• The Russian Revolution and the Comintern
    • The Russian Revolution started in 1917, intitiated by the Bolsheviks + Vladimir Lenin and established a communist state
    • Despite Russia being a non-developed, the revolution was justified by arguing that Russia would be the first state to set off a spark of communist sentiment
      • Supported by workers, soldiers
      • Faced opposition from other European forces and pro-tsar Russians
      • Starts with wanting a democratic form of government, but transitions to an autocratic one due to the state of constant war
    • The Russian proletariat was extremely small while agricultural workers were the majority; key disconnect between Marx and Engels’ idea of communism being born from a capitalist state
    • The Comintern was created to unite communists worldwide in order to develop communism in Western Europe
    • By 1920, the Bolsheviks are isolated both politically and geographically
  • Communism in the East
    • The Soviets turn to Asia and support anti-colonist struggles in Asia to spread communism
    • The Comintern held a meeting in Azerbaijan with representatives from various movements throughout Asia
      • Grigory Zinoviev, the leader of the Comintern, calls for an alliance between the western proletariat and the peasantry of Asia
    • By creating a common enemy in Western Europe (colonizers), the Soviets create an alliance with Asian states
    • The idea of anti-colonialism contradicted with classic communism, as anti-colonialists were often wealthy and part of the native bourgeoisie
      • The native bourgeoisie did not want to become communist; they simply wanted more power and were thus more conservative than revolutionary
      • The Comintern debated over this contradiction, as there was a lot of contention over the issue of hypocrisy
    • Before the Russian Revolution, much of Southeast Asia was colonized by Europeans
  • Communism and Pan-Islamism in the Dutch East Indies
    • The Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) was founded in 1920 and was initially dominated by Dutch activists
    • The Islamic Union (SI) was a pan-Islamist organization that was anti-coonial
      • Thought it was originally formed to protect Indonesian merchants, it expanded to recruiting poor peasants and working class
    • Many members of the PKI joined the SI and shared the same anti-colonist views, but they maintained their own separate identities
      • Used the Comintern’s “bloc within” strategy where communists joined anti-colonial organizations to further their cause but maintained separation
  • Tan Malaka
    • Indonesian (known then as the Dutch East Indies) communist, born in Java
    • Map of his travels: image
    • Born into an aristocratic family and learned Dutch, different European languages
    • Becomes interested in communsim after studying in Netherlands, joins socialist teachers’ union
    • When returning to the Dutch East Indies, he joins the PKI and is active in gaining support for it within the SI
    • 1921: Elected chairman of the PKI, arrested and exiled a year later
      • Extremely popular in the Netherlands, almost wins an election and gains support inside of the Comintern
    • Advocated for the marriage of Pan-Islamism and communism in order to further their cause, especially in Asia, in a speech to the Comintern
      • Communist propaganda typically were anti-Islamic, Malaka wants them to ally with them
      • Defends “bloc within” strategy and criticizes the Comintern’s judgemental attitude towards Islam
      • Argues that Islam is a historically progressive religion and aligns with Christianity as an Abrahamic religion
        • Communism could extend Islam’s progressive legacy in East Asia
    • Comintern is impressed with Malaka, appoints him as their representative in Indonesia
    • 1923: Malaka goes to Guangzhou, China to organize communist activities throughout Southeast Asia
    • 1925-1927: relocates to Manila, Philipines
    • Two brutal events in 1927
      • Comintern support a PKI uprising against the Dutch to which Malaka disapproves; the uprising fails and the party effectively dies for 7 years
      • Chinese communists are killed by the native bourgeoisie and flee to the countryside to avoid death
    • Malaka breaks off with the Comintern due to his belief that it had become a vehicle for Russian foreign policy
    • 1927-1941: Malaka attempts to found communist parties throughout SE Asia before returning to Indonesia during Japan’s occupation during WWII
    • 1945-1949: Japanese are defeated, and the Dutch attempt to reestablish authority which causes a war between Indonesian nationalists and the Dutch
      • Malaka creates a left-wing faction within the independence movement, in direct conflict with right-wing revolutionaries and is executed by Indonesian authorities in 1949
  • Main Points
    • The Russian Revolution created the first communist state which was meant to act as a spark for the rest of the world
    • Failure of revolution in Europe caused the Comintern to look towards anti-colonial struggles in Asia
    • Communism in Asia transforms the idea of communism, causes Malaka to use Islam to support the cause