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Sorry about that, I've removed a duplicate image and brought it back to 20 (or at least I count it as 20).
Congratulations on the award and the impressive quality of your updates. Avanti popolo, for the liberation of the human race!
A New Face for a New Italy
Garibaldi said:
After the “Second Risorgimento” was declared, the republic was still engulfed in an internal struggle with the remnants of the federation. The government had extended an offer of amnesty for all the clergy and nobility that still remained within the borders of the new Italy- however it unsurprisingly came with the condition that they give up their titles and large property holdings. This offer was only taken up by a few- most refused it and continued to put up what resistance they could.
It was a drastic transformation in the north as the old society gave way to the new. The countryside that was once dominated by traditional farmsteads were seized by revolting peasants who promptly redistributed the lands among themselves. Cadres from Naples advanced in the wake of these peasant uprisings to begin the reorganization of the agricultural economies, inline with syndicalist conceptions of socialism.
Within the cities, notably in the factories of Turin, Milan, and Tuscany, factories were made to mirror the organization of those in the Commune of France and the Union of Britain. These were in turn integrated into the planning bureaus that attempted to keep track of the economic pulse of the land. Workers were educated on the worker council system advanced by the Anarcho-Syndicalists, much to the chagrin of the Social-Reformists and National-Syndicalists.
Most importantly, the country now found itself with a massive boost in productivity and resources. From its initial state, advisers in the Republic estimated that industrial power nearly tripled, giving way for further research by the nation. Electricity production within the nation had increased and partially alleviated the reliance the RSI had on the Commune of France- though better production in electricity was still a ways off.
Economic advisers also saw that the north still had untapped resources that could help with helping shortages in electric production, metal supplies, and rare minerals. Orders were issued to begin construction of numerous factories across the north and south.
Of course, one of the more pressing issues was that of political structure and the way the RSI presented itself to the world. The RSI's structure was formed to address the situation in revolutionary southern Italy. With the south now unified with the north, the old structures or appearances could no longer suffice. Not wanting to repeat the mistakes of the first Risorgimento where the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont only crudely extended its state structure over the entire peninsula, the government in Naples set about convening an emergency meeting of the Greater Syndicalist Union to be held in January.
Aside from the usual delegations that had been present in previous Congresses, the new citizens of the north also had to be represented in some form. Socialist groups had existed in the Federation- though had largely been repressed. Their exact size or affiliations to major socialist currents within the republic were unclear, and as such it would be difficult to make a prediction as to the outcome of this special congress.
It was decided that due to Rome's undergoing repairs, the congress would instead be held in the untouched city of Livorno. There was not much concern in regards to the fact that many of these people were already having to deal with the transition from one government to another- now they would have to deal with being the center of the new nation's attention.
In the north the various workers and peasants councils were instructed on how to vote to ultimately send a delegate to the congress to represent their workplace. Similar steps were taken in the universities, military, police, engineers, doctors, and other fields of work within the nation.
The members of the republic were not the only ones busy in their work. The mafia naturally attempted to spread out from their suffocation in the south to locations across the north to escape the grasp of the police. In the north, the government was still attempting to spread its influence and thus not entirely aware of developments- here the mafia might be able to gain a reprieve from near destruction. Grieco immediately set out on creating or absorbing police networks in the north to try and prevent the mafia from capitalizing on the chaos of integration to escape the nets of the security apparatus of the Republic.
It goes without saying though that there was no room for political views that did not fall within the fold of socialist thought. This created more fuel in underground circles that were hellbent on starting a “revolution” to overthrow the new government, though thankfully for the RSI their influence was limited to former officials and clergy of the Federation and hardline liberals.
The Spanish Civil War was easily handled by France alone, which allowed for the RSI to begin withdrawing forces from the front lines to its new border with Austria. As the Federation and Austria enjoyed warm relations, there were no defensive emplacements on the border. The military was given orders to scout the region and plan for an effective defense in the event of a war. The American Civil War slowed down into the winter of 1937, but the Combined Syndicates seemed to have the momentum of the war after capturing Washington D.C.
With Croatia subjugated by Hungary, Bosnia under the occupation of Austria, and Serbia entertaining increasingly reactionary thought and in war with its neighbors in Bulgaria, the committed revolutionaries of the Balkans struggled to operate with the repression mounting. Some of these decided to flee across the Adriatic Sea to Italy where they might be able to train and find refuge, one of which was a Slovenian-Croat by the name of Josip Broz [1]. This particular figure was taken in by the Intelligence directorate for the purpose of training in the potential event of a socialist revolution in the powder keg that was the Balkans region.
Josip Broz in disguise
The delegates began to stream into Livorno at the end of December to prepare for the extraordinary session of the Greater Syndicalist Union. They were joined by the members of the government who wanted to pitch their ideas (or defense) for the potential changes to the political system. The major papers of the platforms and even the unaligned papers like La Repubblica and Liberazione chimed in their opinions on the session.
The Anarcho-Syndicalist organ L'Unità promptly defended the current political organization, though was open to cosmetic changes to the nation. The Social-Reformist Avanti! and the National-Syndicalist Il Popolo d'Italia however both argued for changes to the state. For their part the Social-Reformists opted to weaken the power of the House of Commons and the Council of the Republic and devolve power to the local councils- this position was unsurprisingly eagerly endorsed by the leaders of the trade unions and councils. The National-Syndicalists on the other hand advanced a “complete destruction” of the Republic, viewing it as tainted with “bourgeois” influences and replace it with a “real socialist state”- in its place they advanced an “Italian Socialist Union” with the state managing the nation as, at least as they viewed it, a continuous and well-run economy. Mussolini invoked the imagery of the Roman Empire, often romantically, as he pitched the Italian Socialist Union would merely be the germ of a future “Mediterranean Socialist Union”. With this Mussolini presented his flag design- a plain red flag with a golden eagle- the merging of Socialist and Roman imagery as he saw it.
Both the National-Syndicalists and Social-Reformists pitched their ideas as both eliminating problems with corruption and inefficiencies, though from different angles. For the former, it was because “unnecessary” layers of councils in between workplaces and the national government would be eliminated, for the later it was because centralized power would be removed and with it a troublesome area of corruption and careerists.
Liberazione argued for the executive functions of the government to be reorganized in a clear manner to make it clear exactly what functions the General Responsible served. La Repubblica however, was the most interested in a flag change:
December 20th - “A New Italy need a New Flag” printed in La Repubblica said:
The intention of the extraordinary session- which was shaping up to be a Constituent Assembly- was to finish by New Years' Eve- symbolically starting the new year with a new Italy. Much to the disappointment of everyone (but hardly a surprise), the session dragged out a lot longer than anticipated.
The first day went easy enough as drafts of the new constitution were considered and debated. Most of the delegates were in favor of the draft that was prepared within the Anarcho-Syndicalist draft, in particular by Gramsci, which was much more defined and less vague than the original one. Thus attempts were defeated at both ends to “reform” the government. However, the Anarcho-Syndicalists advanced a number of reorganizations and renaming of various governmental offices. These changes were adopted and follows:
The second day was over the organization of governmental divisions in the north to be integrated with those in the south. Along with this however was the question of the capital- calls were made to move the capital from Naples to Rome- the “heart” of a unified Italy, lying at the nexus of north and south. There did not seem to be much opposition to this from the delegates though some raised warnings to make sure the south would not be left out of developments of Italy as a whole.
The third day concerned the “territories” of Italy. A measure proposed by a National-Syndicalist delegate wanted the territories to include that of “Italia Irredentia”- most importantly Venice. All of these territories lay within the Austrian Empire and such a declaration was bound to worsen already poor relations between the two nations.
Other days consisted of how to organize the national football league, education, healthcare, and other matters and how it would accommodate the northern territories. It was however the matter of the flag and the name of the republic that the Anarcho-Syndicalists found to be its greatest disappointment.
Two measures were simultaneously advanced within the chamber- one from the social-reformists regarding the flag and another from the National-Syndicalists for the name. This was among the deluge of other suggestions, including Mussolini's infamous “Roman” platform, though it was these two that found the most success.
The Social-Reformists created a flag that they said embodied both Italian “history” and socialism- a tricolor with a stylized red star in the middle. The red star represented both socialism and the Republican lineage from Garibalidi and Mazzini as well, and would at least represent “independence” from the Commune of France.
Of course, the flag was now with out the syndicalist markers, one that the Anarcho-Syndicalists were quick to slam as capitulating to petty nationalist sentiments and insulting the lineage of the revolution. The Anarcho-Syndicalists also countered the position that Roman Republic's tricolors represented a regime that was tied to France by pointing out the Red-White-Green tricolor was also used by French client states.
The flag suggestion of the Social-Reformists, with some minor changes in tone, was accepted by the chamber, with many usually committed votes from Anarcho-Syndicalist and even National-Syndicalist delegates voting in favor of the proposition.
