Archives of CCP cadres in the Soviet Union during the Russian-Tibetan Revolution and their collation

Author: Tao Yuan (Distinguished Professor, School of Foreign Chinese, Southeast University)

In the twenties and thirties of the 20th century, the military and political schools set up by the Comintern were an important base for training Chinese revolutionary cadres, and about 4,000 CCP cadres studying in the Soviet Union received training here. These schools include the Eastern Workers' Communist University (Moscow Eastern University, referred to as "Dongda"), Sun Yat-sen Chinese Workers' University (Sun Yat-sen University in Moscow, referred to as "CUHK"), Lenin School, Frunze Military Academy, Leningrad Tormachev Military Academy, Moscow Artillery School, Moscow Infantry School, Kiev Joint Military Academy, Far Eastern China Lenin School, etc. Various schools have cultivated a large number of political, military, technical, and managerial talents, and have had a profound impact on the development of modern China, especially the revolutionary cause. The relevant archival documents are now in the collections of various Russian archives. Collating and studying the education and training materials of the Communist Party of China cadres during the Russian-Tibetan Revolution can help us understand the education and training measures of the cadres who stayed in the Soviet Union, their learning and living conditions, and their impact on the domestic revolutionary cause, and provide first-hand information for deepening and refining the training of cadres in the early days of our Party and related historical research, which is of multifaceted significance.

The archives of the Chinese University, the University of Tokyo and the Lenin School are now in the Archives of the Social and Political History of Russia, the State Archives of the Russian Federation, the State Archives of Modern Russian History, the State Historical Archives of Russia, etc.; The Archives of Foreign Policy of the Russian Federation, etc., and the materials of the Lenin School in the Far East, which are now in the Russian State Archive of the History of the Far East, etc. The author's team has collected, screened, and classified more than 2,000 archives of the Comintern Military and Political School in the above-mentioned Russian collections, for example, collected the archives of the Chinese Lenin School of the Chinese University, the University of Tokyo, and the Far East, and organized three of the thematic archives to form a collection: the collection of materials of the Institute of Chinese Studies of Sun Yat-sen University in Moscow, the collection of materials related to the Chinese Revolution of Moscow Oriental University, and the compilation of the systems of Sun Yat-sen University and Eastern University in Moscow. These archives are rich in content, covering the propaganda and mobilization of cadres in the Soviet Union, organizational building, educational process, personal activities, and other aspects.

Theory was the forerunner of the revolution, and the main task of the students studying in the Soviet Union at that time was to study Marxism-Leninism and revolutionary theory, so the materials for theoretical study were extremely rich. At the beginning of 1928, in order to gain an in-depth understanding of China and train revolutionary cadres, Sun Yat-sen University in Moscow established the Institute of Chinese Studies on the basis of the Institute of Oriental Studies. The institute aims to conduct in-depth research on China's economy, history, and revolutionary movements, and has published three types of research materials, namely the Journal of China Studies, the Bulletin of the Institute of Chinese Studies of Sun Yat-sen University in Moscow (hereinafter referred to as the Bulletin), and the International Review. According to the statement of the International Review that "when the revolutionary tide of modern China is rising, we can leave the revolutionary front and go to Moscow, the capital of the Soviet Union, where the proletarian revolution has won, ......", the compiler should be mainly Chinese students, who can reflect their study and views on the revolutionary situation in the Comintern and other countries. The Communiqué's research on the Chinese workers' and peasants' movement was partly translated from domestic newspapers, and partly from the research results of the institute's sinologists, such as the translators and researchers represented by the famous sinologist Eshanyin, who imparted their views on the Chinese workers' and peasants' movement to the CCP's students in the Soviet Union. These materials are collected in the Archive of the Socio-Political History of Russia 530 Catalogue No. 3, totaling 900 pages. On the one hand, the participation of the students studying in the Soviet Union in the Soviet Union improved their theoretical level and propaganda ability; on the other hand, after the materials were transmitted to China, they disseminated to China the views of the Comintern on the nature of the Chinese revolution, the workers' and peasants' movement, and the international situation, and had an important impact on the Chinese revolution.

In accordance with the regulations of the Soviet Union at that time, almost all the minutes and work plans of the CUHK, the University of Tokyo and the Lenin School have been preserved in their entirety, and the richness and completeness of this part of the archives are the most prominent among the archives that have been organized so far. The materials are scattered across 530 and 532 volumes, and the project team is committed to collating the 31 files with the most relevant research on the Chinese revolution and the Chinese Communist Party, totaling more than 7,300 pages. These dossiers record the details of the management system and internal party system of CUHK and the university, such as the regulations on the work of the three-member party group within the university, the party affairs investigation plan of the university, the minutes of the meetings of the organizing committee and the propaganda committee of the university, the documents on the transfer of CUHK students to the Lenin school, and the regulations on the admission of the party branch committee of the university.

These materials record in detail the various work plans and management decisions of the two schools, among which the information on the construction of the Communist Party of China and the Mozambican branch system is particularly valuable. The Mozambican branch is the first overseas organization of the Communist Party of China, with perfect rules and regulations, rich organizational life, and precious archives and historical materials. For example, the file 532-2-131 entitled "Report on the Regulations of the Organization of the Communist Youth League of China at the Eastern University" was the eighteenth training work plan of the Mozambican branch in early 1926, which was divided into two parts: the organization department and the propaganda department, which elaborated on the responsibilities of the Mozambican branch. Through these materials, we can gain an in-depth understanding of the details of the two schools' party organization, investigation plans, and decision-making, such as the work plan for transferring to the party, and sending comrades to work outside the country during the summer vacation. Through the further collation of information related to the system construction of CUHK and the University of Tokyo, it can provide valuable literature for the study of the early system construction of our party.

