Ideological schisms have always been a feature of the left, but for much of the early twentieth century they could be deadly. Few revolutionary figures managed to chart such a unique course through the turbulent currents of anarchism and Bolshevism as Victor Serge.
Today, thanks to his classic memoirs and novels, Serge is highly esteemed by virtually all segments of the left. But who was this man, who led such a thrilling life on the frontlines of history? An anarchist? A Bolshevik? A Trotskyist? Or did he evolve into something else entirely?
In this comprehensive account of the life, work and political evolution of Victor Serge, Mitchell Abidor rescues his subject, in all his complexity, from the constraints of any single label. Painting a portrait of a man whose political ideas shifted continually, in response to the major events of his life, we are introduced to several Victor Serges: the youthful anarchist in Belgium and France; the leading Bolshevik in Moscow; the anti-Stalinist who faced imprisonment and expulsion from the Soviet Union.
Examining the lacunae and errors of fact in his memoirs, the hidden Serge is ultimately revealed for what he was: an unruly revolutionary of both great courage and contradictions.
Preface
1. Growing up Kibalchich
2. From Socialism to Anarchism
3. Paris
4. The Tragic Bandits
5. Man in Prison
6. Barcelona: Becoming Victor Serge
7. Serge and the Russian Anarchists
8. Kronstadt
9. The Anarchists Against Serge
10. Victor Serge Against Kibalchich
11. Why?
12. Comintern Agent in Central Europe
13. Opposition
14. Arrest
15. Orenburg and L’Affaire Serge
16. Return to the West
17. Flight from Europe
18. Liuba
19. Finally Mexico
20. Revising the Revolution
21. Anticommunist?
22. Fisticuffs
23. Final Interview
24. Epilogue
Acknowledgements
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