The other issue came in the form of the name change suggestions. A maverick National-Syndicalist joined by a more Marxist member of the Anarcho-Syndicalist platform advanced a name change of the government. Arguing the “socialist” in the Republic's name seemed too forced, they felt the republic's name should represent the broad mass of both workers and peasants residing within Italy. To that end they suggested “Italian People's Republic”.
This suggestion split the Anarcho-Syndicalist platform as some voted in favor while others against it. National-Syndicalists were also told to oppose it to favor Mussolini's favored name, though there was still clearly those who disobeyed that directive. Social-Reformists all voted in favor, more to spite the Anarcho-Syndicalists than clear support for it.
On January 4th, the two proposals were formally passed along with the new constitution.
And so the Socialist Republic of Italy became the Italian People's Republic and found itself with a new flag- the fervor of unification had changed many of the solidified institutions. The addition of the representatives from the north had upset the balance but was a necessary first step in ensuring this Risorgimento would be a permanent one, avoiding the problems of the Kingdom of Italy before them.
The Commune of France was less than enthusiastic, to put it lightly, of the changes by the Italians to their state. To France it felt there was anti-French sentiment underlying the changes to the appearances of the Republic as well as a small revival of Marxist sentiment in the choice of imagery and names for the country. It decided to cut the rate of electricity to the country as a way of showing its disapproval to Rome without showing it publicly to the world.
The young Republic entered into 1938 much as it did in 1860- its fate tied up with France's ambitions on the continent, Venice laying under the domination of the Austrians, and uncertainty lying beneath the patriotic fervor of unification as to their ability to survive the storms that would ravage Europe in the future.
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[1] Josip Broz was referred to by the code name "Tito" within the Republic's archives and the meetings of the Syndintern
Flag credits: from this site, by “Insahn”. Also thanks to HabemusZlatan went out of his way to provide suggestions and give correct Italian terms for this update.
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As always, a superb update man.
Also, thank you for citing me, it wasn't really necessary but it was appreciated
Also, thank you for citing me, it wasn't really necessary but it was appreciated
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I disagree with our Catalan comrade, the flag is an inspiring beacon to all of the liberated masses of Italy. Now you might have hoisted the star tricolour over the subdued Vatican, but to truly achieve worker's liberation and safety for the revolution it must flutter above the despot palaces of Vienna and Budapest!
Also, Tito looks kinda sick. I'd recommend a short trip to Amalfi and loads of pasta.
Also, Tito looks kinda sick. I'd recommend a short trip to Amalfi and loads of pasta.
and so we have the Italian People's Republic. If I was Italian, I would be proud of that no matter what the opposition says.
It's time for the Italians to begin spreading Syndicalism across the Balkans, SFR Yugoslavia and Syndie Austria for one thing.
It's time for the Italians to begin spreading Syndicalism across the Balkans, SFR Yugoslavia and Syndie Austria for one thing.
Challenges
Antonio Gramsci said:
A week after the Livorno Congress, the office of the newly-christened Director-General of Foreign Affairs in Rome received a telegram from the Foreign Affairs Office in the Commune of France. Nenni wholly expected it to be yet another rebuke concerning the “Marxist Elements” in the Greater Syndicalist Union and set it aside while reading up on updates in Eastern Europe, in particular the resurgent Russian Empire.
Russia's rulers would naturally seek to reassert their former sphere of influence and standing as a world power it lost as it entered into the 20th century. With the republican and socialist revolutions dead and buried, its reactionary rulers turned their attention outwards to restore its former glory. Central Asia lay divided between Alash Orda and Turkestan, both breakaway states during the death throes of the Empire after the Great War. The Russian Republic had a number of agreements with the German Empire which saw Russia relinquish much of its former claims in exchange for trade and stable relations with the new power of Europe. In the Caucasus lie the German-protected Don Kuban Union, Menshevik Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Ottoman Armenia. To the far east, the opportunistic White Army commander Kolchak ruled over the Transamur Republic, all the while following directives from Tokyo [2]. Russia's former western ramparts were now filled with the states of Ukraine, White Ruthenia, and the Baltic Duchy- all owing their existence to the German Empire.
Russia's ambitions conflicted directly with the interests of Germany in the west and Japan in the east. Thus Russia was a well-followed case for the nations of the Syndintern due to the developing conflicts between Petrograd [3] and Berlin, one they hoped would ultimately benefit the Syndintern in balance of power in Europe.
Russia's moves in Europe was a mixed blessing however. Nenni had argued with his counterparts in the last Syndintern Congress over the very manner. The French and British delegates welcomed a resurgent Russia as a thorn in Germany's side and keeping its attention divided between west and east. Nenni for his part reminded the delegates that Russia had its own ambitions for Europe, but for Italy this meant its ambitions in the Balkans were being compromised.
For the Syndintern as a whole, Russia's main problem presented itself in the oppression of the revolutionaries- presently the New Bolsheviks of Nikolai Bukharin. Italy had an additional concern- it was the main organizer and backer of revolutionaries in the Balkan region. Russia had within the past year significantly increased pan-Slavic agitation in the region. According to reports furnished by Tito and others, this was very detrimental in their efforts to organize resistance against the various powers currently occupying the region. More worryingly it was causing splits in the resistance movements, with pan-Slavic groups forming and often fighting the pro-Syndicalist factions led by people like Tito.
Russia's first direct confrontation with Germany came over the Don Kuban Union. After encouraging the secession of Russian-speaking regions from Alash Orda, Moscow turned its gaze towards the Cossacks.
Hetman Petr Krasnov ruled over the small republic, granting lucrative privileges to the Ccossacks at the expense of the serfs living within its borders. After the return of the Tsar, Krasnov attempted to keep the Union independent of Moscow.
Russia wanted nothing sort of annexing the Cossack state and made its intentions clear to annex the “rebellious state”. The German Empire affirmed its relationship with the Don Kuban Union and rebuked the Russians.
Russia in turn encouraged a plebiscite in the Don Kuban Union to ask the populace whether or not they wanted to unify with Russia. The plebiscite was held and results showed that the populace voted to remain independent, to which Russia claimed its populace was bullied by the Cossacks to vote against their wishes.
Russia did not give up on the small republic however, but took a more covert approach as opposed to invading the nation which would have provoked the German Empire into war. Working its connections with the Russian landlords who chafed under the demands of the Cossack maintenance and some dissatisfied Cossack leaders who were shut out by Krasnov and desired more power, the Russian Empire engineered a coup in the Don-Kuban Union.
On the same day the reorganization of Italy took place in Livorno, an uprising blew out in the Don Kuban Union. Peasants who had little love for their Cossack overlords were propelled into action by Russian agents while monarchist organizations in the major cities encouraged their members to fight against the “occupiers” of their land.
Alongside with this the Muslim-populated regions of Chechnya and Inguisha rose up against the government. Disorder engulfed the state.
And now an update lay on Nenni's desk. Cutting it open, it informed him the rebels had captured the capital of Krasnodar.
The new regime quickly decided to join the Russian Empire. Divisions waiting across the border in Tsaritsyn arrived to assert the authority of Moscow and put down the Chechen and Ingushian separatists.
Nenni continued reading through the update on the end of the Don-Kuban Union. It informed him that the Hetman Petr Krasnov was brought to the Moscow and put on trial for “high treason”. After a remarkably quick trial, he was found guilty and hanged. Before he was even buried, Large crowds in Petrograd gathered to hear the Tsar proclaim the beginning of the rebirth of the Russian Empire. He used the example of Krasnov as a warning to the leaders of other breakaway states of the “justice” they shall meet.
The German Empire unsurprisingly quickly denounced the Russian annexation of the Don Kuban Union and its treatment of Krasnov. The Russian ambassador in Berlin was summoned to the Imperial Court where he was rebuked and told to inform the Tsar and his government that the German Empire would be ending economic aid to the Russians as well as military modernization.
Only a few days later Russia would attempt to repair some of the damage it had done by sending aid to the Qing Empire, Germany's ally in the region in the war against Japan.
Of course though, this may have not been so much to help Germany as it was to hurt Japan, another rival of the Russian Empire due to the issue of the Transamur Republic.
Two reactionaries pitted against one another- the only people that lose are the masses under them, Nenni thought. Attached newspapers showed enthusiastic crowds in Krasnodar and elsewhere welcoming the Russian divisions and reintegration into the Empire. Trading one set of chains for another, as the saying goes.
He tossed aside the Russian report- reading about the regime in Moscow, one that rivaled if not surpassed the one in Berlin through its reactionary and megalomania, only further depressed him and made him concerned for the revolutionaries that were chafing under the iron heel.
He opened the French communique and started reading, and was pleasantly surprised to see it was not another rebuke concerning “Marxist elements” but rather an offer to host the next Congress of the Syndicalist International.
The Third Congress was not even discussed in London. The delegates did not feel like returning to Paris again or repeating in London. No other state at the time was capable of hosting the Congress- only Mexico and Italy were remotely close but could not handle the stress and organization that a congress demanded.
