- Friends of the Soviet Union
Friends of the Soviet Union was an organization formed on the initiative of the
Communist International in 1927, with the purpose of coordinating solidarity efforts with the Soviet Union around the world. It grew out of existing initiatives likeFriends of Soviet Russia in theUnited States , theAssociation of Friends of the New Russia inGermany and theHands Off Russia campaign that had emerged during the early 1920s.The founding congress of FSU was held at the House of the Trade Unions in
Moscow November 10-12 1927. 917 delegates from 40 countries assisted the conference. [ [http://www.marxistische-bibliothek.de/zetkinstaat.html] ] [ [http://www.whatnextjournal.co.uk/Pages//History/Gumede.html "I have seen the new Jerusalem" ] ] Leading figures in the organization wereClara Zetkin andHenri Barbusse . National sections of FSU was formed in various countries.Australia
The
Australia n FSU was established in 1930. In the mid-1930s there was an attempt on behalf of theCommonwealth to ban the organization. [http://www.law.mq.edu.au/html/MqLJ/volume5/vol5_robertson.pdf] The organization was later reconstituted as theAustralia-Soviet Friendship League . [ [http://www.lib.monash.edu/exhibitions/communism/com079.html The Red Army ] ]Mexico
In
Mexico , the association "Amigos de la Union Sovietica combatiente" was founded in 1942. [ [http://www.centroculturalruso.com.mx/ROSZARUBEZCENTER_WEB-PAGINA/Ros/index.htm Untitled Document ] ]Norway
"Sovjet-Unionens venner", the FSU branch in
Norway , was founded in 1928. [ [http://www.stortinget.no/lund/84-85.htm Lund-rapporten] ]Adam Egede-Nissen was chairman of the organization 1933-1935. [ [http://extweb3.nsd.uib.no/data/polsys/Index.cfm?ArkivNr=18&Institusjonsnummer=1&Typetekst=97&Spraak=&Uttaksnummer=5&person=10648 Data om det politiske system ] ] LaterNordahl Grieg became the chairman of the organization. The organization was banned under the German occupation, along with the Communist Party, onAugust 16 1940 . [ [http://www.friheten.no/lang/2003/06/nku.html Friheten - NKUs historie i korte trekk ] ]Romania
An organization following the international model was set up in
Romania by theRomanian Communist Party activistPetre Constantinescu-Iaşi in the spring of 1934, at a time of relative "détente " between the Soviet and Romanian governments ("seeGreater Romania ").Adrian Cioroianu , "Pe umerii lui Marx. O introducere în istoria comunismului românesc",Editura Curtea Veche , Bucharest, 2005, p.107-148, 218-219] Centered inChişinău and later inBucharest , it reunited a sizable panel of communist and non-committed intellectuals, and favored Soviet-Romanian cultural ventures, raising controversy after a delegation led byAlexandru Sahia illegally crossed into Soviet territory to attend the anniversary of theOctober Revolution . It was ultimately outlawed in November of the same year by theGheorghe Tătărescu cabinet, and was succeeded by the Society for Maintaining Cultural Links between Romania and the Soviet Union, created in May 1935 and itself outlawed in 1938. Various attempts to build on the "Amicii URSS" legacy duringWorld War II remained unsuccessful, but after the start of Soviet occupation, in November 1944, theRomanian Society for Friendship with the Soviet Union (ARLUS) was founded. It survied as an officially-endorsed cultural institution during the early stages of the Communist regime, but was disbanded in 1964, when the Romanian Communist leaderGheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej announced a "national path to communism" and proceeded to distance himself from the Soviet Union.outh Africa
The FSU established a branch in
South Africa , to which non-communist were invited to join. In March 1934, the FSU took part in the formation of theLeague against Fascism and War along with the Communist Party, Labour Party members,trade union ists, etc.. [ [http://www.anc.org.za/books/ccsa20.html Class & Colour in South Africa - Chapter 20 ] ] During theSecond World War the FSU campaigned for support for the Soviet war effort. During the early the 1940s, the FSU made significant inroads amongst theIndia n community. [ [http://www.sahistory.org.za/pages/library-resources/thesis/pahad_thesis/chapter4d.htm CHAPTER IV: The Struggle for Power: The Triumph of the Radicals, 1939-1946 ] ]weden
A Swedish FSU branch, "Sovjet-Unionens vänner", was founded in 1930. [ [http://www.regeringen.se/content/1/c4/04/47/615c0fee.pdf vervakningen av "SKP-komplexet" ] ] In 1935 a Social Democrat from
Mölndal ,Edvin Trettondal , became the chairman of the organization, which resulted in his expulsion from the Social Democratic Party. He later joined the Communist Party. By the late 1930s the organization disintegrated. A section of its members, including Trettondal, formed the association "Sovjet-Nytt". [ [http://bibliotek.molndal.se/gemensam/bibliotekshistoria/historik3.htm Mölndals stadsbibliotek - Mölndals tredje bibliotek ] ]References
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