According to the regulations at that time, students were required to fill out a questionnaire on a weekly basis during their studies, reporting on their ideological dynamics, life trajectories and personal activities. When they leave school, these materials are kept as "personal files" and become a special part of similar archival materials, which have high historical value. The CUHK and Tokyo University archives include a large number of personal files of students studying in the Soviet Union. In addition to the more concentrated 495-225 (which includes the personal files of 3,642 CCP members), other personal activity files are scattered in 530 and 532 complete files, of which 10 files have been collated, totaling more than 2,000 pages. These dossiers provide detailed information about the students of CUHK and the University of Tokyo in each year, such as the list of CUHK students at different times, questionnaires, autobiographies and personal identifications. The data records the activities of students studying in the Soviet Union before and during their time at CUHK and the University of Tokyo. For example, 532-1-394 "Survey of Party Members of the Communist Party of China Branch and the Chinese Communist Youth League Branch in Mozambique" recorded the family situation, education level, economic status, revolutionary activities, and time of joining the Party before the 37 members of the Mozambican branch entered the school. On the basis of these materials, it is possible to promote the study of the activities and contributions of their individuals or groups in different periods such as the agrarian revolution and the war of liberation.

It is noteworthy that during this period, for security and convenience, the personnel departments of the military-political schools of the USSR gave each student a Russian surname or full name. For a long time, due to the lack of information and other reasons, it has been difficult for the domestic academic circles to accurately correspond the Chinese and Russian names of students studying in Russia. Through the study of the names in the materials, personal resumes and other materials, we have successfully restored the real names of these students studying in the Soviet Union, and realized the one-to-one correspondence between the materials and the personnel, such as Qu Qiubai's third brother Qu Jingbai, Yu Dusan, a senior commander of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, martyr Tang Yizhen, Ouyang Qin, who was the vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and some members of the Mozambican branch of the Dongda Brigade. The clear correspondence between the names of people can successfully restore the true identity of the students studying in the Soviet Union, which is helpful for researchers to understand the historical events and related figures of this period more comprehensively and accurately.

Although our work is still in the stage of collecting and preliminarily sorting out archival materials, according to the characteristics of the above materials, we can rely on these archival materials to carry out research on some important issues of the Chinese revolution and the Communist Party of China.

For example, on the study of students studying in the Soviet Union and the early history of the party. In the twenties and thirties of the twentieth century, the Communist Party of China (CPC) went from infancy to maturity, experienced the National Revolution, the Soviet Revolution and the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, withstood the tests of revolutionary struggle, and at the same time gradually weakened the influence of the Comintern. The group of students studying in the Soviet Union was the experience and witness of this process, they participated in the discussion of important issues, learned knowledge and fighting skills in the Soviet Union, and participated in revolutionary work after returning to China. The Archive of Social and Political History of Russia preserves a great deal of archival material in this area, including the 495 Catalogues, 225 and 530 Catalogues1, the 532 Catalogues1, and the 531 Catalogues7. The biographies of the students of Tokyo University record the cultural courses and theoretical studies of the students studying in the Soviet Union at the Frunze Military Academy, such as the discussion of "Why China's Red Regime Can Exist" and "The Struggle in Jinggangshan". In terms of military training, for example, in March and April 1929, Liu Bocheng and his classmates participated in a joint arms exercise in the Caucasus and joined the Ninth Infantry Regiment defending the hills. It is of great significance to summarize, collate and study the materials on party affairs, teaching, administration, and organizational development of the above-mentioned military and political schools to promote the study of early party history, especially the study of the history of relations between the Communist Party of China and the Communist International.

Another example is the study of students studying in the Soviet Union and China's new social science movement. Around 1930, a powerful new social science movement emerged in Chinese academic circles, which was mainly manifested in the analysis of Chinese history and society with the ideas of dialectical materialism and historical materialism, which was an important node in the Sinicization of Marxism. The rise of this movement is closely related to the students studying in the Soviet Union, who studied and researched the results of Soviet social sciences at CUHK and applied them to Chinese studies, and initially formed their own academic understanding. After returning to China, they actively participated in the debate on the nature of Chinese society and the debate on Chinese social history, revising and deepening their existing understanding in the debate, and becoming an important force in the new social science movement.

Another example is the study of the experience of students studying in the Soviet Union and party building. The Russian-Tibetan archives also reflect the preliminary exploration of the building of party organizations by students studying in the Soviet Union. Catalogue 1 and Catalogue 2 of the 532 Quanzong contain information about the CCP branch in Mozambique. The data reflect the steady development of the Mozambican branch in terms of cadre training and organizational construction, and has formed a series of practices and experiences in "training, theory and practice". In the early history of the party's development, most of these measures were of pioneering significance and were of great significance for us to deepen the study of the history of party building.

In addition to the above-mentioned materials, Russian archives also contain a large number of materials related to the history of the Communist Party of China, which can provide material support for the history of the Communist Party of China, the history of Sino-Soviet diplomacy and other fields. Through further investigation, collation and translation, we can construct a complete historical data system for the education and training of CPC cadres in the Soviet Union during the revolutionary period, and on the basis of micro party history issues, we can comprehensively and deeply reveal the process of learning and disseminating Marxism among the CPC cadres in the Soviet Union during the democratic revolution, and deepen the research on the early history of the CPC and the history of the relationship between the CPC and the Comintern.

(This article is the phased achievement of the major project of the National Social Science Fund "Collation and Research of the Education and Training Materials of Communist Party of China Cadres during the Russian-Tibetan Revolution")

Guangming Daily (2024-04-24 Edition 11)

Source: Guangming Net-Guangming Daily