Victor Serge , of his true name Viktor Lvovitch Kibaltchiche (Brussels, December 30th 1890 - Mexico City, November 17th 1947) is a revolutionist and writer French-speaking, born in Belgium Russian parents taken refuge.

Biography

As of fifteen years, he is member various revolutionary groups, with Ixelles then Brussels. He attends in Paris from 1905 the mediums Libertaires, and approaches in particular the Bande in Bonnot: he for that will be imprisoned 5 years in France. Released in 1917, it will take share with the fallen through insurrection from July to Barcelona, then share for Russia, where it will arrive in 1919 after being retained prisoner two years in France.

He will be member of the Russian Communist party, then collaborator of Zinoviev to the Executive of the International Communist (IIIe Internationale, or Komintern). With died Lénine it approaches Leon Trotski, in the opposition to the policy of the Party under the dictatorship of Stalin. It is erased by it in 1928 and is made imprison by the Guépéou in 1933, and off-set in Siberia. It then owes its rescue only in one international left campaign carried out in its favor, in particular by Trotski, André Gide, André Malraux, Romain Roland, Henri Barbusse and the democratic communist Cercle, following which it is released and banished the USSR in 1936.

It approaches POUM (Partido Obrero de Unificacion Marxista) in 1936, then takes refuge with Marseilles in 1940, before joining, thanks to the network of the journalist Varian Fry, the Mexico where it dies in the destitution.

Work

Very early, Victor Serge becomes workman typographer, then collaborates in various reviews and newspapers, as in Belgium with New Times , the Libertarian , the Social War , or with Paris in 1905 while becoming a writer of Anarchy , the newspaper of Albert Libertad. He writes many articles in this newspaper under the pseudonym “the Restive one”.

In his literary work, Victor Serge does not cease defending freedom and criticizing the companies which surround it by the account of its life or its meetings: inhuman democracies for example with Men in the prison , or Soviet totalitarianism with the Business Toulaev .

the Business Toulaev is a masterly analysis of the psychology of the Communist leaders who, at the time of the purgings, in what they believed being the interest of the Party, showed crimes that they had not made while knowing well that they in any event would be condemned to died by Stalin, because they had nothing any more but this (false) choice: to safeguard the Party while showing itself, because it was about the only way for the progress of socialism, or to die by showing the Party - and to ruin the work for which they had lived and fought.

Recognized internationally like a writer and novelist of great talent, he is also the author of famous the Mémoires of a revolutionist (1901-1941) . Its booklet what any revolutionist must know about repression analyzes in detail the work of the secret services and why one should not be afraid of it.

Victor Serge also wrote Naissance of our force (on the Russian company in the years which followed the revolution of 1917), Vie and died of Leon Trotski , new Russian imperialism .

Its novel If it is midnight in the century also treats purgings of the Stalinist era. Its work is mainly based on the historical study.

Works

Literature

• Men in the prison , 1930
• Birth of our force , 1931
• conquered City
• If it is midnight in the century , 1939
• the business Toulaév , 1948
• Last Times , 1946
• White Mer (new)
• the Dead end Saint-Barnabe (new)
• Résistance , 1938 (poetry)
• Years without forgiveness (Romance)

Historical tests and studies

• Year I of the Russian Revolution
• Anarchists and the Experiment of the Russian revolution
• the City in danger: the year II of the Revolution , 1917
• Slides of a general security: the Okhrana
• 16 shot at Moscow , 1936
• Destiny of a revolution. The U.S.S.R. 1917-1937 , 1937
• Portrait of Stalin , 1940
• New Russian imperialism , 1946
• the Tragedy of the Soviet writers , 1947
• Life and Mort of Trotsky, 1951
• the obscure Turning , 1951.
• Memories of a revolutionist , 1951
• Notebooks , 1952