A dramatic final day of the conference as delegates from the East arrive, Trotsky speaks to the gathering, and Clara Zetkin, Alexandra Kollontai and Nadezhda Krupskaya lead participants to lay wreaths at the graves of Inessa Armand and Gusti Ossen.

‘Report of the Final Session of the Second International Conference of Communist Women’ from Moscow. No. 23. June 23, 1921.

The final session of the Second Internaional Conference took place on the evening of the 15th of June and was held amid the most solemn surroundings. The entire session beginning with the greetings to Comrade Zetkin from Dagestan and concluding with the appearance of the women of the East, was an act of unification under the banner of the women Workers International.

Comrade Trotsky in his greetings uttered the significant symbolic word the “East.” He outlined the international situation and the expectations of a proletarian revolution in the west. After a brief analysis of the causes of victories and defeats of the international proletariat, Comrade Trotsky pointed out the main problems which the revolutionary proletariat must place before themselves is the work of strengthening and the deepening the movement in the East. The roots of British and American Imperialism lie in the East, without undermining them the proletariat will not accomplish even half its tasks.

As if in reply, from the very depths of the hall, a number of Eastern women appeared on the platform. It was a profound and solemn moment. All present rose like one man and the auditorium reverberated with a long roaring endless applause. The orchestra responded to the applause with the mighty strains of the International.

Covered with their veils and clothed in their National costumes with the dust of travel still upon them they stood, having come from the remotest corners of Asia.

The Eastern women came like a symbol of the glory and the invisible power of the great Communistic ideals. In Moscow the Red motherland of the world’s revolution there are present representatives of the most backward, most oppressed, most suffering women on earth. The foreign Comrades who attended the Congress for the first time, were struck by the immensity of this unparalleled scene, which appeared like tidings from a distant fabled land.

The feeling was expressed by one of the orators–“your land is strange to us, like a fairy tale, but we are close to one another because of our common sufferings and our great ideals”. The greetings of the Eastern women breathed a deep feeling of unity:

“We are very happy to be in Moscow, among the world’s revolutionaries. We have never before participated in International Conferences or in any other conferences but now, with the Russian and European comrades we are undertaking in building the new world”. The general spirit of enthusiasm was expressed in the concluding words of Comrade Kollontai: “We have just experienced a solemn moment. This moment will be expressed in the history of the Communist International. What was the appearance of the women of the East if not the symbol of the Communist International?”

Loud and ceaseless applause followed in reply to this question. The Second International Conference of Communist Women concluded its sessions in a mighty expression of International solidarity as a pledge for the victory of the proletariat of the whole world.

Evening Session of June 15th.

The floor is granted to Comrade Trotzky for greetings.

We are meeting how–said comrade Trotzky–both your Conference and the Congress of the Comintern of which you are part–in a situation which is not so remarkable for definiteness and clarity as, at first glance, was the period immediately following the war. Our enemies even aver that we have utterly failed in our calculations. The Communists–they say–hoped that the world revolution would break out during the war or immediately after it. During that time there have been many revolutionary movements, but only in politically and culturally backward Russia did this movement triumph and maintain itself up till now. In all other countries it merely resulted in the supercession of the regime of the Hapsburgs and the Hohenzollerns by the regime of bourgeois dictatorship, or else took the form of unintermittent strikes. Hence our enemies conclude that because capitalism did not fall during the two or three years the proletariat has displayed its impotence, or, on the contrary, capitalism has manifested its vitality. Now, the III International is confronted with the question as to whether the period of the immediate future will be that of the securer establishment of capitalism or an epoch of greater onslaught by the proletariat. I am unable to deal exhaustively with this question now in so short a time,–I will endeavour to do that on behalf of the Executive Committee of the Comintern at the Congress. But I would like to point out one thing just here. For us communists, Marxists, it is obvious that revolutionary movements are instigated and necessitated by economic conditions, but of no small significance is also the subjective moment, the preparedness of the mass themselves for revolution, the mass who make history. The war destroyed millions of lives and milliards worth of property and industry. Capitalism now desires to re-establish the shaken equilibrium and consolidate its dominion. One cannot with pencil in hand compute whether it will succeed in the near future or not. It can only be said that if the proletariat were to take no note of the lessons of the war, the lessons of the Russian revolution and semi-revolution in Germany, Austria, the lessons of the last seven years, if the proletariat will again submit itself to the yoke, then the bourgeoisie would completely re-establish its dominion and transfer the centre of their activity to America, Asia and Africa.

