ABSTRACT
In early 1925 what remained of the illegal SR Party in Moscow was discovered by the GPU which resulted in arrests of Party members across the Soviet Union. The collapse of any centre in Russia effectively led to the collapse of the Party centre abroad; it had a demoralising effect, isolated the émigrés from Russia and exacerbated existing tensions within the emigration. The family who lived by the Finnish border who had helped smuggle SRs in and out were also arrested and exiled at this time.1 In 1928 Postnikov insisted that there was still some contact with Party members in Russia and that Party work had recently been taking place in southern Russia, the Urals, the Volga and the Don.2 However, regular relations with Russia were never re-established after 1925 and there was no contact with anything purporting to be a Party ‘centre’ after 1927.3
There were mutual accusations among the Prague SRs that one of them had betrayed details of the Russian Party, in connection with a journey to Moscow by an émigré Armenian from Prague. The Foreign Delegation established a commission to establish whether any émigré SRs had been involved. Relationships deteriorated throughout 1925, with the situation described as one of ‘civil war’.4 In the summer of 1926 the Foreign Delegation split, when the Volrosstsy challenged Gurevich’s right to be a member, stating that he had been included by Chernov without the approval of SRs in Russia.5 The Volrosstsy in the Foreign Delegation, Slonim, Sukhomlin, Postnikov and Stalinskii now formed one group, and Chernov, Gurevich, Shreider and Nikolai Rusanov formed another.6 Chernov tried to force Sukhomlin and Postnikov out of the editorial board of Revolyutsionnaya Rossiya, resulting in their resignation in February 1927.7 As already noted, the Czechoslovak Ministry of Foreign Affairs then stopped funding Revolyutsionnaya Rossiya as they considered it to have become Chernov’s personal publication and because they were annoyed by Chernov’s stance on the national question.8 The Volrosstsy founded a new publication, Sotsialist Revolyutsioner in October 1927. A bitter campaign of accusation and counter-accusation over past and present activities and beliefs followed. Both groups claimed they had the right to represent the SR Party abroad. Chernov set up a Foreign Union (Zagranichnyi soyuz), while the Volrosstsy called themselves the
Foreign Organisation (Zagranichnaya organizatsiya). Chernov also lost the support of other Prague SRs, who were furious with him, and after a series of stormy meetings he left the Prague Group with a dozen members out of the original forty.9
