DEVELOPMENT OF COMMUNIST MOVEMENT IN ISTRIA FROM THE END OF XIX CENTURY TO CAPITULATION OF ITALY IN 1943.
In the time we speak about, Istria was a complex historical-geographical area. It was traditionally inhabited: by the Croats in the inner rural part, the Italians in the towns on the west coast and the Slovenes in the northwest. By the end of WWI it was a part of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, after that, until the capitulation of Italy on September 8, 1943, was a part of the kingdom of Italy.
Both periods were characterized by specificities that influenced the formation of the social, economic, national, and class profiles of the population.
Choice of Pula as the main military and naval base of the monarchy in 1853... Construction of the arsenal and shipyard in Pula in 1856... Construction of the fortification system of the Maritime Fortress Pula, industrialization of the coal mine in the Raša - Labin basin... all led to the formation of various profiles of working force in Istria. With the growth of workers' groups, a social background for the initial forms of the workers' movements in the 60s and more developed forms in the 90s was created. Workers' societies were founded, and they issued newspapers, brochures and other press releases.
In 1897, the Adriatic section of the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria, which also covered Istria, was founded in Trieste. The idea was to gather not only the Italians but also the workers of other nations.
Although many of the concepts of the Social Democratic Party were in principle good, practice has shown that this theory lacks the content revolutionary basis, Marxist dialectics, clarity of purpose and consistency for their realization.
After the end of the WWI, Istria, the Slovenian coast and parts of Dalmatia were occupied by the Italian army on the base of the provisions of the London Treaty.
Demobilized Soldiers from the Eastern Front returned to Istria, many from Russian captivity under the influence of the Great October Socialist Revolution, bringing their experiences to their homeland.
The provincial organizations of the Yugoslav Social Democratic Party in Istria and in the Slovene litoral joined the Italian Socialist Party in 1919.
In 1920, the Socialist Party of Italy came into crisis, three streams appeared: communists, unitarians and reformists. At the Congress in Livorno on 21 st of January 1921, the Socialist Party split up and the Communist Party of Italy was founded.
It is the period of the rise of the fascist movement; Istria is planned to settle colonies from southern Italy. The use of Croatian and Slovene languages is forbidden, the surnames are being renamed, the violence is spread in the towns and villages, the exodus of the domestic Slavic population in the Yugoslav and overseas countries is exacerbated.
The Italian, Croatian and Slovenian Communists of Istria were organized into the Communist Party of Italy. Little occasional contacts with the Communists from Yugoslavia took place through the Slovene ties.
Particularly important for the development of the communist movement in Istria were two events: the rebellion of peasants in Proština, and the rebellion of miners in the coal mines of Labin.
Located between two strong working centers, Pola and Raša, the villagers of Proština, frustrated by the frequent invasions and violences by fascists in their villages, under socialist influence, armed with rifles, dynamite, pistols and village tools, established village councils that caused fascists, carabiniers and army to move. The armed conflict began on April 4 and lasted for three days, until the resistance broke down.
The rampage of fascist squads, the ignition of workers' institutions, attacks on communist activists have been the cause of miners' action in coal mines of Raša and Labin. Returning on March 1 st from Trieste, trade union leader Ivan Pipan was attacked and beaten in Pazin. On the next day, the Trade union and Political Leadership made the decision to strike or to take mines, under the slogan "mine is our". Miners' committee was established, management was removed, red guard set up and coal exploitation continued, but not for capitalist owners, but for their own benefit. Even a ship full of coal was delivered, but it was not paid, because in the meantime after 36 days the rebellion was broken.
The most significant component of the "Labin Republic", as the experience is still called, was a self-governing socialist feature with an internationalist character in which all the miners participated regardless of their national belonging. The newcomer Communist Party of Italy became the political subject in which miners recognized the closest political option to themselves. There were 850 miners in the red federation affiliated to the communist party.
In the press this movement was called: THE RED REPUBLIC, SAN MARINO COMUNISTA or THE ISTRIAN PARIS COMMUNE.
With the coming of fascism to power, the inhabitants of all areas belonging to Italy, including Istrians, had to face fascism 20 years earlier than other Yugoslav peoples, which was an additional motive for revolutionary activism. Structural reorganization on the ground was carried out to prepare the party for illegal work.
