Kollontai Factfile1

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Factfile 1

Alexandra Kollontai _______________________ _______________________ _______________________ _______________________ _______________________ _______________________ _______________________ _______________________ _______________________

Kollontai was a member of the Social Democratic Labour Party. At its Second Congress in London in 1903, there was a dispute between two of its leaders, Vladimir Lenin and Julius Martov. Lenin argued for a small party of professional revolutionaries with a large fringe of non-party sympathizers and supporters. Martov disagreed believing it was better to have a large party of activists. Martov won the vote 28-23 but Lenin was unwilling to accept the result and formed a faction known as the Bolsheviks. Those who remained loyal to Martov became known as Mensheviks. Kollantai found it difficult to make up her mind which group she should join. As she recalled later: "I had friends in both camps, I was closer in spirit to Bolshevism, with its uncompromising belief in revolution, but the personal charm of Plekhanov restrained me from condemnation of Menshevism." Kollantai eventually decided not to join either group and offered her services to both factions. After witnessing Bloody Sunday Kollantai began to concentrate her

efforts in establishing a trade union movement in Russia. She was particularly active in helping to organize female workers and arranged special meetings and clubs for them. In 1915 Kollantai joined the Bolsheviks and returned to Russia to take part in the October Revolution. Although she did not enjoy a good relationship with Vladimir Lenin, he appointed her as Commissar for Social Welfare. Kollantai, Inessa Armand, Sophia Smidovich and Nadezhda Krupskaya were the only women to play a prominent role in the male-dominated Bolshevik administration.