Young Communist League of Lithuania and Belorussia

The Young Communist League of Lithuania and Belorussia (Belarusian: Камуністычны Саюз Моладзі Літвы і Беларусі, abbreviated КСМЛіБ, Lithuanian: Lietuvos ir Baltarusijos Komunistinės Jaunimo Sąjungos, abbreviated L ir BKJS, Russian: Коммунистический Союз Молодежи Литвы и Белоруссии, abbreviated КСМЛиБ) was a youth organization in Lithuania and Belorussia 1919-1920.

Organization

The organization was founded in Minsk on February 10, 1919 at a joint session of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Young Communist League of Belorussia and the Provisional Central Bureau of the Young Communist League of Lithuania.[1] The meeting decided to merge the Lithuanian and Belorussian communist youth organizations.[2][3] The founding congress elected a Central Committee, whose secretary was Juozas Greifenbergeris [lt] (who remained at the helm of the organization throughout its existence).[2] Other members of the Central Committee were S. Alperavičius, A. Movšenzonas and Nikolay Volov.[1][4][5] Following the founding meeting, a special appeal to the youth was issued by the organization on February 14, 1919.[1] The Provisional Central Bureau of the organization was based at 9, Varnų Street (present-day A. Jakšto Street) hosted the party headquarters.[6]

By the beginning March 1919 the organization had some 300 members in Vilna.[2] Most of them were part of the Liebknecht Military Detachment which fought at the frontlines during the Polish offensive.[2]

The organization planned to hold a congress June 25, 1919, but this had to be postponed due to the situation on the Western Front.[7] It was then planned for July 16, 1919, but could not be held.[7]

The organization was active behind the frontlines, organizing underground cells in areas under the control of the Republic of Lithuania.[2] Young communist cells were formed in Vilna, Kaunas and Rokiškis in the latter half of 1919.[2] In 1920 clandestine cells were created in Marijampolė, Vilkaviškis, Panevėžys, Šiauliai, Joniškis, Jonava, Dotnuva and Ukmergė.[2] In Minsk organizers in the underground included Vorobyov (Central Committee member), Zaidenvar ('Zucker'), Savchik, Zak and Proshchitsky.[8] Other active underground cells of the organization existed in Bobruisk, Slutsk, Grodno and other locations under Polish occupation.[9]

An organizational conference of the organization was held in Vilna April 1920 - which reaffirmed Greifenbergeris' role as the leader of the organization and elected him as its delegate to the congress of the Russian Young Communist League.[2] The conference adopted a program based on that of the Russian Young Communist League.[2] On May 4, 1920 a Lithuanian Central Bureau of the organization was founded at a conference in Kaunas.[2] Members of the Lithuanian Central Bureau included, at different stages, Greifenbergeris, Rapolas Čarnas [lt], Aizik Lifshits, Antanas Stasiūnas, Eugenija Tautkaitė, Jonas Žagas and Leiba Šapira.[2] The organization held a Kaunas regional conference in July 1920 and a Suwalki regional conference on August 24, 1920.[2]

The organization was divided into separate Lithuanian and Belorussian youth organizations on November 5, 1920.[2] The Lithuanian Central Bureau became the leading body of the Young Communist League of Lithuania.[2] The Young Communist League of Belorussia was reconstituted as an integral part of the Russian Young Communist League.[10]

International affiliation

On February 29, 1920 the organization became a section of the Communist Youth International.[2]

Press

The organization began publishing the Russian language periodical Fakel kommunizma [lt] ('Torch of Communism') on March 2, 1919.[2] The first issue was published in Vilna, the second and third were issued from Minsk as the joint organ of the Central Committee and Minsk Committee of the organization.[5] It was edited by Greifenbergeris.[5]

On March 11, 1919 another Russian language periodical, the weekly Krasnaya molodezh [lt] ('Red Youth'), was launched.[2] In August 1920 the Lithuanian Central Bureau began publishing the periodical Jaunasis komunistas [lt] ('Young Communist').[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c Bronius Vaitkevičius (1988). Pirmoji darbininkų ir valstiečių valdžia Lietuvoje: monografija skiriama LKP įkūrimo ir Tarybų valdžios paskelbimo Lietuvoje 70-mečiui. Mokslas. p. 187. ISBN 978-5-420-00035-9.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Tadas Adomonis (1986). Lithuania: An Encyclopedic Survey. Encyclopedia Publishers. pp. 170–171.
  3. ^ Mykhaĭlo Ivanovych Kulichenko (1963). Борьба Коммунистической партии за решение национального вопроса в 1918-1920 годах. Харьковский Государственный Университет им. Горького. p. 312.
  4. ^ Kommunist. Izd-vo T︠S︡K KP Litvy. 1964. p. 74.
  5. ^ a b c Romas Šarmaitis (1981). Lietuvos Komunistų partijos spauda 1917-1940: bibliografija. Mintis. p. 324.
  6. ^ L. Broga. Lietuvos TSR turistinis z̆emėlapis. Valstybinė politinės ir mȯkslinės literatùros leidykla, 1963. p. 42
  7. ^ a b Istochnik ally. 1973. p. 167.
  8. ^ Н. В Каменская (1963). Белорусский народ в борьбе за советскую власть, 1919-1920 гг. Изд-во Академия наук БССР. p. 103.
  9. ^ Институт истории (Академия наук СССР) (1966). Октябрь и гражданская война в СССР: сборник статей к 70-летию академика И.И. Минца. Nauka. p. 354.
  10. ^ Minsk--gorod-geroĭ: spravochnik. Glav. red. Belorusskoĭ Sov. Ėnt︠s︡iklopedii. 1976. p. 54.