But now with Italy unified and sharing a border with France, delegates would probably feel a lot more safe in the nation and more importantly, the nation would be able to cope with the demands of such an event.
But such short notice. It would be in poor taste to refuse it, yet it would be a difficult feat to organize it in such a short time to meet the May deadline. France was obviously shoving Italy into the public spotlight- and hoping it might fail in the process to embarrass the current government.
The issue of “Marxism” had been present under the previous Travailleur-Anarchist government, but with the ascent of the anarchists in the Commune of France, Makhno's old hatred of Marxists came to the surface. His experience with the Bolsheviks had soured him immensely to Marxists and he sought to remove what traces of it that remained.
Nestor Makhno, Chairman of the BGT
Italy was the focal point of that hatred. Much of the Anarcho-Syndicalist platform was populated by members of the Italian Socialist Party- from various wings that professed varying interpretations of Marxist theory. After the revolution they adapted to Syndicalism, but their past was still an obvious one. Figures like himself, Gramsci, Togliatti, Grieco, Terracini, Bordiga, and many others were known to have had Marxist allegiances in the past. In the agreement that formed the Anarcho-Syndicalist saw the former PSI members take positions in administrative duties in the government while their insurrectionist anarchist counterparts operated in the popular militias and organizing councils.
Makhno hoped to switch the tables, elevating the anarchists to a leading position in Italy and shoving out the what he viewed as the “sorry remnants of a bygone era”. What better way to do so than embarrassing the current government?
He would have to run it by Togliatti first- however the president had departed with Gramsci and others to visit Turin two days previously, the city where there formative experiences as socialists began. He turned to an article from L'Unità which described the visit of the men to the city.
A Reunion in Turin said:
Another article lay by him published by Liberazione that followed Chariman Gramsci on his return trip to his home in Sardinia.
A Bittersweet Return said:
Nenni had another paper, published by the so-called “Italian Government in Exile” titled Italia Libera with a column penned by Mario Gramsci talking about “horrors” being perpetrated by the syndicalists and blaming the death of his father on Chairman Gramsci due to the war causing a shortage of vital medical supplies that could have saved the father.
Of course that was probably not true. But in the struggle to dictate global opinion the republic found itself at a disadvantage. Already with the disadvantage of being despised both by the bourgeoisie and reactionary regimes of the world due to their syndicalist nature, there was now the blow back from the disposal of the pope.
The matter was still being debated, though it was believed that the Papal institution of the Catholic Church would be dissolved and leave only local churches as they had done in the south. The Pope's location was still unknown but it was believed he fled to Venice with the rest of the Federation's government. Where ever he was, he would still have influence over the masses and make Italy's job even harder with the populace.
When Togliatti returned, he approved of the Congress as did the House of Commons. It was an excellent opportunity to demonstrate Italy's importance and prestige in the Synidntern- no longer to be relegated as a ward of France.
As Italy began work on the Third Congress, the war in the East created more losses for the Qing Empire. The first came in the form of the Zhang Zuolin, warlord of the pro-Japanese Fengtian Republic, who declared his claim on the throne of Pu-Yi who he said had lost the right to rule.
This was on top of an already dire situation for the Qing Empire. Through the border of the Fengtian Republic Japanese forces occupied border cities and eventually captured the Imperial capital of Jingshi. Pu-Yi and the Imperial Court fled to the city of Jiangning to the south.
The German colonies on the coast of China were fiercely attacked by Japanese naval forces, and within a week the city of Qingdao was captured. All along the coast of China Japan was making attempts to land and cut off supply routes for the Qing forces. Indeed it seemed Japan might very well overrun the Qing Empire.
In the Spanish Civil War, the French intervention on behalf of the CNT-FAI was paying off. The capital of Madrid was captured in mid-January and another force cut off the southern parts of Spain from a pocket of kingdom forces on the border with Portugal. Gibraltar would soon be captured and with it the control of the Mediterranean. The Carlist headquarters at Burgos was captured by Syndicalist forces as well and caused the Carlists to be pushed further into a small corner of Spain. It was expected that before the Congress would even start the war would be won in favor of the CNT-FAI.
In the American Civil War, MacArthur Junta's was shoved out of the populated regions of the east into the more barren regions of the Great Plains. The General now found himself under attack from Californian forces attempting to seize Colorado- where the temporary capital at Boulder was located after being unable to fend off the Californian advance into Utah.
For the first time, significant combat took place between the forces of the American Union State and the Combined Syndicates of America. Niccolò Gallò, the author of the account of the Battle of New York reproduced earlier, furnished a report that was passed along to the office of Reserved Affairs regarding fighting in Virginia against the American Union State.
Report from Niccolò Gallò regarding Italian volunteers for the American Union State said:
It was that final piece of speculation which really disturbed the Reserved Affairs office and set them out on a search to find out if there was a traitor operating within Italy- or the other nations participating in the American Civil War.
Meanwhile, a sign of unification came with the integration of a number of research institutes that once served the Federation into the Republic. They would be a help in Italy's goal to close its technological gap with the rest of the world and harness its resources more effectively. While not all the institutions joined- many of them depleted from its staff fleeing the nation- it was a boost none the less.
This was, however, not as well received as it could have been. For as this occurred, the famed scientist Ettore Majorana disappeared, and with him possibly ground breaking work in theoretical physics.
Where could have Majorana gone? The government ruled it as a death, but to this day there are theories of foul play or escape on the part of the scientist. So it goes. The government may had been able to investigate the incident more thoroughly had it not been for an assassination two days later.
On March 29th, the German ambassador to the Austrian Empire, Albert Dufour-Feronce, was found dead in his Munich home. A French Anarcho-Syndicalist, Gustave Bouvet, was caught attempting to board a train to Bucharest where he presumably intended to cross the Black Sea to Georgia.
With Paranoia over the Halbstarke and the FAUD, the German Empire did not react well to the news once it was found out the man was French. There were fears of war and the Italians were informed to be ready at the border of Austria. As Europe entered into April, there was a tense mood in the air, and the fear of war was only dispelled when the German Empire decided to execute Bouvet for murder.
The anarchist faction in France was outraged at the execution and demanded action- they were demanding as such since the repression of the FAUD. France was silent, though it was clear it was displeased.Italy's House however, with the exception of some National-Syndicalists, were more cautious of war and welcomed the fact that there would be no war.
However, it was aware of France's ever increasing desire for war that ran alongside Germany's similar sentiments. It would get embroiled in war at some point- and this would more than likely come up in the next Congress as a major issue.
The Middle-East showed its own batch of news which would also provide topics for the next congress. The first, while not necessarily in the Middle-East, was related to the region none the less.
T.E. Lawrence, an officer of the British army in the Great War and one of the main organizers of the failed Arab revolt, remained in the Union of Britain- though he was a broken man. Often drunk and aimless, he had a brush with death three years ago that woke him up from his drifting. He approached the Union High Command with an offer- a possibility of capitalizing on Republican and Socialist agitation in the German Empire- and elsewhere in Mitteleuropa- if war ever came between the Union of Britain and the German Empire. Rumors were abound that another Arab Revolt was planned, but no one expected that it would be the Kurds who would make the first attempt to break free of the Ottoman Empire.
It was however a horribly disorganized and premature rebellion. The Kurds themselves were divided between two camps- a “Republican” faction led by Qazi Muhammad, and a more tribal and religious faction led by the self-declared “King of Kurdistan” Mahmud Barzinji.
Two Faces of Kurdistan
The Syndintern found that there was no syndicalist faction to speak of within the Kurds- but the Republicans seemed to be more “progressive” than those of the Kingdom of Kurdistan and thus it was the developments of those they watched. Qazi Muhammad himself was from the Iranian portion of Kurdistan but crossed into Iraq where he joined forces with nationalists there to rise up. He found himself at odds with Sheikh Barzinji's more tribal and religious attitude- and it was precisely because of this their differences the revolt was put down two weeks later.
A massive crackdown on dissidents took place in the Ottoman Empire following this- Kurd, Turk, and Arab alike. Arab and Turkish nationalists fled to Egypt and the Commune of France, depending on their political inclinations. Sheikh Barzinji was placed under house arrest and exiled to the city of Sana'a on the far fringes of the Ottoman Empire [5]. Qazi Muhammad, fearing execution, fled to Georgia along with other members of his government.
Qazi Muhammad was eventually transported from Georgia to Italy. The Commune of France had little interest in Kurdistan- writing them off as “hopeless tribals”, and had more or less passed a burden on Italy.
Yet the Italian government did not see the Kurdish question in the same manner- it was certainly possible according to that government for a revolution to be formed in the Kurdish regions despite the small, if not irrelevant, working class.
After all, did they not create a socialist order out of southern Italy, once regarded with the same discontent and cynicism that the French were giving the Kurds?
“Pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will” [6]- as Gramsci stated during debates over weather or not to accept the Kurdish exiles for training. A sentiment that much of the House agreed with. They had achieved a revolution before when opinion was against it- why not do it again?
