechoslovakia and Turkey; and establishment of a link between the Comintern and the Italian and Swiss communists. The author comes to the conclusion that the agents’ activities in these areas had positive results. This example of cooperation between the European communists and leaders of the Comintern through French agents is a new page in the history of communism. It demonstrates the collaboration between the Bolsheviks and representatives of the opposition parties in France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland, actively mediated by French citizens, and personifies this aspect of the development of the world communist movement.