Life and Labor Commune
Encyclopedia
The Life and Labor Commune was a Tolstoyan
agricultural commune
founded in 1921 and disbanded as a state run collective farm
in 1937. The commune was founded near Moscow
but was later resettled in central Siberia
, not far from Novokuznetsk
. Throughout its existence the members of the commune were persecuted by the Bolsheviks, both for refusing to enlist or support their war efforts as well as for organizing themselves communally outside of the approved state structure.
district of the Moscow
region and fell under the village soviet
of Troparyovo. The commune was named "Life and Labor" after the Tolstoyan and anarchist leanings of its founding members. From the very beginning, all communal meals were strictly vegetarian.
In 1927 the commune began to come under attack along with the Tolstoy New Jerusalem Commune, which was liquidated by the Soviet government in 1929. Many of the members from there joined the Life and Labor Commune. Leading members of the commune came under legal prosecution by the government, which attempted to revoke their charter. They were defended in court by anarchist Peter Kropotkin
, a member of the Public Defender's Office, as well as nephew of Kropotkin.
s to the Red Army with Lenin and had won them their freedom from impressment
, suggested that the Life and Labor Commune resettle along with other followers of Tolstoy to form one large commune. On February 28th, 1930 the All-Russian Central Executive Committee
issued a decree by the Presidium of the Committee, Protocol 41, Paragraph 5, about "the resettlement of Tolstoyan communes and cooperatives." After a scouting expedition in the spring of 1930, the location of Kuznetsk
along the Tom River
was chosen. On March 22nd, 1931, after selling the livestock and donating the farm to an outpatient psychiatric hospital, the inhabitants of the Life and Labor Commune set out for outskirts of Siberia.
Tolstoyan
The Tolstoyan movement is a social movement based on the philosophical and religious views of Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy . Tolstoy's views were formed by rigorous study of the ministry of Jesus, particularly the Sermon on the Mount....
agricultural commune
Agricultural commune
-Karl Marx:In his 1881 letter to Vera Zasulich, Karl Marx wrote that historically the "agricultural commune" is the most recent type of archaic forms of societies...
founded in 1921 and disbanded as a state run collective farm
Collective farming
Collective farming and communal farming are types of agricultural production in which the holdings of several farmers are run as a joint enterprise...
in 1937. The commune was founded near Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
but was later resettled in central 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...
, not far from Novokuznetsk
Novokuznetsk
Novokuznetsk is a city in Kemerovo Oblast, Russia. It serves as the administrative center of Novokuznetsky District, but it is not administratively a part of it...
. Throughout its existence the members of the commune were persecuted by the Bolsheviks, both for refusing to enlist or support their war efforts as well as for organizing themselves communally outside of the approved state structure.
Founding (1921-1930)
The Life and Labor Commune was founded on December 31st, 1921 with a rental contract with the Moscow District Land Department for the Shestakóvka estate, twelve miles outside of Moscow. The commune was built on land in the TsarítsynVolgograd
Volgograd , formerly called Tsaritsyn and Stalingrad is an important industrial city and the administrative center of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. It is long, north to south, situated on the western bank of the Volga River...
district of the Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
region and fell under the village soviet
Soviet (council)
Soviet was a name used for several Russian political organizations. Examples include the Czar's Council of Ministers, which was called the “Soviet of Ministers”; a workers' local council in late Imperial Russia; and the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union....
of Troparyovo. The commune was named "Life and Labor" after the Tolstoyan and anarchist leanings of its founding members. From the very beginning, all communal meals were strictly vegetarian.
In 1927 the commune began to come under attack along with the Tolstoy New Jerusalem Commune, which was liquidated by the Soviet government in 1929. Many of the members from there joined the Life and Labor Commune. Leading members of the commune came under legal prosecution by the government, which attempted to revoke their charter. They were defended in court by anarchist Peter Kropotkin
Peter Kropotkin
Prince Pyotr Alexeyevich Kropotkin was a Russian zoologist, evolutionary theorist, philosopher, economist, geographer, author and one of the world's foremost anarcho-communists. Kropotkin advocated a communist society free from central government and based on voluntary associations between...
, a member of the Public Defender's Office, as well as nephew of Kropotkin.
Resettlement (1931)
Vladimir Cherkov, who intervened on behalf of conscientious objectorConscientious objector
A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion....
s to the Red Army with Lenin and had won them their freedom from impressment
Impressment
Impressment, colloquially, "the Press", was the act of taking men into a navy by force and without notice. It was used by the Royal Navy, beginning in 1664 and during the 18th and early 19th centuries, in wartime, as a means of crewing warships, although legal sanction for the practice goes back to...
, suggested that the Life and Labor Commune resettle along with other followers of Tolstoy to form one large commune. On February 28th, 1930 the All-Russian Central Executive Committee
All-Russian Central Executive Committee
All-Russian Central Executive Committee , was the highest legislative, administrative, and revising body of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. Although the All-Russian Congress of Soviets had supreme authority, in periods between its sessions its powers were passed to VTsIK...
issued a decree by the Presidium of the Committee, Protocol 41, Paragraph 5, about "the resettlement of Tolstoyan communes and cooperatives." After a scouting expedition in the spring of 1930, the location of Kuznetsk
Kuznetsk Depression
Kuznetsk Depression is located among mountains of Southern Siberia: Kuznetsk Alatau to the Northeast, Salair Ridge to the Southwest, and Mountainous Shoria to the South. Elevation up to 500 m, area: 70,000 km², length: 400 km, width: 120 km....
along the Tom River
Tom River
Tom is a river in Russia, a right tributary of the Ob. Its length is 540 miles . Its source is in the Abakan mountains , and it flows northward through the Kuznetsk Basin...
was chosen. On March 22nd, 1931, after selling the livestock and donating the farm to an outpatient psychiatric hospital, the inhabitants of the Life and Labor Commune set out for outskirts of Siberia.
Memoirs of participants
Several of the participants in the commune wrote memoirs of their experiences.See also
- Christian anarchismChristian anarchismChristian anarchism is a movement in political theology that combines anarchism and Christianity. It is the belief that there is only one source of authority to which Christians are ultimately answerable, the authority of God as embodied in the teachings of Jesus...
- Tolstoyans
- List of anarchist communities
- Utopian socialismUtopian socialismUtopian socialism is a term used to define the first currents of modern socialist thought as exemplified by the work of Saint-Simon, Charles Fourier, and Robert Owen which inspired Karl Marx and other early socialists and were looked on favorably...