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[1] This was actually a near word for word copy of a speech Gramsci had made long ago during the agitation in Turin before he departed for the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
[2] Admiral Kolchak was a commander in the White Army during the Russian Civil War and later Minister of Defense in the Russian Federation. In 1924 Kolchak attempted a coup against the government and failed, resulting in his escape to the Transamur Republic which had broken off from Russia during the Civil War.
[3] After the Civil War and the creation of the Russian Federation, the capital was renamed to St. Petersburg from Petrograd. Following the declaration of the Russian Empire and the return of the Tsar, the city was renamed back to Petrograd.
[4] The newspaper here takes some liberties. While Sardinians were proud to have one of theirs in such a high position in the Italian government and did welcome him as a hero, there were of course those who attempted to disrupt Gramsci's visit in Sardinia. Pamphlets were distributed across Cagliari denouncing the “hunchback tyrant” as well as anti-Syndicalist propaganda.
[5] Sheikh Barzinji would have been executed like the other participants in the uprising were it not for the fact he held high respect in his tribal circle as well as the religious power he commanded. His execution would have elevated him to a martyr and thus the Ottoman Empire felt it would be better to isolate him far away from other Kurds.
[6] Gramsci had also used this line during the initial years of the Republic when there was much doubt as to whether it would succeed. It would then become a token phrase of his, meaning more or less the ability to recognize challenges and flaws but have the strength and courage to tackle them anyways.
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The world is getting a very dangerous place... Hopefully the Spanish Civil War will be over before war with Germany starts, so that they are in a shape to help.
Awesome read! I like how you handled the issue about change of the flag and country's name.
Sorry for the late update. Thanks for the comments all, as well as those from the previous ones I didn't acknowledge. Kudos for Zimmerwald for noticing what I did there
In Mid-May, the delegates to the Third International began streaming into Rome. Some came by boat, some by plane, and many by train through France. For a brief month, Italy would be the center of the Syndintern, and more than likely the attention of the other nations of the world.
This conference would be different in tone from the previous ones. The Commune of France was, like its neighbor in Germany, pretty much intent on going to war at some point. Strategy and tactics would be discussed much more in depth, as would the potential expansion of the military forces on account of civil wars in Spain and America progressing in the Syndintern’s favor.
Rome would be the site of the opening of the Congress- while the city was still under reconstruction the relevant parts were finished first specifically for the meeting. The parade itself was routine- another march of unions and other civilian groups as well as cultural displays from the nations of the Syndintern.
It was afterwards that surprised the delegates: a small formation of planes roared overhead the festivities and let out clouds of red and black smoke as they did their acrobatics. This created its desired effect and the spectators were awed- Italy intended it to do as such. More importantly, to those who watched carefully, it might have been noticed that these planes were not of the make that the French often sent to the Italians, but rather a design originating from the Italians themselves.
Yet another rebuke to the French- and the world- that the Italians were not as dependent on their French neighbors as it was often suggested. It was a show of independence, and it was not lost on the French delegation.
In the old parliament- and now chamber of the House of Commons- President Togliatti welcomed the delegates to the Third International and apologized for the short notice. He again restated the “society of equals” as the goal for Italy and the world from the previous year and congratulated the progress of revolutionaries in the United States and Spain in their fight for victory.
Once the formalities were out of the way, the Syndintern set out to do its real activities. For the first day, it was merely an affirmation of principles established from the previous two Congresses- the solidarity of revolutionaries around the world and the need to be prepared for war against the “bourgeois” and “reactionaries”.
This passed without much incident, though there were voices questioning what they felt to be a disconcerting move towards militarism by many of the nations. While such notions were brushed aside, it must be emphasized that these were genuine concerns. The main nations of the Syndintern- the Union of Britain, the Commune of France, and the Italian People’s Republic- had already shown significant buildups in its armed forces and shake ups in its command structure, moving away from the decentralized popular militias to standing militaries.
The second day moved on to discussions over the progress in the American and Spanish Civil Wars. The American Civil War was progressing promisingly as it neared the two year anniversary of the November Revolution in the United States, with the Combined Syndicates solidifying their base in the Midwest, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York City and capturing Washington D.C. as a powerful propaganda victory. Oliver Law, an African American revolutionary and officer in the Combined Syndicates military forces, updated the delegates on the progress of the Combined Syndicates into the depth of the American Union State:
The next topic of discussion was the war in Spain. Much had developed before the Congress opened up on May 15th, with the fall of Madrid earlier that month. Anarchist forces were fighting well and managed to take most of Spain without incident. The Carlists still remained and were fighting, though were forced into the northwestern corner of Spain and were bound to lose at some point.
The forces loyal to the Kingdom of Spain quickly broke after the fall of Madrid- it was simply too much demoralization for the forces by this point. With their King in a coma and the Crown Prince assassinated [1], many of them either gave up to the anarchists or switched their allegiance to Prince Xavier.
The main disappointment for everyone around was Gibraltar. The Commune of France in particular had hoped that with the successful revolution in Spain, the Syndintern would have a convincing position of power in the Mediterranean. This was slashed however when German Marines landed in Gibraltar and took over the vital city.
Along with its control of the Suez Canal, this left Germany in control of both the gateways into and out of the Mediterranean. While Germany had not completely intervened in the Spanish Civil War, they had provided the Kingdom of Spain with resources and technical advisors. This agreement came in exchange for a condition- that Germany be allowed to build a base in Gibraltar for the future. With the Kingdom of Spain collapsing, Germany sought to salvage what it could. It was rumored that Germany was prepared to give even greater aid in exchange for an even larger concession- to support a German noble for the crown of Spain.
The CNT-FAI delegates updated the chamber on this matter and felt confident that the war could be wrapped up by the end of the year as the Carlists began to run out of supplies and support. To them, the Carlists presented no real significant threat anyways by that point, and they could probably defeat them without much of a fight.
The day was closed with the Latin American conference. Mexico discussed its progress against the clergy in its country and the march towards industrialization, while Brazil and Bolivia asked- and received- for more aid and help in their war with Argentina which was showing no sign of ending. Centroamerica, making good on its promise to “unite” Central America, announced that it would be aiding revolutionaries in Honduras. The farmers of Honduras in particular were stifling under the lack of land reform, which created discontent against the regime Centroamerica hoped to turn to its own end.
Centroamerica acknowledged this would be a challenge though- the United Provinces would also be eyeing Honduras, hoping to extend its ambitions over the small nation as well.
The next day covered topics in the rest of Europe. Syndicalists in the German Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire only put into a statement what was already well known- they were being destroyed and there was little chance of a revolution despite the economic crisis. Syndicalists in Sweden reported a similar situation, but pointed out that the state was weak. The past elections were supposed to have landed the reformist Social Democrats into office, but the government had rigged the results to land the conservatives instead.
This was not surprising of course, though it showed that the ruling classes in Europe were not even willing to work with the reformists against the revolution. The reaction of many of the delegates could be summed up as “their loss”.
The two major areas were the Balkans and Russia. For the Balkans, Tito read a combined statement from those operating in the Austro-Hungarian Empire all the way down to Greece. The first area was the war ongoing between Bulgaria and its neighbors which still showed no sign of ending. Bulgaria had made advances into Romania, though Serbia in turn made advances into Bulgaria. The lines in Greece remained mostly unchanged and bogged down into trench warfare.
People were dying with no end in sight, and in turn enthusiasm for pursuing the war among the people declined greatly. There was discontent brewing against all the governments, in particular both Serbia and Bulgaria faced draft riots as angry people demanded an end to the war. Some, as Tito explained, were agitating in the name of syndicalism and the revolution, though they were quickly snuffed out by the secret police.
In some cases though, it was simply not enough. In Serbia the strongman Milutin Nedic faced opposition to his rule and he took desperate steps to check discontent, focusing on “anti-Serbian” elements in society such as syndicalists. He however did not think to check among those he trusted, and found himself overthrown in a coup led by his close friend Draza Mihajlovic and executed by firing squad. Mihajlovic then invited Peter II, the son of the deposed King Peter I [2], to reclaim his “rightful throne”.
Tito explained that this taken out some steam out of the anti-government groups as support for the monarchy was still strong in many sectors of the populace. However, Tito pointed out that much of Peter II’s power would be dependent on Mihajlovic and his military clique, one that would bound to cause problems in the future.
Similar stories in Bulgaria, Greece, and Albania. “But why no revolution?” the delegates all wondered, and it was one that Gramsci picked up from Tito. He went on about his theories into “hegemony”, an expansion off earlier Marxist thought on how these states retained authority among the populace, both through force and law, and through more indirect means [3] and were able to prevent a dangerous revolution.
Tito picked up again after Gramsci finished the short interjection and turned his attention to the northern reaches of the Balkans. In Croatia there was still resistance against the Hungarian annexation, one that picked up considerably after a petition for a federal status within Hungary was rejected by Budapest. A similar request was made by Slovaks residing in the northern reaches of Hungary that was also rejected, but it was one that Russia got itself involved in.
