Hard-pressed and resilient, a synopsis of the first ten years of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia.

‘The Tenth Anniversary of the C.P. of Yugoslavia’ by Boshkovitch from International Press Correspondence. Vol. 9. No. 21. May 3, 1929.

Ten years ago, on April 10th, 1919, the first Party Congress for the uniting of the C.P. of Yugoslavia took place in Belgrade. The Party Congress was attended by delegates of all the social-democratic organisations of Yugoslavia. The event was charactised by the decisive fight against the right-wing social democrats, “Against Ministerialism for the Revolutionary Class struggle”; the gathering was almost unanimously in favour of uniting on the platform of the Communist International and for affiliation to the international. The Party was called the “Socialist Workers Party (of the Communists) of Yugoslavia”. The social patriots were driven out of the Party.

The general revolutionary fermentation, which was at that time in progress throughout Central Europe, helped the Party to become a mass organisation within a short time. The arising of Soviet power in Hungary and in Bavaria, the prisoners of war from the former Austro-Hungarian army returning from the Soviet Union, the advance of the Red Army upon Warsaw, the occupying of the factories by the metal workers in Italy, exercised a big influence on the revolutionising process of the worker and peasant masses of Yugoslavia. The country experienced a thoroughly revolutionary phase, characterised by numerous strikes not authorised by executives, by the general strike of railwaymen, the general strike of miners, the peasant revolt in Croatia, the results of the municipal elections, the great number of votes cast for the Communists at the elections for the Constitutional Assembly (59 Communist delegates), and the huge demonstrations organised by the Party as a protest against the contemplated imperialist war on Soviet Russia and Soviet Hungary. The growing of our Party struck terror into the hearts of the ruling Pan-Servian bourgeoisie and forced them to resort to White Terror with the object of destroying the Communist movement.

The Pan-Servian bourgeoisie constantly took sharper action against the Party. After the bloody overthrow of the general strike of railway men and of the peasant revolt in Croatia, the Communists were driven with violence out of the Zagreb Municipal Council, and the Belgrade Communist City Council was dissolved.

The constitution of the newly formed Communist Party made itself unpleasantly felt during these events. The Party was full of Social-Democratic traditions. The internal fight in the Party concerning the problem of strategy and tactics became steadily more serious. The more noticeable the class struggle became in town and country, the more sharply these opportunistic elements proceeded against the Bolshevist conversion of the Communist Party. The II. Party Congress (June, 1920 Vukovar) was characterised by the decisive fight against the right wing and the Centre; it ended in a complete defeat. Since that time the Party has been called the Communist Party of Yugoslavia.

In response to the resolutions of the II. Party Congress of the C.P. Yu. the right wing and Centre issued a manifesto against the executive of the C.P. Yu., declaring themselves to be propagators and heirs of the glorious traditions of Social Democracy of pre-war times. The first plenary meeting of the executive after publication of this manifesto condemned all the members of the right wing and Centre who had signed the manifesto and resolved to expel them.

In November, 1920, the Government took advantage of the general strike of miners to launch a further decisive attack against the C.P. Yu. On November 29th, 1920, it issued a special decree (Obznana), on the basis of which all Communist and trade-union organisations were dissolved, all Communist newspapers suppressed and the printing-works, book shops and workers clubs handed over to the Social Democrats. At this fateful moment the Party was incapable of fulfilling the tasks of the vanguard, namely, to rally the worker and peasant masses for an open fight to overthrow the Pan-Servian black-hundred regime. Between the C.P. Yu. and the masses there appeared a gap, and the isolated Communist vanguard of Yugoslavia had to suffer the severe blows of the White Terror.

In June, 1921, after the murder of the Minister of Police, the Protection of the Realm Act was issued, under which the C.P. Yu, was outlawed and the Communists driven out of their remaining legal offices in parliament and city councils.

In the course of the years 1923 and 1924 there arose in the ideologic fight concerning Bolshevisation important differences of opinion in relation to the national question, the peasant question, the question of the tasks of the trade-union movement and the organisation questions of the C.P. Yu. These differences of opinion found expression at the III. Party Congress of the C.P. Yu. (January, 1924, Belgrade.)

After the III. Party Congress (May, 1926), after the Party had elaborated the proper Communist line, this fight was converted into fruitless fraction disputes between right wing and “left wing”. This fraction fight continually disturbed the unity of the Party and weakened its striking force. Furthermore, both the right wing and the “left wing” have in recent years committed rightward and opportunist mistakes. For this reason the E.C.C.I. resolved to address to all members of the C.P. Yu. an open letter, requesting them to start from below an ideologic fight against the deviations of both right wing and “left wing” and to put an end to the fractional conflict which was hampering the development of the C.P. Yu.

What are the results of this ideologic fight? This question was answered by the IV. Party Congress of the C.P. Yu., held at the end of last year. At this Party Congress not a single vote was cast either for the right wing or the “left wing”. The Party Congress showed that the tedious, trying work for the Bolshevising of the C.P. Yu. had produced a sound Bolshevistic nucleus out of Labour elements. It showed that the Party was extending its influence among the broad masses of the toilers. These successes at the present stage of the fight were qualified by the objective factor: the accentuation of the contradictions on both the class front and the national front in Yugoslavia; and by the subjective factor: the qualitative growth of the C.P. Yu.

In June, 1928, the Party succeeded in leading the majority of the railway workers in a general strike; under the leadership of the Party Zagreb proletarians fought at the barricades; with the active participation of the Party the street demonstrations were held on December 1st, 1928, on the 10th anniversary of the creation of Yugoslavia. All this goes to show that the Party has recently had undoubted successes.

Both the executive of the Party and the local sections replied to the proclamation of the dictatorship with numerous illegal leaflets and manifestos. The Party is at present weak and the work of its organisation suffers through a number of deficiencies, but the Party can, nevertheless, play a leading role in the present fight, wherein the passivity and treachery of the present leaders of the national movement and the peasant movement will become obvious to the broad masses.

In the next decade the C.P. Yu., together with other Communist Parties of the Balkans, will lead the broad masses of workers, peasants and toiling oppressed nations to a decisive victory, to power for the workers and peasants and to the creation of the Balkan Federation of Workers’ and Peasants’ Republics.

International Press Correspondence, widely known as”Inprecor” was published by the Executive Committee of the Communist International (ECCI) regularly in German and English, occasionally in many other languages, beginning in 1921 and lasting in English until 1938. Inprecor’s role was to supply translated articles to the English-speaking press of the International from the Comintern’s different sections, as well as news and statements from the ECCI. Many ‘Daily Worker’ and ‘Communist’ articles originated in Inprecor, and it also published articles by American comrades for use in other countries. It was published at least weekly, and often thrice weekly.

PDF of full issue: https://www.marxists.org/history/international/comintern/inprecor/1929/v09n21-may-03-1929-inprecor.pdf