Communist Party of Greece: Difference between revisions

Political party in Greece

The Communist Party of Greece (Greek: Κομμουνιστικό Κόμμα Ελλάδας, Kommounistikó Kómma Elládas, KKE) is a Marxist–Leninist political party in Greece.^[2] It was founded in 1918 as the Socialist Labour Party of Greece and adopted its current name in November 1924.^[10] It is the oldest political party in modern Greek politics.^[11] The party was banned in 1936, but played a significant role in the Greek resistance and the Greek Civil War, and its membership peaked in the mid-1940s. Legalization of the KKE was restored following the fall of the Greek junta.

The party has returned MPs in all elections since its restoration in 1974, and took part in a coalition government in 1989 when it got more than 13% of the vote.

History[edit]

Foundation[edit]

The October Revolution of the Bolsheviks in Russia in 1917 gave impetus for the foundation of communist parties in many countries globally. The KKE was founded on 4 November 1918 by Aristos Arvanitis, Demosthenes Ligdopoulos [el], Stamatis Kokkinos, Michael Sideris, Nikos Dimitratos [el], and others.^[10] The party was run by a five-member Central Committee which initially consisted of Dimitratos, Ligdopoulos, Sideris, Arvanitis and Kokkinos, and had a three-member Audit Committee initially including George Pispinis, Spyros Koumiotis and Avraam Benaroya.^[10] Ligdopoulos was elected director of the party’s official newspaper, Ergatikos Agon.^[10]

The background of KKE has roots in more than 60 years of small socialist, anarchist and communist groups, mainly in industrialized areas. Following the example of the Paris Commune and the 1892 Chicago workers’ movement for the eight-hour working day, these groups had as immediate political goals the unification of Greek workers into trade unions, the implementation of an eight-hour day in Greece and better salaries for workers. Inspired by the Paris Commune and the communist revolutionary efforts in the United States, Germany, and Russia at the beginning of the century and the destruction that almost 20 years of wars had brought upon the Greek workers, a unified social-communist party was founded in Greece.^[12]

At the Second Congress of the SEKE in April 1920, the party decided to affiliate with the Comintern, an international communist organization founded in Moscow in 1919. It changed its name to the Socialist Labour Party of Greece-Communist (SEKE-K). A new Central Committee was elected, which included Nikos and Panaghis Dimitratos, Yannis Kordatos, G. Doumas and M. Sideris.^{[citation needed]} At the Third Extraordinary Congress of the SEKE-K in November 1924, the party was renamed the Communist Party of Greece and adopted the principles of Marxism–Leninism. Pandelis Pouliopoulos was elected as general-secretary. Ever since, the party has functioned on the basis of democratic centralism.

KKE between the two World Wars[edit]

KKE strongly opposed Greece‘s involvement in the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922, which it considered an imperialistic scheme to control the market of Asia Minor given the new political situation after the Ottoman Empire‘s collapse. KKE members propagated this position both on the front—which provoked accusations of treason from the Greek government—as well as in the mainland. KKE collaborated with the Soviet ambassador to persuade Venizelos’ administration to withdraw its troops from Asia Minor and to persuade the Soviet Union to exert political pressure on Mustafa Kemal Atatürk to allow autonomy for Greek cities in Asia Minor.^[13]

KKE played a prominent role in strikes, anti-war demonstrations, foundation of trade unions and worker associations. KKE and other leftist political forces fostered the creation of labor unions in all sectors, including the General Greek Workers Confederation (ΓΣΕΕ), which shared common goals with KKE.^[14][15]

These activities met by opposition from the Mid-War governments. In 1929, as minister of Education in the government of Eleftherios Venizelos, Georgios Papandreou passed legislation against organised communist teachers, known as Idionymon. Such legislation was often used to prosecute KKE members and other leftist activists.^[16] Under the Idionymon all members of the Communist Party of Greece, being considered dangers to the state, were to be removed from public service or put in exile.

The first prison camps for left-wing citizens and communists were founded in that era. KKE and its organisations, although small in numbers, continue operating in all Greek major cities, especially industrial areas such as Athens, Piraeus, Patra, Thessaly and Volos, Thessaloniki, Kavala and elsewhere.^[17]

KKE collaborated with other newly founded Communist Parties to oppose the rise of the fascist movement in Europe. In 1932, the Comintern decreed that anti-fascist fronts be formed…