It may be recalled that Russia had begun agitating for pan-Slavic nationalism, and it began interfering in the Balkans and elsewhere to advance that. When Hungary quickly moved to disband the attempted National Assembly by Slovaks in its realm, Russia announced its support for the Slovaks and extended offers of safe refuge to flee from reprisals carried out by Budapest.
Tito emphasized the most important point in the combined statement of the Balkan revolutionaries- be weary of the Russian Empire. The Russians were able to sow division in the dissident movements in the region and in doing so took a lot of potential power away from the revolutionaries. The power of pan-Slavic nationalism was not to be underestimated.
With the topic of Russia brought up, Tito gave the stage to the Russian delegation led by Maxim Litvinov representing the New Bolshevik block in the Russian Empire, driven underground by intense repression. There was daily discontent they explained, especially among the workers whose strikes almost became monthly and among peasants who found that the privileges re-extended back to the nobility and landowners were not very favorable to them.
And yet no significant resistance materialized. The government was keeping dissent law and able to direct it into more favorable forms- mostly nationalism. And Russia did not disappoint its nationalists as it began to expand its horizons. Litvinov explained how the Church was colluding with the government to dissuade criticism of the government and build up support for what they termed the “Recovery” of lost lands.
Irredentism at its finest, and yet one that could arguably be applied to nations like France and Italy who sought to recover lost lands.
It was already shown earlier by Tito about Russia’s ambitions in the Balkans, and only a few months earlier the Don Kuban Union was abruptly annexed back into the Empire. The bear was slowly rousing itself from its hibernation.
Germany was vexed as it was by Russia’s blatant power moves in Eastern Europe, Petrograd focused its attention on its former eastern holdings to cool off tensions. The first opportunity came up in a war between the Central Asian states of Alash Orda and Turkestan after the later declared war to start the “rebuilding” of the Caliphate.
Alash Orda, unable to deal with the fury and morale of the Turkmen who were joined by Mongolia, appealed to Russia for aid. But Russia had other intentions, and instead declared war on the doomed nation to reclaim its “rightful” territory.
Litvinov explained that the war gave an opportunity for the Empire to dispose of its more “troublesome” elements by forcibly conscripting them and sending them to the front lines.
“And so when workers rise up and the torch of freedom is lit, Petrograd swoops down and tosses them to their death. And just like that…” said Litvinov as he snapped his fingers, “it’s all gone. We have to start over again”.
Russia’s attention was turned eastward as well. Already supporting the Qing Empire as a means to take down Japan, it set its sight on the breakaway Transamur Republic and issued an ultimatum to Kolchak- "return to Russia’s embrace and stand for your treasonous crimes!".
Naturally Kolchak was not too warm to the possibility of a bullet in his head, and declined the “invitation” to return to Russia. As Litvinov further explained: “I cannot even begin to think of what Kolchak was thinking when he got this stern warning. As we know his coup in the 1920s was specifically for the restoration of the crown, and yet here he is being treated as worthless by the very man he swore his life for. But we all know that there is no honor among thieves.”
Russia bypassed its usual requests for plebiscites and went straight to the possibility of war.
Russia formally severed its connections with Japan as Tokyo moved to reassert its protection of the Transamur Republic. Russia began to entice the business elite of Vladivostok of reuniting with the Empire and having access to its lucrative markets. Would it be an enticing offer? Only time would tell.
With its operations in Transamur as it were, Russia also recognized the importance of securing passage through Siberia to its eastern frontiers. The crux of this was the Trans-Siberian railroad, some of which lied within Mongolia. Russia threatened the mad dictator Sternberg with war, and much to everyone’s surprise, Sternberg assented and ceded parts of the Trans-Siberian railroad that lay within his nation.
And of the political situation in Russia itself? Litvinov summed it up as dire and bad. He did not even know where Bukharin was and only received communiqués from him and others through messengers. Members of the politburo were split up and scattered across the country, and organization was done in such a way that no member knew where the other was. The security crackdowns were becoming that bad.
Litvinov and his small crew had to sneak out of Russia through Georgia. The government was keeping tight borders and reintroducing the internal passport system. It was only through a bribe they managed to let a guard let them pass into Georgia. Russia was slipping backwards. There was nothing more that needed to be said, and with that he thanked the assembly and went back to his delegation.
It had become fairly standard that the Russian addresses to the International would be the most depressing. The Georgian delegation’s speech was in sharp contrast to the cynical tone of the Russians as they eagerly announced the formation of the so-called “Transcaucasian Socialist Republic”.
This was a personal project of Beria himself who had hinted at such ambitions by Georgia in the previous Congress. Georgia would become the germ of this future nation, and when asked what Georgia was doing to achieve this, he replied that there was a significant propaganda and agitation network in the surrounding nations.
It must be said though that Georgia was not in a good position to assert itself in the region. Russia and the Ottoman Empire both had their own ideas in mind for the region. The Ottoman Empire controlled a rump Armenia in the area, and Russia was influencing the economy of Azerbaijan for its lucrative oil industry. And then there was the matter of the Russian Empire feeling it was the rightful controller of the entire region.
Georgia’s announcement was the last for the afternoon until the session reconvened at night for the floor to be opened up to the revolutionaries in the Middle-East, India, and the Far East.
Within the Middle-East, the Kurdish delegates, fresh from their exile, were allowed to give their thoughts on the prospects for the region and their attempts to work beyond tribal divisions and religious influences. Qazi Mohammed, already entered into “training” at the University of Naples, demonstrated for the sake of the Commune of France his developing socialist thought and the inroads those who remained at home made in unionizing workers in the cities and breaking the stranglehold of old, quasi-Feudal land lords in the country side.
The Arab and Turkish exiles, residing within the Commune of France, updated their homelands situation in much of the same way. Within the Ottoman Empire, the three groups worked together where they could to attempt to form unions that transcended ethnic divides- a daunting task in itself. But with the Ottoman Empire showing cracks in its foundation, there would be no better opportunity than now to do so.
And of course, there was concern for the ambitions of Egypt and Hashemite Arabia in the wake of a possible collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Obviously these nations were not inclined to work with the Syndicalists and would have to be dealt with accordingly if conflict arose.
The revolutionaries in India updated the chamber on their progress in fighting “reactionary” landlords still hanging on in the countryside while breaking down old social barriers to progress. This was without it share of trouble of course as the Indians reluctantly expanded on their issues with rioting and displeasure with the reorganization of agricultural plots into something more appropriate for syndicalism.
The Indians however felt that they were on much more firm footing than ever before, and looked outwards into creating discontent in neighboring Princely Federation and the nations of Indochina. With the German Empire occupied fighting ¬¬the Japanese, colonial subjects in Vietnam had begun to agitate and among them a sizable amount of syndicalist-influenced revolutionaries. It was with these the Indians hoped to join ranks with.
In Asian discussions the floor was given to the syndicalists of Taiwan who explained the current progress of the war between Japan and the Qing Empire, which was progressing badly for the Qing and only by the intervention of the German Empire was it kept from collapsing.
In the German-held south there were rumors of Republican agitation in the urban cities, and it was here the Taiwanese Syndicalists felt confident that inroads could be made into the mainland. For the time being though, it was still a warzone between two imperialist powers.
With foreign affairs completed, the Congress broke into specific areas of concern for their nations, going to separate congresses held in different parts of Italy. Factory and technological concerns were relegated to the cities of Milan and Turin, where discussions took place on advances in Industrial technology and ways to better increase the productivity of the factories.
Guido Jung gave a rough estimate of how much of an increase the Italians received from their technologies and the annexation of the Federation. The technologies were definitely doing their part- without it there would have not been as drastic of an increase.
But what next? Research into agricultural technologies went as far as possible and was already making its benefits known in the country. Industrial technologies were mostly on time. French and British counterparts recommended to the Italians to look into better oil refining as well as to consider improvements in emerging computer technologies to aid with research and other affairs in the nation.
Groundwork was also laid for further integration of the French and Italian economies into a single one in order to better share resource surpluses and coordinate production. This would presumably involve the Spanish as well once the revolution there finished.
The Phalanstere Internationale, started between France and Britain late that previous year, was discussed in detail between the industrial experts. Some nations that had requested industrial aid found their orders had not been completed, though advisors in both nations recommended it should be continued as it would show its benefit by allowing the less developed nations of the International to be on a better footing in the world. Mexico, which received aid first, thanked the Phalastere Internationale for its aid and showed the strength of Mexico’s economy compared to before it received the aid, and added its recommendation for it to be continued. The vote to continue the program was unanimous.
In Tuscany summits were held over the harvesting and utilization of natural resources. The Italians looked into solutions over power generation and hoped that in combination with refining technologies and making factories more efficient, resources could be used more efficiently. Proposals were taken from other delegates over resource exploitation that was going to be proposed for the next Congress of the Greater Syndicalist Union.
