SOME of the key figures in the Left Opposition: group since February 1976. What happened at that time?
Young people, high school, university students produced leaflets at the time of the 25th Communist Party congress in 1976. The leaflets were pro-communist, communism with a human face.
The KGB arrested Others Ornes involved alre in and Reznikov, - last grade of high school or the first year of institute or university.
Their leaflet ended demand Long Live the New ReClution? The Live Group was pro-communist, Marxist, but also anarchists and socialists.
How did the group develop after that?
In Leningrad there are many places where artists, political dissidents can meet cafés and communes.
After the leafleting attempt in 1976, Skoboy organised a commune in Leningrad. Arkady then studying at the University of Tartu, where he had many friends.
At Skoboy's untille Leningrad many people together to talk about art, politics and philosophy. As well Leningrad, they came from Moscow, the Baltic republics, and Siberia. If they came to Leningrad, they stayed at the commune.
Tsurkov and Reznikov came to the commune and sometimes lived there. With Sokobov they formed the core of the Leningrad grouping:
Could you describe the commune? It was on the edge of the city, Primorsky Prospect, about half hour by train from the centre of the city. It was on the first floor of an old two-storey wooden home.
The commune had a set of statutes written by Skobov. It defined the commune Suke communist society. Everything for everybody. Skobov private property. He was opposed to violence.
There was a cash box for whatever the commune néeded. Its doors were always open. Everybody knew where the key was kept. From 5 to 10 people lived there at any one time, but a lot of people came in from other cities.
How did the commune become the centre for a political movement? We had discussions commune. talked internal situation, foreign about the latest cultural philosophy, and so on.
wanted more Outside the commune we weren't free to express ourselves. even listen to the music we wanted to hear.
We didn't like the system. We couldn't travel abroad. For example, tourists from Finland could come to Leningrad, but we in Leningrad could Finland.
Socialist Challenge 24 April 1980 Page 12 the Communism!
proincluded Opposition.
school and protest at the arrests.
people, and - in apartments, form.
Tsurkov was in came an small was repudiated at the about the policy, freedom.
couldn't passport trave to IN LATE 1978 there were reports from the Soviet Union that the KGB had broken up a commune in Leningrad and arrested several young activists who belonged to a group known as the Left On 5 December 1978 some two hundred university students in demonstrated outside the Kazan Cathedral in The left-wing ideas which these young people identify with, including Marxism and anarchism, are for the most part available only in samizdat The Leningrad group had established links USSR, Leningrad with other left-wing and socialist groups in the and had decided to hold an 'All-Union conference of the Left Opposition'. It launched a journal called Perspectives, to serve as a basis for discussion at the conference. from their university or school.
felt the hypocritical. There are so many lies.
How did you become involved with the commune?
I had a lot of friends in the Academy of Arts in Leningrad. These people artists and painters each other in cafés like the Sphinx or Castle in friends who came there often, even Irom moscow. place to spend the night, so we would help them.
Through this I became acquainted with people who knew Skobov and introduced me to him. friends.
There Welc demonstrations Usually we attempted to expose the fact that the Soviet communist or Marxist, and that the Communist Party is because in the soviet Union al the power is in the hands of the state.
Communism society. We could understand a state being necessary to build communism. But in the USSR the state only serves the interests of the upper class, the bureaucrats.
What were the main political currents in the group?
There WCIC currents. There were the Marxists like Tsurkov and Reznikov and Fedorova. There were anarchists like Khavin and me. Skobov was half Marxist and half anarchist.
There were three left democrats like Victor Pavlenkov, who was from Gorky. His father dissident and he had many friends in Gorky and Moscow. democrats weren't anarchists, but simply took part in the democratic rights from a left-wing point of view.
The Left Opposition group we want to universities No. leading figures?
On - tended to find exile.
Leningrad. I had And they needed a We became calls to have Leningrad and to speak out.
Union is not not Marxist, only six Leningrad After should be free it is only closed. dismissed.
main political school.
famous The left Marxist to was would help us.
of the Left Opposition'.
How did this plan come about?
Tsurkov, Fedorova Rezkikov and others from Leningrad went to Moscow for a meeting. There were only people from Moscow and Leningrad at the meeting, but the!
were planning to have a conference in Leningrad that would be on a larger We began to put out Perspectives. distribute it in the and high schools to present our views and get supporters Although we would make only 10 or 15 carbon copies of each issue of Perspectives, many people read it One person reads the copy and then Fi it on to a friend. A lot oi people learned about our magazine.
Was the Conference held?
On 12 August the militia came and smashed the commune. And after that, it ceased to exist, although some people continued to meet there. But it was dangerous for them. They were followed by the militia.
What happened to the commune's • 1978, Skoboy was arrested. On 16 April 1979, his trial was held, and he was sentenced to compulsory psychiatric treatment for an indefinite period.
Arkady Tsurkov was arrested on 31 October, and in April 1979 he was sentenced to five years in a concentration camp and three years internal On 16 April, Khavin was arrested He was sentenced to a six-year term. Reznikov and Fedorova were sent to Victor Pavlenkov had to emigrate like I did.
A friend of mine from Leningrad has told me that now the school where I went has been changed. My school was one of the best high schools in school privileged, for children of important artists, big party members and so on It was a 10-grade school and had a special French school • there were such French schools in the December demonstration, when the 9th and 10th grade students came to the demonstration, the KGB came to the school and now an eight-grade school, because the 9th and 10th grades were lot of teachers were So now it is an incomplete school, a poor quality one, like the schools that thev have here in States for Puerto Ricans and blacks. An eight-grade school is not a good "
What can socialists abroad do to support the movement of young militants in the Soviet Union? I think the movement in the Soviet Union is continuing. There should be a defence campaign organised here for Skobov, Tsurkov and Khavin -articles, organise demonstrations and cuinmittees, and carry other actions the comrades of the Fourth International would work on this, it
come to opposed for Sharma politically its leaders often
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After the KGB arrested some of the key activists, the secret police moved against other participants in and around the group, expelling a number from the Young Communist League and
The interview published here is with one of the Leningrad activists who was forced to emigrate Now aged 18, he left the USSR in November 1978.