The diplomats, and the politicians of the bourgeoisie, are now engaged with this problem. In that sense the task of the whole of the Congress of the International, and of your conference is to imbue the proletariat with the necessary revolutionary determination and firmness in the struggle with the world capitalism. This task is not so simple when taken on a world scale, as it seemed to some of us some two or three years ago. The proletariat is composed of a number of classes, varied at their economic past, and development.

The more oppressed, and the more backward classes, of the proletariat, in the face of a grandiose change, brought about by the war, evinces more impatience, a greater revolutionary spirit, than the classes, who were longer in the political movement, and are more developed, they evince a great caution, are more restrained, and are almost conservative.

The movement of the women, I do not speak thus because I am addressing a women’s conference, has now a great importance for the development of the revolutionary struggle. Here on the face of it is the same analogy with a more backward and oppressed class of the working class. The employment men as wage workers’ during the period of the war, and Revolution grew immensely, particularly in the Far East. If we were to believe Japanese sources, female labour numerically far exceeds that of male labour, and indicates how great ought to be the participation of women workers in the general revolutionary movement. History has been held up for three years. These three years was the gain of the bourgeois world, and we must strive to further develop, and deepen our work on an international scale, to not only embrace the West, and the East, but also the backward colonial countries, on whom International Imperialism depends, in the struggle for the re-establishment of its power. The task of the Third Congress is not only to confirm, but also to clearly formulate that the awakening of the workers of the East is as much an integral part of our problem as the rising up of the proletariat of the West.

Generally, in spite of the fact that events do not develop with the rapidity which we would desire, we have gained in strength this year. We have lost some illusions on the question of the speed of the World Revolution, our organisations have grown, and became strengthened, we have embraced new countries and new classes of the proletariat, nor have our foes been asleep and that proves that the struggle will be a stubborn one and it will need the colossal straining of forces, the exact and wise administration of all the integral parts of the proletarian movement. And, this movement must be, not the nurse in the political sense of the word, not only a sympathiser, but a direct participator in the general revolutionary front. This is why from the depth of my heart, I give you greetings. Long live the world proletariat. Long live the International movement of the women workers!

Comrade Clara Zetkin replied to the greetings of Com. Trotsky.

I am convinced that in your name and from the depths of your heart I am speaking, when I reply with fervent greetings to Com. Trotsky the leader and creator of the Red Army which side by side with the working men, the working women have fought and died as political workers, and as Red Sisters. Let this Red Army of Soviet Russia serves as an example for the coming Red Armies of the East and West.

After the speech of Com. Zetkin, the resolution accepting the reports of Comrades Lilina, Gerten, and Zetkin was passed unanimously. The greetings of the Congress of the Villages of the women of Dagestan were accepted. The resolution sent in by the Executive Council of the Young Communists International was then accepted. Then there was a resolution by the Bulgarian Delegation that the International Women’s day should take place on the same day in all countries of the East and West. Comrade Kollontai proposed that they should not fix day now, but thy should leave it to the International Secretariat. Comrade Nicholayeva proposed that the day should not be changed, as on that historic day the women of Petrograd first rose against Tzarism. Comrade Nicholayeva’s proposal was accepted unanimously, and the 8th of March is the approved International Day of Women Workers.

Comrade Stahl then read the reports of the Credentials Committee.

