Elena Stasova
Encyclopedia
Elena Dmitrievna "Lyolia" Stasova was a Russian
communist revolutionary
who became a political functionary working for the Communist International (Comintern). She was a Comintern representative to Germany in 1921. From 1927 to 1938 she was the president of International Red Aid
(MOPR). From 1938 to 1946 she worked on the editorial staff of the magazine International Literature.
. She was the daughter of a liberal jurist
, Dmitry Stasov (1828–1918) who worked in the Senate and was a Herald
at the coronation of Alexander II
. Her grandfather had been architect
to Tsars Alexander I
and Nicholas I
.
After finishing secondary school
, Elena became a committed socialist and joined the Russian Social Democratic Workers Party (RSDRP) at the time of its establishment in 1898.
When the RSDRP split into Bolshevik
and Menshevik
factions in 1903, Stasova cast her lot with Lenin and the Bolsheviks as a professional revolutionary
. Over the next two years Stasova adopted the pseudonyms
"Absolute" and "Thick" and served as the conduit for Lenin's newspaper, Iskra
, in St. Petersburg, where she worked as party secretary of that city. She taught new members how to encode and decode. Stasova also served as secretary of the Northern Bureau of the Bolshevik Central Committee, and in other leading party positions. Other pseudonyms which Stasova used during the underground period included "Delta," "Heron," "Knol," and "Varvara Ivanovna."
Stasova emigrated to Geneva, Switzerland in 1905, where she was at the time of the Russian Revolution of 1905
. She returned home in January 1906 to direct Bolshevik work in Tiflis (a city now known as Tbilisi), the capital of Georgia
.
In January 1912, Stasova was elected as an alternate member of the Bolshevik party's Central Committee. She was now secretary to the party's Russian bureau. This was followed in 1913 by arrest and exile to Siberia
, where she remained until 1916. She had left the party treasury with her brother.
of 1917, Stasova was named a secretary of the Central Committee — a position which she retained through the October Revolution, finally standing down in March 1920. She was also returned as an alternate member of the Bolshevik Central Committee by the 6th Congress of the Russian Communist Party
in 1917. She was elected to full membership on the CC by the 7th Congress of 1918 and the 8th Congress
of 1919. However, the 9th Congress
of 1920 dropped her both from the Central Committee and from the party secretariat.
After being removed from the Central Committee, Stasova worked for the Petrograd party organization, from where she was brought into the Comintern's apparatus. She was appointed Comintern representative to the Communist Party of Germany
(KPD) in May 1921, where she used the pseudonym "Hertha." Stasova remained in Germany through 1926, where she played a leading role in the German affiliate of the International Red Aid
(MOPR) organization, Die Rote Hilfe.
Stasova returned to the USSR in February of 1926. The next year she was named deputy director head of the international MOPR as well as head of the Central Committee of the MOPR organization in the USSR, positions which she retained through 1937.
Stasova served as a member of the Central Control Commission of the Russian Communist Party from 1930 to 1934 and in 1935 the 7th World Congress of the Comintern named her a member of the International Control Commission. She retained this position until the Comintern was dissolved in 1943.
Stasova, unlike so many other "Old Bolsheviks," was untouched by the spy
mania and secret police terror which swept the Soviet Union in the late 1930s, but she was moved in 1938 to a new position on the editorial staff of the magazine International Literature. Stasova continued in this role through 1946.
A boarding school for foreigners in Ivanovo, Russia called the Ivanovo International Boarding School ("Interdom
"), established by MOPR in 1933, was named after Elena Stasova.
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
communist revolutionary
Revolutionary
A revolutionary is a person who either actively participates in, or advocates revolution. Also, when used as an adjective, the term revolutionary refers to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor.-Definition:...
who became a political functionary working for the Communist International (Comintern). She was a Comintern representative to Germany in 1921. From 1927 to 1938 she was the president of International Red Aid
International Red Aid
International Red Aid was an international social service organization established by the Communist International...
(MOPR). From 1938 to 1946 she worked on the editorial staff of the magazine International Literature.
Early years
Elena Stasova was born in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1873, an ethnic RussianRussians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
. She was the daughter of a liberal jurist
Jurist
A jurist or jurisconsult is a professional who studies, develops, applies, or otherwise deals with the law. The term is widely used in American English, but in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth countries it has only historical and specialist usage...
, Dmitry Stasov (1828–1918) who worked in the Senate and was a Herald
Herald
A herald, or, more correctly, a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is often applied erroneously to all officers of arms....
at the coronation of Alexander II
Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II , also known as Alexander the Liberator was the Emperor of the Russian Empire from 3 March 1855 until his assassination in 1881...
. Her grandfather had been architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
to Tsars Alexander I
Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I of Russia , served as Emperor of Russia from 23 March 1801 to 1 December 1825 and the first Russian King of Poland from 1815 to 1825. He was also the first Russian Grand Duke of Finland and Lithuania....
and Nicholas I
Nicholas I of Russia
Nicholas I , was the Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855, known as one of the most reactionary of the Russian monarchs. On the eve of his death, the Russian Empire reached its historical zenith spanning over 20 million square kilometers...
.
After finishing secondary school
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
, Elena became a committed socialist and joined the Russian Social Democratic Workers Party (RSDRP) at the time of its establishment in 1898.
