Vol. XIII (2007), no 20 - The International Newsletter of Communist ...

The International Newletter of Communist Studies Online XIII (2007), no 20 134
"Third Period": 1924-1934. Chapter IV: The Indian question in the era of United Front and
War: 1935-1943. Chapter V: Comintern and the Indian revolutionaries in Russia. Chapter VI:
Indian communism: Dialectics of real and a possible history.
Krekola, Joni: Stalinin lyhyt kurssi. Suomalaiset Moskovan Lenin-koulussa
1926-1938, Helsinki, SKS, 2006. 445 p.
The study of the Finns at the International Lenin School (ILS) reflects the history of the Soviet
Union during Stalin’s era, the history of the Communist International (Comintern) as well as
the history of Finnish communism. The life span of the ILS (1926–1938) coincides with the
creating and establishing of the power structures of Stalinism. Both the ILS and Finnish
communists in the USSR became casualties of the Great Terror (1937–1938). After the WW2,
however, the Soviet education was appreciated inside the Communist Party of Finland (CPF).
The Finnish teachers of the ILS, altogether numbered 26, were usually leaders of the CPF
that was headquartered in Moscow. In total, 141 Finnish communists studied at the ILS. The
purpose of the ILS was to educate the communist parties’ leading stratum of functionaries by
combining the theory of Marxism-Leninism with practices of party work. The students were
supposed to internalize current values, methods and discipline of the Bolsheviks. The study
evaluates the effects of the total school experience on the Finns that often ended in another
total institution in Finland: prison.
The Finnish sector at the ILS started in the autumn of 1930 when communism in Finland was
forced underground. In the 1930s, most of the Finns studied using their own language at the
ILS short courses that lasted from nine months to two years. After the first term, the
graduates were usually sent back to party work as district organisers in Finland. When having
carried out the illegal work in hard conditions successfully, they were offered another year at
the ILS advanced course. The Finnish state police, however, succeeded in arresting most of
the Soviet educated students, preventing the circulation of cadres from running smoothly.
Despite the strict control at the ILS, an informer infiltrated the Finnish sector in 1934. He
revealed the secrets of the ILS during the police interrogations right after returning back to
Finland.
The curricula of the ILS consisted of theory of Marxism-Leninism, party history, political
economics and other subjects concerning the campaigns of Stalinism. The Finnish students
participated in military training, and they learned techniques of illegal party work. The ILS
year included participation in Bolshevik party life and practical work. During summer
excursions (internships) the students could acquaint themselves with building of socialism in
the Soviet Republics. At the ILS, the intention to ideological moulding was not hidden. The
students were supposed to adopt the Stalinist identity of the professional revolutionaries of
the era.
The disintegration of the ILS started already in the mid-1930s after the 7 th Comintern
congress. The new tactics of the People’s Front combined with increasing pressure on the
foreigners inside the USSR contributed to reserving the ILS for students from illegal parties
only. Since the break-out of the Spanish civil war in summer of 1936, only few new students