Infrastructure projects were also discussed, including a railroad network linking France and Italy together more tightly. Director-General of Transportation Mussolini took this matter upon himself personally, providing his credentials as “making the trains run on time” in Italy.
A scientific summit took place in the local university over cooperation on nuclear physics- continuing their developments of the previous congress at Cambridge in the Union of Britain, among them the Italian scientific delegation led by Enrico Fermi. Remembrance was held for Ettore Majorana, who was now ruled as dead, as well as recognition of his work into physics, which Fermi personally delivered, as well as remembrance for Guglielmo Marconi. A closed door meeting also took place among the more advanced nations over nuclear physics, expanding upon research started between the two into this emerging field.
However, this meeting became heated and controversial when the French and British scientists disclosed the result of their closed-door meeting in Cambridge the previous year- Project Damocles. This was, simply put, the application of the nuclear research into the military realm. This provoked a heated debate over what the use of nuclear power should be, and it was only through the point of the British delegation pointing out the Germans were probably already looking into the same possibility that led Fermi to reluctantly agree to having the Italians cooperate with the French-British research team in the field.
Military affairs took place in Naples, with the exception of naval concerns which instead based itself in Taranto. The Italians were still far behind the British and French in technologies outside of infantry weapons and artillery, and were looking to create some cooperation programs to overhaul its navy and air force. The navy was still small, though the annexation of the Federation resulted in the capturing of some vessels which were currently being salvaged and prepared for duty once more.
The most significant change for Italy was its ground forces doctrine. Initially it had the same doctrine as the Commune of France but lessons from the war with the Federation prompted a change in doctrine. The doctrine was justified as being more useful to Italian forces and more flexible around its lack of manpower.
Discussions took place over the integration of French and Italian command in the event of a war with Mitteleuropa, and room was left in this arrangement to eventually integrate Spanish and British forces. A unified command would better direct what would sure to be a continent-spanning conflict in the event of war.
The British also presented their suggestion from T.E. Lawrence for a Syndintern special forces to operate behind enemy lines and link up with revolutionaries in Germany and Austria. This would draw its manpower and expertise primarily from French, British, and Italian forces but would take anyone who applied, in a manner similar to the International Brigades. This force was termed the “Revolutionary Exportation Directory”, or R.E.D. for short. The proposal was accepted, though the duty fell upon the Union of Britain to provide the organization of the force.
In Syracuse a conference took place for the security and intelligence figures of the nations of the Syndintern for strategies to check dissent and criminal exploitation in their borders. Director of the USDDR [4] Grieco updated the delegates on the progress against the mafia which so far seemed promising. He iterated though that this should be combined with ensuring the councils remained free of corruption and criminal activity, or else suffer the same problems with productivity and resource stockpiles Italy was facing.
Grieco also covered for the intelligence department, vacant on account of Vidali’s participation in the American Civil War. He disclosed to the gathered officials the possibility of leaks originating within the Syndintern that was causing problems in the American Civil War. The gathered officials promised to do what they could in their respective nations to purge out any potential traitors in their ranks that could jeopardize their nations before a possible war started with Germany.
In Rome, the Congress turned towards more political manners. In what was ordinarily a normal a smooth Congress, it was in the political debates in Rome that a tense debate arose. According to minutes from this meeting, Chairman of the BGT Nestor Makhno expounded upon the superiority of Anarchist thought and the failure of Marxist thought to affect meaningful change. He related his experiences in the Free Territory, and the “shameful” acts of the Bolsheviks which according to him cost the people the revolution.
In doing so, Makhno received the ire of Deputy Amadeo Bordiga, the first president of the Republic and avowed Marxist, when Makhno blasted the socialists who defended the Bolsheviks against the anarchists. This led to a long series of polemics between the two, reportedly lasting the better part of the day as ugly even more differences emerged in their debate. This encounter prompted Makhno to ask President Togliatti and Chairman Gramsci to issue a rebuke to Bordiga, which the two refused on account of Bordiga’s membership in the Anarcho-Syndicalist platform and heading the Marxist grouping within. This prompted Makhno to leave the Congress and only further soured France’s relations with Italy.
The Congress closed on May 25th with a ceremony in Rome, consisting of another airshow and a theater presentation by Romain Rolland. This however could not cover up the absence of Makhno, a blemish on an otherwise successful Congress.
____________________________________________________________________________
[1] It may be recalled earlier that the CNT-FAI discovered the assassination of the Crown Prince was hatched by the Carlists in an attempt to destabilize the kingdom and present Xavier as an heir to the throne. The CNT-FAI took this evidence to the crown in Madrid, offering them safe refuge in exchange for abdication, which they refused.
[2] In the aftermath of World War I, Austria occupied the Kingdom of Serbia and enacted harsh reprisals on its populace, with King Peter I and his family going into exile in Canada. Austria withdrew its forces in 1926 as it faced ethnic divides closer to home and left a government formed by collaborators led by Nedic. Peter I died in exile.
[3] Gramsci’s thoughts on this issue can be found in more detail on his “Notebooks” on his talks over the “State and Civil Society”.
[4] Short for Ufficio Stato e Difesa della Rivoluzione, or the Office of the Security and Defense of the Revolution.
The Third Congress
Nenni to the delegates visiting St. Peters Basilica said:
In Mid-May, the delegates to the Third International began streaming into Rome. Some came by boat, some by plane, and many by train through France. For a brief month, Italy would be the center of the Syndintern, and more than likely the attention of the other nations of the world.
This conference would be different in tone from the previous ones. The Commune of France was, like its neighbor in Germany, pretty much intent on going to war at some point. Strategy and tactics would be discussed much more in depth, as would the potential expansion of the military forces on account of civil wars in Spain and America progressing in the Syndintern’s favor.
Rome would be the site of the opening of the Congress- while the city was still under reconstruction the relevant parts were finished first specifically for the meeting. The parade itself was routine- another march of unions and other civilian groups as well as cultural displays from the nations of the Syndintern.
It was afterwards that surprised the delegates: a small formation of planes roared overhead the festivities and let out clouds of red and black smoke as they did their acrobatics. This created its desired effect and the spectators were awed- Italy intended it to do as such. More importantly, to those who watched carefully, it might have been noticed that these planes were not of the make that the French often sent to the Italians, but rather a design originating from the Italians themselves.
Yet another rebuke to the French- and the world- that the Italians were not as dependent on their French neighbors as it was often suggested. It was a show of independence, and it was not lost on the French delegation.
In the old parliament- and now chamber of the House of Commons- President Togliatti welcomed the delegates to the Third International and apologized for the short notice. He again restated the “society of equals” as the goal for Italy and the world from the previous year and congratulated the progress of revolutionaries in the United States and Spain in their fight for victory.
Once the formalities were out of the way, the Syndintern set out to do its real activities. For the first day, it was merely an affirmation of principles established from the previous two Congresses- the solidarity of revolutionaries around the world and the need to be prepared for war against the “bourgeois” and “reactionaries”.
This passed without much incident, though there were voices questioning what they felt to be a disconcerting move towards militarism by many of the nations. While such notions were brushed aside, it must be emphasized that these were genuine concerns. The main nations of the Syndintern- the Union of Britain, the Commune of France, and the Italian People’s Republic- had already shown significant buildups in its armed forces and shake ups in its command structure, moving away from the decentralized popular militias to standing militaries.
The second day moved on to discussions over the progress in the American and Spanish Civil Wars. The American Civil War was progressing promisingly as it neared the two year anniversary of the November Revolution in the United States, with the Combined Syndicates solidifying their base in the Midwest, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York City and capturing Washington D.C. as a powerful propaganda victory. Oliver Law, an African American revolutionary and officer in the Combined Syndicates military forces, updated the delegates on the progress of the Combined Syndicates into the depth of the American Union State:
Oliver Law said:
Syndicalist forces surrounding Atlanta
The next topic of discussion was the war in Spain. Much had developed before the Congress opened up on May 15th, with the fall of Madrid earlier that month. Anarchist forces were fighting well and managed to take most of Spain without incident. The Carlists still remained and were fighting, though were forced into the northwestern corner of Spain and were bound to lose at some point.
The forces loyal to the Kingdom of Spain quickly broke after the fall of Madrid- it was simply too much demoralization for the forces by this point. With their King in a coma and the Crown Prince assassinated [1], many of them either gave up to the anarchists or switched their allegiance to Prince Xavier.
The main disappointment for everyone around was Gibraltar. The Commune of France in particular had hoped that with the successful revolution in Spain, the Syndintern would have a convincing position of power in the Mediterranean. This was slashed however when German Marines landed in Gibraltar and took over the vital city.
Along with its control of the Suez Canal, this left Germany in control of both the gateways into and out of the Mediterranean. While Germany had not completely intervened in the Spanish Civil War, they had provided the Kingdom of Spain with resources and technical advisors. This agreement came in exchange for a condition- that Germany be allowed to build a base in Gibraltar for the future. With the Kingdom of Spain collapsing, Germany sought to salvage what it could. It was rumored that Germany was prepared to give even greater aid in exchange for an even larger concession- to support a German noble for the crown of Spain.
