Cominform

Communist Information Bureau
Founded October 5, 1947
Dissolved April 17, 1956
Preceded by Comintern
Headquarters Belgrade, Yugoslavia (1947–1948)
Bucharest, Romania (1948–1956)
Newspaper For Lasting Peace, for People's Democracy!
Ideology
Colours      Red

Founded on October 5, 1947, Cominform (from Communist Information Bureau) is the common name for what was officially referred to as the Information Bureau of the Communist and Workers' Parties.[1] It was the first official forum of the International Communist Movement since the dissolution of the Comintern and confirmed the new realities after World War II, including the creation of an Eastern Bloc.

Overview

The intended purpose of Cominform was to coordinate actions between Communist parties under Soviet direction. It was not intended to be a replacement or successor to the Comintern. The Cominform was not a world Communist party, it did not have subordinates or power, other than its publication. It had its own newspaper, For Lasting Peace, for People's Democracy! It limited itself to one goal: "to organize an exchange of experience, and where necessary to coordinate the activity of the Communist parties, on the basis of mutual agreement."[2] In other aspects, Cominform was also used to repel anti-communist expansion.[3] The French and Italian parties were tasked specifically with the obstruction of the implementation of the Marshall Plan and the Truman Doctrine.[4] Cominform divided the world into imperialist and anti-imperialist.[5]

Cominform was a Soviet-dominated organization of Communist parties founded in September 1947 at a conference of Communist party leaders in Szklarska Poręba, Poland. It was founded with nine members, the Communist parties of the U.S.S.R., Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Yugoslavia, France, and Italy. Soviet leader Joseph Stalin called the conference in response to divergences among communist governments on whether or not to attend the Paris Conference on the Marshall Plan in July 1947.

Cominform was initially located in Belgrade (then the capital of the Federative People's Republic of Yugoslavia). After the expulsion of Yugoslavia from the group in June 1948, the seat was moved to Bucharest, Romania. The expulsion of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia from Cominform for Titoism initiated the Informbiro period in that country's history. One of the most decisive factors that led to the expulsion of Yugoslavia was their commitment to the insurgency in Greece, and their decision to station troops in Albania.[6]

The newspaper was published in several languages. It was originally printed in Belgrade; it was moved to Bucharest after the expulsion of the Yugoslavian party.[7] A vast array of articles was published, including some from the Canadian Communist Party.[8]

The Cominform was dissolved on April 17, 1956, after the Soviet rapprochement with Yugoslavia and the process of De-Stalinization.[4]

Meetings

There are four recorded meetings of the Cominform, before 1956. The first was the founding meeting. This occurred in Poland, 1947. Members present at the first meeting were Kardelj and Djilas for Yugoslavia, Chervenkov and Poptomov for Bulgaria, Gheorghiu-Dej and Anna Pauker for Romania, Farkas and Revai for Hungary, Gomulka and Minc for Poland, Zhdanov and Malenkov for the U.S.S.R., Duclos and Frajon for France, Slánský and Bastovanski for Czechoslovakia, and Longo and Reala for Italy. Zhdanov was chairman, Gomulka was appointed vice-chairman.[9]

The second meeting occurred in Yugoslavia in January 1948. During this meeting, a permanent editorial board was chosen for the newspaper. This editorial board was under the leadership of Yugoslav national, P. Yudin. He was succeeded by U.S.S.R. national, M. Mitin, after the Yugoslavian expulsion. A third meeting occurred in Romania in June 1948. This resulted in the expulsion of the Yugoslav Communist party. Lastly, the fourth meeting was held in Hungary in November 1949.[7]

Member parties

See also

Footnotes

  1. Healey, Denis. "The Cominform and World Communism". International Affairs. 24, 3: 339–349.
  2. Timmerman, Heinz (Spring 1985). "The cominform effects on Soviet foreign policy". Studies in Comparative Communism. 18, 1: 3–23.
  3. Hunt, Michael (2013). The World Transformed: 1945 to the Present. Oxford University Press. p. 38. ISBN 9780199371020.
  4. 1 2 "Cominform". Britannica Academic. 3 February 2017.
  5. Deery and Redfern (May 2005). "No Lasting Peace? Labor, Communism and the Cominform: Australia and Great Britain, 1945-50". Labour History. 88: 63–86.
  6. Swain, Geoffrey (1 March 2010). "The Cominform: Tito's International?". The Historical Journal. 35, Issue 3: 641–663.
  7. 1 2 Morris, Bernard S. (April 1953). "The Cominfom: A Five-Year Perspective". World Politics. 5, 3: 368–376.
  8. Black, J. L. (Spring 1988). "The Stalinist Image of Canada The Cominform and Soviet Press, 1947-1955". Labour / Le Travail. 21: 153–171.
  9. G.I. (May 1950). "The Evolution of the Cominform 1947-1950". The World Today. 6, 5: 213–228.

Further reading

  • G. Procacci (ed.), The Cominform. Minutes of the Three Conferences (1947-1949). Milan, Italy: Feltrinelli, 1994.
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