In the 30s of the past century, there were several events that left a trace. There was a civil war in Spain where more than 55 istrians participated, 16 of whom died. The survivors continued the struggle in the resistance movements of France, Italy and the national liberation struggle of Yugoslavia.
Throughout the decade several waves of arrests of communists were made, which weakened the party work. The last great wave of arrests in southern Istria was carried out in 1938. The trial was conducted at the Special Court for the Protection of the State in Rome, and the accused were sentenced to high-term penalties. Party's work did not completely fade, but it was significantly reduced. Contact with the Communists from Yugoslavia were established and preparations for the upcoming war were made. The general uprising of the Istrian people began after the capitulation of Italy in September 1943.
Vladimir Kapuralin
KONFERENCIJA POVODOM 100. GODIŠNJICE OSNIVANJA KOMUNISTIČKE PARTIJE JUGOSLAVIJE
RAZVOJ KOMUNISTIČKOG POKRETA U ISTRI OD KRAJA IXX STOLJEĆA DO KAPITULACIJE ITALIJE 1943. GODINE
Istra je u vremenu o kojemu govorimo predstavljala složeno historijsko-geografsko područje. Tradicionalno je bila nastanjena: hrvatima u unutrašnjem ruralnom dijelu, Talijanima u gradovima na zapadnoj obali i Slovencima u sjeverno zapadnom dijelu. Do završetka I sv. rata, bila je sastavni dio Austro-Ugarske monarhije, nakon toga do kapitulacije Italije, 8. septembra 1943. godine u sastavu kraljevine Italije.
Oba ta razdoblja odlikovala su se specifičnostima, koje su imale uticaja na formiranje društvenog, ekonomskog, nacionalnog, klasnog i socijalnog profila stanovništva.
Odabir Pule za glavnu vojno – pomorsku bazu monarhije 1853. godine. Izgradnja arsenala i brodogradilišta u Puli 1856. godine. Izgradnja fortifikacijskog sistema Pomorske tvrđave Pula, Industrijalizacija ugljenokopa u Raško – Labinskom bazenu, dovelo je u Istru radnu snagu raznih profila iz čitava monarhije. Sa rastom udjela radničkih grupacija stvara se društvena podloga za početne oblike radničkog pokreta 60-ih godina , a razvijenije oblike 90-ih godina. Osnivaju se radničkih društava, a izdaju novine, brošure i ostala štampa.
U Trstu se 1897. godine osniva Jadranska sekcija Socijaldemokratske radničke partije Austrije, koja je pokrivala i Istru. Zamisao je bila da ne okuplja samo Talijane nego i radnike drugih narodnosti.
Iako su mnoge koncepcije Socijaldemokratske stranke bile u načelu dobre, praksa je pokazala, da je toj teoriji nedostajala sadržajna revolucionarna osnova, marksistička dijalektika, jasnoća ciljeva i dosljednost za njihovo ostvarivanje.
Nakon završetka I sv. rata Istru, Slovensko primorje i dijelove Dalmacije okupirala je talijanska vojska prema odredbama Londonskog ugovora.
U Istru se vraćaju demobilizirani vojnici sa Istočne fronte, mnogi iz ruskog zarobljeništva, pod uticajem Velike oktobarske socijalističke revolucije, svoja iskustava prenose u svojoj sredini.
Pokrajinske organizacije Jugoslavenske socijaldemokratske stranke u Istri Slovenskom primorju pristupaju 1919. godine talijanskoj socijalističkoj partiji.
1920. godine Socijalistička partija Italije, zapada u krizu, pojavljuju se tri struje: komunisti, unitarci i reformisti. Na Kongresu u Livornu 21. Januara 1921. godine dolazi do raskola Socijalističke partije i osniva se komunistička Partija italije.
Razdoblje je to uspona fašističkog pokreta, u Istru se planski naseljavaju koloni iz južne Italije, zabranjuje se korištenje hrvatskog i slovenskog jezika, talijaniziraju se prezimena, vrši se nasilje po gradovima i selima, dolazi do egzodusa domicilnog slavenskog stanovništva u jugoslavenske i prekomorske zemlje.
