Boris Souvarine Papers

Period (1897-) 1939-1978
Total size   0.6 m.
Consultation Not restricted

Biography

Pseudonym of Boris Konstantinovič Lifšic; born in Kiev 1895; his family moved to Paris c. 1900, where he died in 1984; joined the Section Française de l'Internationale Ouvrière (SFIO) towards 1914; his contributions, sharply worded and signed `Souvarine', attracted attention quickly; opposed the French socialist war effort; one of the French activists of the Third International; until 1924 one of the most important spokesmen for the Parti Communiste Français (PCF) and its representative in the Executive Committee of the COMINTERN; left the communist movement in 1924 because of its anti-Trotsky campaign; broke with the Trotskyists latter around 1929; evolved towards a moderate socialist position; thereafter he chiefly published commentaries on current affairs in the Soviet Union in periodicals, which he edited himself; in 1935 he published his magnum opus 'Stalin. Aperçu historique du bolchévisme'.

Content

Letters (in Russian) from Boris Nikolaevskij 1940-1965, articles by and biographical data on Nikolaevskij; correspondence on the whereabouts in 1933 of the archives of the Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands 1960-1965; file on the confiscation in 1941 of the library and archives of Souvarine and of the Paris branch of the IISH 1941-1959, 1965; correspondence with the IISH 1939-1953; file on Petr Struve and Gleb P. Struve, including letters from Gleb Struve 1966-1975 and articles by him; file on Ilya Ehrenburg; file on Isaac Babel; file on the 'Rote Kapelle'; leaflets, clippings from Poslednie Novosti regarding the Russian emigration, Soviet and international politics, poetry, theatre, film and music; other printed material.

Arrangement

Photographs have been transferred to the audiovisual department of the IISH. Nearly two hundred pamphlets and periodicals concerning the socialist movement have been transferred to the library of the IISH.

LIST

1

Letters from B.I. Nikolaevskij.  1940-1965.  1 folder.

2

Letters from B.I. Nikolaevskij on the beginning of Soviet activities in Geneva (Switzerland) and the early history of the COMINTERN. With typescripts of articles.  [1964], n.d.  1 folder.

3

Correspondence about the archives of the German social democratic party, including letters from B.I. Nikolaevskij and Paul Mayer, reprint of an article by Lidija Dan and a photocopy of a letter from the director of the French army museum to the French minister of education and arts.  1933, 1960-1965.  1 folder.

4

Typescript, reprint and clippings of articles written by B.I. Nikolaevskij.  1940-1953.  1 folder.

5

Biographical notes by B.I. Nikolaevskij. With clippings of articles and an obituary on B.I. Nikolaevskij.  1966.  1 cover.

6

Correspondence with N.W. Posthumus, director of the IISH.  1948-1953.  1 folder.

7

Correspondence with A. Adama van Scheltema, librarian of the IISH.  1939-1950.  1 folder.

8

Correspondence with the IISH, including a list of members of the committee of the IISH, memorandum on the losses of the IISH during the Second World War, list of periodicals from the period  1830-1850 sent by the IISH to Paris in  1940 and clippings.  1941-1959.  1 folder.

9

List of documents sent from Amsterdam to Paris in March  1940.  1 folder.

10

Photocopy of a letter to Ida Lazarévich, including a list of correspondence about German robbery and a declaration by Lilija Dalin, staff member of the IISH, regarding the loss of archives in  1940. 1964-1965.  1 folder.

11

Letters from Gleb Struve to Souvarine, including letters addressed to C. Pomerantseff. With clippings and other documents on Petr Struve.  1922-1931, 1958-1975.  1 folder.

12

File on Ilya Ehrenburg, including a photocopy of a manuscript by Ilya Ehrenburg, stencilled translation of parts of Ehrenburgs' 'People, Years and Life', reprints of articles, clippings and handwritten notes by Souvarine. (  1916)  1950-1967.  1 folder.

13

Typescripts of short stories written by I. Ehrenburg. NB. In Russian.  1 folder.

14

File on Isaac Babel, including typewritten copies of articles and handwritten notes.  1961-1978.  1 folder.

15-16

File on the 'Rote Kapelle'. With photocopies of a research report made by the French ministry of the interior, a speech by J. Rochet and clippings.  1955-1975.  2 folders.

17

File on Rudolf Roessler. With clippings and hand-written notes.  1953, 1967.  1 cover.

18

File on the Socialist International's position to the divided Russian Social Democratic Party and social movements in Russia and Poland. With handwritten notes, correspondence and clippings.  1914.  1 folder.