Henri Barbusse, Stalin and the making of the Comintern’s international policy in the 1930s

Abstract

This article scrutinizes the political relationship between Stalin and the French writer Henri Barbusse between 1927 and 1935. Barbusse is the only European intellectual who met Stalin four times; he was therefore, in all respects, an exception among Western intelligentsia. He was well-known as Stalin’s official biographer; but whereas many historians have focused on his contributions to the international cult of Stalin, this article emphasizes his agency in shaping Comintern policy. The Amsterdam Movement, launched in the summer of 1932, was the cornerstone of his efforts. The part Barbusse played is examined with new archival evidence drawn from the papers of Barbusse, Thorez and the Comintern papers and new insights are offered into our understanding of the machinery of the Comintern during the early Stalinist years. Barbusse’s privileged status and agency show that he was not simply a commentator on, but also an active participant in, international communist policy-making.