Komunisti Talijani, Hrvati i Slovenci istre organizirani su u Komunističku partiju italije. Skromni povremeni kontakti sa komunistima iz Jugoslavije ostvaruju se preko slovenskih veza.
Posebno značenje za razvoj komunističkog pokreta u istri imala su dva događaja: Pobuna seljaka na Proštini, kolokvijalno nazvana Proštinska buna i pobuna rudara u raškim ugljenokopima, nazvana Labinska republika.
Smješteni između dva jaka radnička centra, Pule i Raše seljaci Proštine, frustrirani čestim upadima i nasiljem fašista na njihova sela, pod socijalističkim utjecajem, naoružani puškama, dinamitom, pištoljima i seoskim oruđem, osnivali su seoska vijeća koja su pratila kretanje fašista, karabinjera i vojske. Oružani sukob započeo je 4. aprila i trajao je tri dana, kad je otpor slomljen.
Divljanje fašističkih škvadra, paljenje radničkih institucija, napadi na komunističke aktiviste bili su povod za akciju rudara u raškim ugljenokopima. Vračajući se 1. marta iz Trsta, sindikalni vođa Ivan Pipan bio je napadnut i pretučen u Pazinu. Sindikalno i političko rukovodstvo donijelo je slijedeći dan odluku o stupanju u štrajk, odnosno o preuzimanju rudnika, pod geslom „kova je nasa“ rudnik je naš. Osnovan je komitet rudara, smijenjeno je rukovodstvo, uvedene crvene straže i nastavljena eksploatacija ugljena, ali ne za kapitalističke vlasnike nego za vlastitu korist. Čak je isporučeni jedan brod ugljena, koji nije rudarima plaćen, jer je u međuvremenu nakon 36 dana pobuna skršena.
Najznačajnija komponenta „Labinske republike“, kako se projekt i danas naziva bilo je samoupravno socijalističko obilježje internacionalističkog karaktera u kojem su učestvovali svi rudari bez obzira na njihovu nacionalnu pripadnost. Novonastala Komunistička Partija Italije postaje onaj politički subjekt u kojemu rudari prepoznaju sebi najbližu političku opciju. U crvenu federaciju koju vodi komunistička partija učlanjeno je bilo 850 rudara.
Narod je govorio o SLOBODNOJ REPUBLICI. U štampi ovaj se pokret nazivao: LA REPUBBLICA ROSSA, SAN MARINO COMUNISTA ili COMUNE PARIGINA ISTRIANA.
Dolaskom fašizma na vlast stanovnici Italiji pripojenih područja među njima i istrani, susreli su se sa fašizmom 20 godina prije od ostalih jugoslavenskih naroda, što je dodatno motiviralo revolucionarni aktivizam. Izvršena je strukturna reorganizacija na terenu kako bi se partija pripremila na ilegalni rad.
30-ih godina prošlog stoljeća nekoliko je događaja koji su ostavili traga. Dogodio se građanski rat u Španiji u kojem se borilo više od 55 istrana, od kojih je 16 položilo svoj život. Preživjeli su nastavili borbu u pokretima otpora Francuske i Italije i NOB Jugoslavije.
Tokom cijelog desetljeća obavljeno je nekoliko valova hapšenja komunista, koji su slabili partijski rad. Zadnji veliki val hapšenja u južnoj Istri izvršen je 1938 godine. Suđenje je obavljeno na specijalnom sudu za zaštitu države u Rimu, a optuženi su osuđeni na visoke vremenske kazne. Partijski rad nije u potpunosti zamro, ali je bio bitno reduciran. Uspostavljene su veze sa komunistima iz Jugoslavije i vršene pripreme i logistika za nadolazeći rat. Opći ustanak naroda istre pokrenut je nakon kapitulacije Italije 1943. godine. Ostalo je Jugoslavija.
Vladimir Kapuralin
Read also / isto pročitaj:
Referat Ivana Plješa na konferenciji / Contribution by Ivan Plješa to the conference
Obilježavanje 100. obljetnice osnutka Komunističke partije Jugoslavije (23. travnja 2019. / SRP)