The CNT-FAI delegates updated the chamber on this matter and felt confident that the war could be wrapped up by the end of the year as the Carlists began to run out of supplies and support. To them, the Carlists presented no real significant threat anyways by that point, and they could probably defeat them without much of a fight.
The day was closed with the Latin American conference. Mexico discussed its progress against the clergy in its country and the march towards industrialization, while Brazil and Bolivia asked- and received- for more aid and help in their war with Argentina which was showing no sign of ending. Centroamerica, making good on its promise to “unite” Central America, announced that it would be aiding revolutionaries in Honduras. The farmers of Honduras in particular were stifling under the lack of land reform, which created discontent against the regime Centroamerica hoped to turn to its own end.
Centroamerica acknowledged this would be a challenge though- the United Provinces would also be eyeing Honduras, hoping to extend its ambitions over the small nation as well.
The next day covered topics in the rest of Europe. Syndicalists in the German Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire only put into a statement what was already well known- they were being destroyed and there was little chance of a revolution despite the economic crisis. Syndicalists in Sweden reported a similar situation, but pointed out that the state was weak. The past elections were supposed to have landed the reformist Social Democrats into office, but the government had rigged the results to land the conservatives instead.
This was not surprising of course, though it showed that the ruling classes in Europe were not even willing to work with the reformists against the revolution. The reaction of many of the delegates could be summed up as “their loss”.
The two major areas were the Balkans and Russia. For the Balkans, Tito read a combined statement from those operating in the Austro-Hungarian Empire all the way down to Greece. The first area was the war ongoing between Bulgaria and its neighbors which still showed no sign of ending. Bulgaria had made advances into Romania, though Serbia in turn made advances into Bulgaria. The lines in Greece remained mostly unchanged and bogged down into trench warfare.
People were dying with no end in sight, and in turn enthusiasm for pursuing the war among the people declined greatly. There was discontent brewing against all the governments, in particular both Serbia and Bulgaria faced draft riots as angry people demanded an end to the war. Some, as Tito explained, were agitating in the name of syndicalism and the revolution, though they were quickly snuffed out by the secret police.
In some cases though, it was simply not enough. In Serbia the strongman Milutin Nedic faced opposition to his rule and he took desperate steps to check discontent, focusing on “anti-Serbian” elements in society such as syndicalists. He however did not think to check among those he trusted, and found himself overthrown in a coup led by his close friend Draza Mihajlovic and executed by firing squad. Mihajlovic then invited Peter II, the son of the deposed King Peter I [2], to reclaim his “rightful throne”.
Tito explained that this taken out some steam out of the anti-government groups as support for the monarchy was still strong in many sectors of the populace. However, Tito pointed out that much of Peter II’s power would be dependent on Mihajlovic and his military clique, one that would bound to cause problems in the future.
Similar stories in Bulgaria, Greece, and Albania. “But why no revolution?” the delegates all wondered, and it was one that Gramsci picked up from Tito. He went on about his theories into “hegemony”, an expansion off earlier Marxist thought on how these states retained authority among the populace, both through force and law, and through more indirect means [3] and were able to prevent a dangerous revolution.
Tito picked up again after Gramsci finished the short interjection and turned his attention to the northern reaches of the Balkans. In Croatia there was still resistance against the Hungarian annexation, one that picked up considerably after a petition for a federal status within Hungary was rejected by Budapest. A similar request was made by Slovaks residing in the northern reaches of Hungary that was also rejected, but it was one that Russia got itself involved in.
It may be recalled that Russia had begun agitating for pan-Slavic nationalism, and it began interfering in the Balkans and elsewhere to advance that. When Hungary quickly moved to disband the attempted National Assembly by Slovaks in its realm, Russia announced its support for the Slovaks and extended offers of safe refuge to flee from reprisals carried out by Budapest.
Tito emphasized the most important point in the combined statement of the Balkan revolutionaries- be weary of the Russian Empire. The Russians were able to sow division in the dissident movements in the region and in doing so took a lot of potential power away from the revolutionaries. The power of pan-Slavic nationalism was not to be underestimated.
With the topic of Russia brought up, Tito gave the stage to the Russian delegation led by Maxim Litvinov representing the New Bolshevik block in the Russian Empire, driven underground by intense repression. There was daily discontent they explained, especially among the workers whose strikes almost became monthly and among peasants who found that the privileges re-extended back to the nobility and landowners were not very favorable to them.
And yet no significant resistance materialized. The government was keeping dissent law and able to direct it into more favorable forms- mostly nationalism. And Russia did not disappoint its nationalists as it began to expand its horizons. Litvinov explained how the Church was colluding with the government to dissuade criticism of the government and build up support for what they termed the “Recovery” of lost lands.
Irredentism at its finest, and yet one that could arguably be applied to nations like France and Italy who sought to recover lost lands.
It was already shown earlier by Tito about Russia’s ambitions in the Balkans, and only a few months earlier the Don Kuban Union was abruptly annexed back into the Empire. The bear was slowly rousing itself from its hibernation.
Germany was vexed as it was by Russia’s blatant power moves in Eastern Europe, Petrograd focused its attention on its former eastern holdings to cool off tensions. The first opportunity came up in a war between the Central Asian states of Alash Orda and Turkestan after the later declared war to start the “rebuilding” of the Caliphate.
Alash Orda, unable to deal with the fury and morale of the Turkmen who were joined by Mongolia, appealed to Russia for aid. But Russia had other intentions, and instead declared war on the doomed nation to reclaim its “rightful” territory.
Litvinov explained that the war gave an opportunity for the Empire to dispose of its more “troublesome” elements by forcibly conscripting them and sending them to the front lines.
“And so when workers rise up and the torch of freedom is lit, Petrograd swoops down and tosses them to their death. And just like that…” said Litvinov as he snapped his fingers, “it’s all gone. We have to start over again”.
Russia’s attention was turned eastward as well. Already supporting the Qing Empire as a means to take down Japan, it set its sight on the breakaway Transamur Republic and issued an ultimatum to Kolchak- "return to Russia’s embrace and stand for your treasonous crimes!".
Naturally Kolchak was not too warm to the possibility of a bullet in his head, and declined the “invitation” to return to Russia. As Litvinov further explained: “I cannot even begin to think of what Kolchak was thinking when he got this stern warning. As we know his coup in the 1920s was specifically for the restoration of the crown, and yet here he is being treated as worthless by the very man he swore his life for. But we all know that there is no honor among thieves.”
Russia bypassed its usual requests for plebiscites and went straight to the possibility of war.
Russia formally severed its connections with Japan as Tokyo moved to reassert its protection of the Transamur Republic. Russia began to entice the business elite of Vladivostok of reuniting with the Empire and having access to its lucrative markets. Would it be an enticing offer? Only time would tell.
With its operations in Transamur as it were, Russia also recognized the importance of securing passage through Siberia to its eastern frontiers. The crux of this was the Trans-Siberian railroad, some of which lied within Mongolia. Russia threatened the mad dictator Sternberg with war, and much to everyone’s surprise, Sternberg assented and ceded parts of the Trans-Siberian railroad that lay within his nation.
And of the political situation in Russia itself? Litvinov summed it up as dire and bad. He did not even know where Bukharin was and only received communiqués from him and others through messengers. Members of the politburo were split up and scattered across the country, and organization was done in such a way that no member knew where the other was. The security crackdowns were becoming that bad.
Litvinov and his small crew had to sneak out of Russia through Georgia. The government was keeping tight borders and reintroducing the internal passport system. It was only through a bribe they managed to let a guard let them pass into Georgia. Russia was slipping backwards. There was nothing more that needed to be said, and with that he thanked the assembly and went back to his delegation.
It had become fairly standard that the Russian addresses to the International would be the most depressing. The Georgian delegation’s speech was in sharp contrast to the cynical tone of the Russians as they eagerly announced the formation of the so-called “Transcaucasian Socialist Republic”.
This was a personal project of Beria himself who had hinted at such ambitions by Georgia in the previous Congress. Georgia would become the germ of this future nation, and when asked what Georgia was doing to achieve this, he replied that there was a significant propaganda and agitation network in the surrounding nations.
It must be said though that Georgia was not in a good position to assert itself in the region. Russia and the Ottoman Empire both had their own ideas in mind for the region. The Ottoman Empire controlled a rump Armenia in the area, and Russia was influencing the economy of Azerbaijan for its lucrative oil industry. And then there was the matter of the Russian Empire feeling it was the rightful controller of the entire region.
Georgia’s announcement was the last for the afternoon until the session reconvened at night for the floor to be opened up to the revolutionaries in the Middle-East, India, and the Far East.
