Do you know your Communists?

A. Alexi Bukharin : youngest member of the Politburo, joined in Arrested and exiled to the Arctic Circle, but escaped and lived abroad until February, Responsible for ‘coining’ ‘Socialism in One Country’. Co- wrote ‘ABC’s of Communism’ and became enthusiastic supporter of NEP. B.Married to Trotsky’s sister, Kamenev was in exile with Lenin. After the February Revolution, he wanted co-operation with the Provisional Government as he believed that Russia wasn’t ready for a socialist revolution. After the October Revolution, he resigned his chairmanship of the Central Executive of the Committee of Soviets when Lenin refused to form a broad coalition. In 1922, he formed a triumvirate with Zinoviev and Stalin to prevent Trotsky becoming more powerful. C.Rykov was regarded as a party moderate. He was exiled to Siberia seven times, and escaped seven times. After Lenin’s death he was elected to succeed him as the Chairman of the Sovnarkom and Prime Minister of the USSR.

D.Josef Stalin : Stalin was from Georgia and joined the Bolsheviks in He was famous for robbing banks and sent to Siberia many times, escaping each time. He was the Commissar for Nationalities after the Revolution. In 1919, he was made head of Rabkin, which gave him powers to inspect all government departments. In 1922, he was asked to be General Secretary of the Party, though he declined at first. When Lenin had his first stroke, he was part of the unofficial ‘triumvirate’. His nickname was ‘Comrade Card Index’. E.Trotsky : Gifted writer and speaker, Trotsky, alongside Lenin, helped seize power for the Bolsheviks in October, In March, 1918, he was the Commissar for War, creating the Red Army from next to nothing. He was elected to the Politburo in In 1923, he spoke out against the NEP and wanted the party to concentrate more on the international revolution. F.Zinoviev : Joined the Bolsheviks in 1901 and spent 14 years in exile with Lenin working on the party newspapers. Became the first Chairman of the Comintern in In 1922, he formed the triumvirate to combat Trotsky’s influence in the party was Chairman of the Petrograd Party.

G: Franz Johann Martens: my grandfather. A Kulak in central Russia, and because of his religious beliefs, a pacifist, he was not required to fight in the First World War. His uniform is that of a Red Cross ambulance driver. After the war, he and his family were targeted by the Communists which resulted in their decision to leave Russia and go to Canada in F. V.I. Lenin: Set up the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDRP) in Was exiled in Switzerland, and then England for the majority of the early 20 th century. When the revolution came in February, 1917, Lenin, in exile in Switzerland, was taken by surprise and did not arrive in Russia until April (photo is of Lenin in disguise.) He did, however, lead the October Revolution and would lead the new state until his death in 1924.