The Dream of Proletarian Internationalism - Blog Week 2

“Higher the banner of proletarian internationalism!”

The poster is a depiction of one of the central ideals of a communist Soviet Union - unprecedented equality under the banner of proletarian internationalism. Being one of the first ones to identify the link between capitalism and imperialism, Lenin promised support for the independence of colonized people. The notion of proletarian internationalism not only called for the uprooting of capitalism through revolutions all over the world, but also emphasized the need for unity and cooperation amongst the proletarian of the world, regardless of their race or gender, as we see in the poster that men from three different races are standing together to fight against capitalism and are united by the communist mission, regardless of where they are in the world. Thus, communist USSR offered a dream of equality, a hope for justice and a vision of a life free from poverty and oppression. Decolonization, after all, is a story of dreams. 

Claude McKay recalled the buzz and euphoria in USSR amongst the proletarian with the recent success of their communist revolution, instead of the expected melancholy and dismay due to the war and prevalent famine. “But it was all like a miracle, all that Byzantine conglomeration of form and color, shedding down its radiance upon the proletarian masses. It was like an Arabian Nights dream transforming the bleak white face of an Arctic waste”. Within this dream of an international, united struggle against the capitalist forces of the world, was a dream for people like McKay - a dream to be treated as an equal human being, a dream to be recognized and a dream to have a voice, something which the whites of the United States had snatched away from them. The propaganda of the destruction of hierarchies under communism, hierarchies being something that colonialism was based on, was extremely important to win the support of blacks, women and numerous other races that were suppressed by colonialism. Thus, when McKay arrived in Russia, it seemed as if his life had transformed with the ecstatic welcome, attention and voice he was receiving. “Never in my life did I feel prouder of being an African, a black, and no mistake about it.” Being tossed by crowds in the air, constantly asked for opinions, photographed with the most popular leaders of international communism, and visiting grand places, McKay felt his dreams becoming a reality. “Wherever I wanted to go, there was a car at my disposal. Whatever I wanted to do, I did. And anything I felt like saying I said. For the first time in my life I knew what it was to be a highly privileged personage. And in the Fatherland of Communism!” USSR gave him something so simple, yet so essential, what the US never did - a feeling of being human, an ecstasy of becoming a ‘somebody’ from being a ‘nobody’ and a place where race did not define who he was and what his like opportunities would be. 

However, like in the case of all other dreams, reality eventually kept pace. McKay realized that people in Russia had little understanding of the struggle of black people and in some ways, life for a black person in Russia was very similar to the life of a black person in the USA. He notes that Sen Katyama, a sort of arbiter between black and white people, also said that “though they called themselves Communists, many of them were unconsciously prejudiced against Negroes because of their background”. This is where the idea of propaganda comes in. While the Soviets called for a land of equality under communism, and aimed to unite the proletarian of all races and genders of the world for this cause, the ideas of equality were inflated and presented to the people because the Soviets wanted to win support and create opposition to the Americans and capitalist rulers. In reality, the truth was not very different and oppression and obstacles continued to exist for people even in a communist USSR. This can also be interpreted within the poster, where, despite the call for equality, it is eventually a white person that is holding the flag and the black person remains in the foreshadows.