Within the Middle-East, the Kurdish delegates, fresh from their exile, were allowed to give their thoughts on the prospects for the region and their attempts to work beyond tribal divisions and religious influences. Qazi Mohammed, already entered into “training” at the University of Naples, demonstrated for the sake of the Commune of France his developing socialist thought and the inroads those who remained at home made in unionizing workers in the cities and breaking the stranglehold of old, quasi-Feudal land lords in the country side.
The Arab and Turkish exiles, residing within the Commune of France, updated their homelands situation in much of the same way. Within the Ottoman Empire, the three groups worked together where they could to attempt to form unions that transcended ethnic divides- a daunting task in itself. But with the Ottoman Empire showing cracks in its foundation, there would be no better opportunity than now to do so.
And of course, there was concern for the ambitions of Egypt and Hashemite Arabia in the wake of a possible collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Obviously these nations were not inclined to work with the Syndicalists and would have to be dealt with accordingly if conflict arose.
The revolutionaries in India updated the chamber on their progress in fighting “reactionary” landlords still hanging on in the countryside while breaking down old social barriers to progress. This was without it share of trouble of course as the Indians reluctantly expanded on their issues with rioting and displeasure with the reorganization of agricultural plots into something more appropriate for syndicalism.
The Indians however felt that they were on much more firm footing than ever before, and looked outwards into creating discontent in neighboring Princely Federation and the nations of Indochina. With the German Empire occupied fighting ¬¬the Japanese, colonial subjects in Vietnam had begun to agitate and among them a sizable amount of syndicalist-influenced revolutionaries. It was with these the Indians hoped to join ranks with.
In Asian discussions the floor was given to the syndicalists of Taiwan who explained the current progress of the war between Japan and the Qing Empire, which was progressing badly for the Qing and only by the intervention of the German Empire was it kept from collapsing.
In the German-held south there were rumors of Republican agitation in the urban cities, and it was here the Taiwanese Syndicalists felt confident that inroads could be made into the mainland. For the time being though, it was still a warzone between two imperialist powers.
With foreign affairs completed, the Congress broke into specific areas of concern for their nations, going to separate congresses held in different parts of Italy. Factory and technological concerns were relegated to the cities of Milan and Turin, where discussions took place on advances in Industrial technology and ways to better increase the productivity of the factories.
The new figures on top, those from 1936 on the bottom.
Guido Jung gave a rough estimate of how much of an increase the Italians received from their technologies and the annexation of the Federation. The technologies were definitely doing their part- without it there would have not been as drastic of an increase.
But what next? Research into agricultural technologies went as far as possible and was already making its benefits known in the country. Industrial technologies were mostly on time. French and British counterparts recommended to the Italians to look into better oil refining as well as to consider improvements in emerging computer technologies to aid with research and other affairs in the nation.
Groundwork was also laid for further integration of the French and Italian economies into a single one in order to better share resource surpluses and coordinate production. This would presumably involve the Spanish as well once the revolution there finished.
The Phalanstere Internationale, started between France and Britain late that previous year, was discussed in detail between the industrial experts. Some nations that had requested industrial aid found their orders had not been completed, though advisors in both nations recommended it should be continued as it would show its benefit by allowing the less developed nations of the International to be on a better footing in the world. Mexico, which received aid first, thanked the Phalastere Internationale for its aid and showed the strength of Mexico’s economy compared to before it received the aid, and added its recommendation for it to be continued. The vote to continue the program was unanimous.
In Tuscany summits were held over the harvesting and utilization of natural resources. The Italians looked into solutions over power generation and hoped that in combination with refining technologies and making factories more efficient, resources could be used more efficiently. Proposals were taken from other delegates over resource exploitation that was going to be proposed for the next Congress of the Greater Syndicalist Union.
Infrastructure projects were also discussed, including a railroad network linking France and Italy together more tightly. Director-General of Transportation Mussolini took this matter upon himself personally, providing his credentials as “making the trains run on time” in Italy.
A scientific summit took place in the local university over cooperation on nuclear physics- continuing their developments of the previous congress at Cambridge in the Union of Britain, among them the Italian scientific delegation led by Enrico Fermi. Remembrance was held for Ettore Majorana, who was now ruled as dead, as well as recognition of his work into physics, which Fermi personally delivered, as well as remembrance for Guglielmo Marconi. A closed door meeting also took place among the more advanced nations over nuclear physics, expanding upon research started between the two into this emerging field.
However, this meeting became heated and controversial when the French and British scientists disclosed the result of their closed-door meeting in Cambridge the previous year- Project Damocles. This was, simply put, the application of the nuclear research into the military realm. This provoked a heated debate over what the use of nuclear power should be, and it was only through the point of the British delegation pointing out the Germans were probably already looking into the same possibility that led Fermi to reluctantly agree to having the Italians cooperate with the French-British research team in the field.
Military affairs took place in Naples, with the exception of naval concerns which instead based itself in Taranto. The Italians were still far behind the British and French in technologies outside of infantry weapons and artillery, and were looking to create some cooperation programs to overhaul its navy and air force. The navy was still small, though the annexation of the Federation resulted in the capturing of some vessels which were currently being salvaged and prepared for duty once more.
The most significant change for Italy was its ground forces doctrine. Initially it had the same doctrine as the Commune of France but lessons from the war with the Federation prompted a change in doctrine. The doctrine was justified as being more useful to Italian forces and more flexible around its lack of manpower.
Discussions took place over the integration of French and Italian command in the event of a war with Mitteleuropa, and room was left in this arrangement to eventually integrate Spanish and British forces. A unified command would better direct what would sure to be a continent-spanning conflict in the event of war.
The British also presented their suggestion from T.E. Lawrence for a Syndintern special forces to operate behind enemy lines and link up with revolutionaries in Germany and Austria. This would draw its manpower and expertise primarily from French, British, and Italian forces but would take anyone who applied, in a manner similar to the International Brigades. This force was termed the “Revolutionary Exportation Directory”, or R.E.D. for short. The proposal was accepted, though the duty fell upon the Union of Britain to provide the organization of the force.
In Syracuse a conference took place for the security and intelligence figures of the nations of the Syndintern for strategies to check dissent and criminal exploitation in their borders. Director of the USDDR [4] Grieco updated the delegates on the progress against the mafia which so far seemed promising. He iterated though that this should be combined with ensuring the councils remained free of corruption and criminal activity, or else suffer the same problems with productivity and resource stockpiles Italy was facing.
Grieco also covered for the intelligence department, vacant on account of Vidali’s participation in the American Civil War. He disclosed to the gathered officials the possibility of leaks originating within the Syndintern that was causing problems in the American Civil War. The gathered officials promised to do what they could in their respective nations to purge out any potential traitors in their ranks that could jeopardize their nations before a possible war started with Germany.
In Rome, the Congress turned towards more political manners. In what was ordinarily a normal a smooth Congress, it was in the political debates in Rome that a tense debate arose. According to minutes from this meeting, Chairman of the BGT Nestor Makhno expounded upon the superiority of Anarchist thought and the failure of Marxist thought to affect meaningful change. He related his experiences in the Free Territory, and the “shameful” acts of the Bolsheviks which according to him cost the people the revolution.
In doing so, Makhno received the ire of Deputy Amadeo Bordiga, the first president of the Republic and avowed Marxist, when Makhno blasted the socialists who defended the Bolsheviks against the anarchists. This led to a long series of polemics between the two, reportedly lasting the better part of the day as ugly even more differences emerged in their debate. This encounter prompted Makhno to ask President Togliatti and Chairman Gramsci to issue a rebuke to Bordiga, which the two refused on account of Bordiga’s membership in the Anarcho-Syndicalist platform and heading the Marxist grouping within. This prompted Makhno to leave the Congress and only further soured France’s relations with Italy.
The Congress closed on May 25th with a ceremony in Rome, consisting of another airshow and a theater presentation by Romain Rolland. This however could not cover up the absence of Makhno, a blemish on an otherwise successful Congress.
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[1] It may be recalled earlier that the CNT-FAI discovered the assassination of the Crown Prince was hatched by the Carlists in an attempt to destabilize the kingdom and present Xavier as an heir to the throne. The CNT-FAI took this evidence to the crown in Madrid, offering them safe refuge in exchange for abdication, which they refused.
[2] In the aftermath of World War I, Austria occupied the Kingdom of Serbia and enacted harsh reprisals on its populace, with King Peter I and his family going into exile in Canada. Austria withdrew its forces in 1926 as it faced ethnic divides closer to home and left a government formed by collaborators led by Nedic. Peter I died in exile.
[3] Gramsci’s thoughts on this issue can be found in more detail on his “Notebooks” on his talks over the “State and Civil Society”.
[4] Short for Ufficio Stato e Difesa della Rivoluzione, or the Office of the Security and Defense of the Revolution.
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Dammit Makhno, in a world where the revolution is seemingly advancing on all fronts, internal bickering when the greatest task still lies ahead will only weaken the revolutionary cause. Stupid Ukrainian.