When the RSDRP split into Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
and Menshevik
Menshevik
The Mensheviks were a faction of the Russian revolutionary movement that emerged in 1904 after a dispute between Vladimir Lenin and Julius Martov, both members of the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party. The dispute originated at the Second Congress of that party, ostensibly over minor issues...
factions in 1903, Stasova cast her lot with Lenin and the Bolsheviks as a professional revolutionary
Professional Revolutionary
Professional Revolutionary: The Life of Saul Wellman is a documentary about the life of Saul Wellman.-Summary:“I want things to change, where the playing field is leveled,” Wellman says, “where equality emerges as a reality...where the horrible things about inequality are...
. Over the next two years Stasova adopted the pseudonyms
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
"Absolute" and "Thick" and served as the conduit for Lenin's newspaper, Iskra
Iskra
Iskra was a political newspaper of Russian socialist emigrants established as the official organ of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party. Initially, it was managed by Vladimir Lenin, moving as he moved. The first edition was published in Stuttgart on December 1, 1900. Other editions were...
, in St. Petersburg, where she worked as party secretary of that city. She taught new members how to encode and decode. Stasova also served as secretary of the Northern Bureau of the Bolshevik Central Committee, and in other leading party positions. Other pseudonyms which Stasova used during the underground period included "Delta," "Heron," "Knol," and "Varvara Ivanovna."
Stasova emigrated to Geneva, Switzerland in 1905, where she was at the time of the Russian Revolution of 1905
Russian Revolution of 1905
The 1905 Russian Revolution was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire. Some of it was directed against the government, while some was undirected. It included worker strikes, peasant unrest, and military mutinies...
. She returned home in January 1906 to direct Bolshevik work in Tiflis (a city now known as Tbilisi), the capital of Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
.
In January 1912, Stasova was elected as an alternate member of the Bolshevik party's Central Committee. She was now secretary to the party's Russian bureau. This was followed in 1913 by arrest and exile to Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
, where she remained until 1916. She had left the party treasury with her brother.
Political career
After the February RevolutionFebruary Revolution
The February Revolution of 1917 was the first of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. Centered around the then capital Petrograd in March . Its immediate result was the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, the end of the Romanov dynasty, and the end of the Russian Empire...
of 1917, Stasova was named a secretary of the Central Committee — a position which she retained through the October Revolution, finally standing down in March 1920. She was also returned as an alternate member of the Bolshevik Central Committee by the 6th Congress of the Russian Communist Party
6th Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (bolsheviks)
The 6th Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party was held during 26 July - 3 August in Petrograd, Russia....
in 1917. She was elected to full membership on the CC by the 7th Congress of 1918 and the 8th Congress
8th Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks)
The 8th Congress of the Russian Communist Party was held in Moscow 18 - 23 March, 1919.The Congress was attended by 301 voting delegates who represented 313,766 Party members...
of 1919. However, the 9th Congress
9th Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks)
The 9th Congress of the Russian Communist Party took place from 29 March 1920 till 5 April 1920. The Congress opened in the Bolshoi Theatre with an introductory speech by Lenin. The following meetings of the Congress took place in one of the buildings of the Kremlin...
of 1920 dropped her both from the Central Committee and from the party secretariat.
After being removed from the Central Committee, Stasova worked for the Petrograd party organization, from where she was brought into the Comintern's apparatus. She was appointed Comintern representative to the Communist Party of Germany
Communist Party of Germany
The Communist Party of Germany was a major political party in Germany between 1918 and 1933, and a minor party in West Germany in the postwar period until it was banned in 1956...
(KPD) in May 1921, where she used the pseudonym "Hertha." Stasova remained in Germany through 1926, where she played a leading role in the German affiliate of the International Red Aid
International Red Aid
International Red Aid was an international social service organization established by the Communist International...
(MOPR) organization, Die Rote Hilfe.
Stasova returned to the USSR in February of 1926. The next year she was named deputy director head of the international MOPR as well as head of the Central Committee of the MOPR organization in the USSR, positions which she retained through 1937.
Stasova served as a member of the Central Control Commission of the Russian Communist Party from 1930 to 1934 and in 1935 the 7th World Congress of the Comintern named her a member of the International Control Commission. She retained this position until the Comintern was dissolved in 1943.
Stasova, unlike so many other "Old Bolsheviks," was untouched by the spy
SPY
SPY is a three-letter acronym that may refer to:* SPY , ticker symbol for Standard & Poor's Depositary Receipts* SPY , a satirical monthly, trademarked all-caps* SPY , airport code for San Pédro, Côte d'Ivoire...
mania and secret police terror which swept the Soviet Union in the late 1930s, but she was moved in 1938 to a new position on the editorial staff of the magazine International Literature. Stasova continued in this role through 1946.
Death and legacy
Elena Stasova died on 31 December 1966.A boarding school for foreigners in Ivanovo, Russia called the Ivanovo International Boarding School ("Interdom
Interdom
Interdom is a special school for foreigners located in the city of Ivanovo in Russia. The name is an abbreviation of the Russian internatzionalny dom or "International House"....
"), established by MOPR in 1933, was named after Elena Stasova.
Writings
- MOPR's Banners Abroad: Report to the Third MOPR Congress of the Soviet Union. Moscow: Executive Committee of International Red Aid, 1931. (By-line given as "H. Stassova" on cover.)