Toward the united front: proceedings of the Fourth Congress of the Communist International, [Petrograd], 1922

The proceedings of the last Comintern congress in which Lenin participated, now at last available in English, reveals a Communist world movement grappling to reconcile the goal of unifying workers and colonial people in struggle with that of pressing forward to socialist revolution. The principle of national parties'autonomy strains against calls for more stringent centralisation. Debates range over the birth of Fascism, decay of the Versailles Treaty system, the rise of colonial revolution, and women's emancipation. Newly translated and richly annotated, the stenographic transcript of the month-long congress discloses a rich spectrum of viewpoints among delegates. Indispensable source material on early Communism is supplemented by an analytic introduction, detailed footnotes, more than 500 short biographies, glossary, chronology, and index. Contents 5 List of Speakers 7 Resolutions and Appeals 11 Editorial Introduction 13 About This Edition 67 Acknowledgements 73 Session 1. Opening Session (5 November) 75 Session 2. Report of the Executive Committee (9 November) 103 Session 3. Report of the Executive Committee (10 November) 131 Session 4. Discussion of Executive Committee Report (11 November) 169 Session 5. Discussion of Executive Committee Report (11 November) 203 Session 6. Discussion of Executive Committee Report (12 November) 237 Session 7. Discussion of Executive Committee Report (12 November) 265 Session 8. Five Years of the Russian Revolution and Perspectives for the World-Revolution (13 November) 305 Session 9. Five Years of the Russian Revolution and Perspectives for the World-Revolution (14 November) 331 Session 10. Five Years of the Russian Revolution Perspectives for the World-Revolution (14 November) 359 Session 11. The Capitalist Offensive (15 November) 385 Session 12. Fascism; the Capitalist Offensive (16 November) 415 Session 13. Credentials Report; the Capitalist Offensive (17 November) 447 Session 14. Programme (18 November) 491 Session 15. Programme (18 November) 531 Session 16. Trade Unions (20 November) 541 Session 17. Trade Unions (20 November) 581 Session 18. Trade Unions; Programme; Workers’ Aid (21 November) 633 Session 19. The Eastern Question (22 November) 661 Session 20. The Eastern Question (23 November) 719 Session 21. The Agrarian Question (24 November) 751 Session 22. The Agrarian Question; Youth; Blacks (25 November) 785 Session 23. The Cooperative Movement (25 November) 825 Session 24. Communist Work among Women (27 November) 849 Session 25. Educational Work; Versailles Treaty (28 November) 887 Session 26. Versailles Treaty; Austria; Executive Reorganisation (29 November) 915 Session 27. Executive Reorganisation; Yugoslavia; Egypt; Black Question; Agrarian Question; Workers’ Aid (30 November) 947 Session 28. France (1 December) 975 Session 29. France, Spain, Denmark, Executive, Youth (2 December) 1017 Session 30. Italy; Czechoslovakia (4 December) 1043 Session 31. Workers’ Aid; Yugoslavia; Norway (5 December) 1081 Session 32. Various Resolutions; Election of ECCI; Close of Congress (5 December) 1105 Appendix: Resolutions and Appeals 1133 1. Statement by Domski 1133 2. Protest by the American Commission 1134 3. Political Resolution on the French Question 1135 4. Decisions on the Reorganisation of the Executive Committee and Its Future Activity 1145 5. Resolution on the Italian Question 1150 6. Resolution on the Versailles Treaty 1155 7. On the Tactics of the Comintern 1161 7a: December 1921 Theses on the Workers’ United Front 1176 8. Open Letter to the Second International and the Vienna Association 1186 9. Theses on the Eastern Question 1192 10. The Educational Work of the Communist Parties 1203 11. Programme of Work and Struggle for the French Communist Party 1206 12. Theses on Communist Activity in the Trade Unions 1211 Chronology 1219 Glossary 1223 Biographical Notes 1229 Bibliography 1269 Index 1283 Editorial Introduction About This Edition Acknowledgements ProceedingsSession 1. Opening Session (5 November) Session 2. Report of the Executive Committee (9 November) Session 3. Report of the Executive Committee (Concluded), Discussion (10 November) Session 4. Discussion of Executive Committee Report (Continued) (11 November) Session 5. Discussion of Executive Committee Report (Continued) (11 November) Session 6. Discussion of Executive Committee Report (Continued) (12 November) Session 7. Discussion of Executive Committee Report (Conclusion) (12 November) Session 8. Five Years of the Russian Revolution and Perspectives for the World-Revolution (13 November) Session 9. Five Years of the Russian Revolution and Perspectives for the World-Revolution (Continued) (14 November) Session 10. Five Years of the Russian Revolution and Perspectives for the World-Revolution (Concluded) (14 November) Session 11. The Capitalist Offensive (15 November) Session 12. Fascism the Capitalist Offensive - Continued (16 November) Session 13. Credentials Report the Capitalist Offensive - Concluded (17 November) Session 14. Programme (18 November) Session 15. Programme - Continued (18 November) Session 16. Trade Unions (20 November) Session 17. Trade Unions - Continued (20 November) Session 18. Trade Unions (Summary) Programme Workers' Aid (21 November) Session 19. The Eastern Question (22 November) Session 20. The Eastern Question (Concluded) (23 November) Session 21. The Agrarian Question (24 November) Session 22. The Agrarian Question Youth Blacks (25 November) Session 23. The Cooperative Movement (25 November) Session 24. Communist Work among Women (27 November) Session 25. Educational Work Versailles Treaty (28 November) Session 26. Versailles Treaty Austria Executive Reorganisation (29 November) Session 27. Executive Reorganisation Yugoslavia Egypt Black and Agrarian Questions (30 November) Session 28. France (1 December) Session 29. France, Spain, Denmark, Executive, Youth (2 December) Session 30. Italy Czechoslovakia (4 December) Session 31. Workers' Aid Yugoslavia Norway (5 December) 0000Session 32. Various Resolutions Election of ECCI Close of Congress (5 December) Appendixes: Congress Resolutions and Appeals This book offers, for the first time in English, the proceedings and decisions of the last congress of the Communist International held in Lenin's lifetime. With an analytic introduction, detailed footnotes, 500 biographic notes, glossary, chronology, and index. Edited And Translated By John Riddell. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.