82 delegates are present at the conference. 61 with a decisive vote, and 21 with a consultive vote. Socially they decided thus: of the decisive votes 29 working women, 32 intellectuals. Of the consultative votes,14 women workers and 7 intellectuals. 28 countries are represented in all. Comrade Stahl pointed out the great progress which had been made in comparison with last year. Then there were only 20 delegates with decisive votes and 5 with consultative, they only represented 19 countries altogether, and most of the delegates were not sent to the Women’s conference but to the Congress of the Comintern, they only indirectly represented the organised women workers.

Comrade Kollontai proposed the appointment of a committee, in which there should be a delegate from each country, in order to finish the wording of the manifesto.

Comrade Roland-Holst proposed that the Executive Committee be entrusted to conclude the manifesto, whilst its acceptance be put before a wider Committee. Comrade Roland-Holst’s proposal was accepted. Comrade Zetkin proposed that greetings be sent to two comrades who were unable to attend the conference owing to the pressure of work and illness respectively. One of them the leader of the Communist International Comrade Zinoviev and the other the heart, soul, and brain of the Russian revolution Comrade Lenin. The proposal of comrade Zetkin was received with applause.

During the reading of the resolutions a large party of women arrived from the East, coming from the conference of Eastern Women, that was cancelled. They were all in their national dress. Many of them were wrapped in veils. They were met with an outburst of applause, while the orchestra played the international.

Comrade Zetkin welcomed the delegates in the name of the Conference. She said that although they differed a great deal in outward appearance yet they were of the same flesh and blood. They had the one common and only one nationality Revolutionary Communism. “Greetings to you sisters,” she concluded. A number of Eastern women then followed her and conveyed greetings to the conference in their native languages. Then comrade Kollontai read the proposal of the Eastern delegates to call in the near future a special conference to discuss the ways and means of carrying on work amongst the women of the East. The delegates of the Eastern women were to take part in this conference.

Comrade Kollontai concluded the session with the words, “We have just passed through a wonderful moment. It will be remembered for ever in the history of the Communist International. It was a moment when the women of the East stretched forth their hands to us. What was this, but a symbol of the power of the Third Communist International!…”

Comrade Kollontai then declared the Second International Conference closed. All those who were present stood up and sang the International. The proposal of the Presidium that all those present should attend the Ceremony of depositing wreaths on the graves of Comrades Inessa Armand and Ossen in the Red Square was unanimously accepted.

The Laying of the Wreaths

Touching and impressive was the ceremony of laying the wreaths on the graves of comrades Inessa Armand and Gusti Ossen, delegates from Norway who died last year during the First International Conference of Women Delegates. All the members of this year’s conference headed by comrades Zetkin, Krupskaia, and Kollontai went to their graves at the foot of the Red Walls. Comrades Kollontai and Krupskaia placed the wreaths of flowers on the graves of Inessa, whilst the delegates from Scandinavia placed a similar wreath on the grave of Ossen. Emotion prevented comrade Kollontai from speaking and inaudibly she uttered “Comrades, we need no words here”. But after a few moments of deep silence amongst those present the voice of Comrade Pachufarova reached deep down into their souls. Comrade Pachufarova spoke on behalf of the women workers of Moscow. “It is now a year, since we buried our dear leaders. We are grateful to you, dear Comrades, for the influence which you instilled into our work. Rest in peace, we swear to finish the task which you set out to accomplish”. Comrade Issen of Norway spoke of the deceased Comrade Ossen. She thanked the Russian comrade for that great love and self-sacrifice with which they devote themselves to the work of the world revolution. The dream of Ossen was fulfilled. She slept in a free country, in free Russia. She lay amongst the heroic fighters of a great cause, from whom the workers of Norway, oppressed by their bourgeoisie were arming.

Comrade Ossen was one of the first in Norway to join the Communist Party. The work which she had begun would not be fruitless.

After the speech all those who were present sang “You died for us” and the orchestra played the funeral march.

Moscow was the English-language newspapers of the Communist International’s Third Congress held in Moscow during 1921. Edited by T. L. Axelrod, the paper began on May 25, a month before the Congress, to July 12.

PDF of full issue: https://www.marxists.org/history/international/comintern/3rd-congress/moscow/Moscow%20issue%2023.pdf