National Alliance of Russian Solidarists
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The National Alliance of Russian Solidarists (Russian: Национально Трудовой Союз or Народно-Трудовой Союз российских солидаристов (НТС)), known by its Russian abbreviation "NTS" is a Russian patriotic anticommunist organization founded in 1930 by a group of young Russian anticommunist White emigres in Belgrade.
The organization was formed in response to the older generation of Russian emigres (veterans of the White movement) who were perceived as being stagnant and resigned to their loss in the Russian civil war. The youth which formed NTS decided to take an active role in fighting communism by studying the newly emerging Soviet culture, the psyche of a person living in the USSR, and developing a political program based on the concept of solidarism.
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[edit] Political Program
The solidarist ideology of NTS was built on the Christian understanding of people's collective social responsibility for each other's welfare, and the voluntary cooperation between the different layers (as opposed to classes) of society, in opposition to the Marxist concept of the class struggle. It also believed strongly in the "sanctity of the individual", in contrast to Marxist collectivism.
From a 1967 English language NTS pamphlet:
"Unlike Communism, Solidarism provides a twentieth-century basis for dealing with present day issues. It rejects a purely materialistic approach to social, economic and political problems. It postulates that man, rather than matter, is the chief problem today. It rejects the concept of class warfare and hatred, and seeks to replace this dubious principle with the idea of co-operation (solidarity), brotherhood, Christian tolerance and charity. Solidarism believes in the innate dignity of the individual and seeks to safeguard as inalienable rights his freedom of speech, conscience and political organization. Solidarists in no way claim that their ideas represent the final answer to all problems, but they believe that man who is master of the atom bomb must also become master of himself and his destiny."
The platform did not rule out a monarchy, but it refused to pre-decide the question of Russia's political structure (the policy of "non-predetermination" or "nepredreshenchestvo/непредрешенчество") outside of a popular plebiscite. In this regard it was similar to the White movement which deferred the decision of Russia's political structure to a constituent assembly. However, unlike the White movement, its successor organization ROVS, and other emigre organizations, NTS had developed a specific political program which included a definition of human rights and an economic program. This made the organization attract the attention of General Andrey Vlasov during the Russian Liberation Movement, who borrowed many points from NTS's program in developing his own.
The NTS platform rejected the traditional labels of "liberal" and "conservative", claiming "We are not to the right, or to the left, we are at the front" ("Мы не справа и не слева, мы впереди!"). The NTS called for a "second revolution", as opposed to a "counter-revolution", believing that after Bolshevism Russia needed to be reborn and avoid returning to the mistakes of the pre-revolutionary era. At the same time, NTS rejected the views of groups such as the Smenovekhovtsi and Mladorossi who called for a reconciliation with the Bolshevik regime, believing that Bolshevism is corrupt and incapable of evolution, therefore it needs to be eradicated, not reformed.
Some liberal critics in the Russian emigre community have accused NTS of having a fascist ideology. For instance, Dr. Marc Raeff wrote in the Slavic Review (Summer, 1989, 48(2), pp. 305-306) that,
They [the NTS] rejected both Bolshevism and liberal capitalism and embraced Russian patriotism and the priority of national solidarity based on productive labor contributed by all societal sectors. They displayed a predisposition for a corporatist organization of society and a willingness to accept a temporary dictatorship in order to bring about the nation's moral and spiritual regeneration. Their ideas unmistakably resembled those of Italian fascism and Portuguese and Austrian corporatism.
NTS supporters believe the organization always defended democratic participation in government (even in the case of a monarch), championed individual liberties, supported individualism, and rejected chauvinism.
[edit] Membership
NTS initially accepted young men and women only under the age of thirty (occasional exceptions were made), feeling that only the generation which could not in any way be seen as accountable for the events of 1917 could lead this battle. This restriction was removed by World War II. Members could be open or secret, the latter was a frequent option during NTS's activity in the Russian Liberation Movement.
NTS included not only Russians but other traditional peoples of Russia (i.e. Georgians, Balts, Kalmyks), hence the organization used the term Rossiyane (meaning "peoples of Russia") rather than Russkie (meaning "ethnic Russians") in their political programs. Many Russophiles also joined the organization, i.e. Germans, Poles, Slovenians.
The organization adopted a logo of the Russian flag with the symbol of St. Vladimir, frequently used by Ukrainians, to demonstrate the continuity and interrelatedness of Russian and Ukrainian tradition. The trident was also used by NTS as a revolutionary symbol, called the "forks of the people's anger".
Perhaps the most famous NTS member was Alexander Galich, a Russian-Jewish screenwriter and bard who's anti-Soviet songs caused him to be exiled from the USSR.
[edit] Revolutionary Activity
NTS believed that force was the only means by which the Soviet regime could be toppled, and that an internal revolution was the best means for this.
NTS made several attempts at sending its people into the USSR illegally before, during, and after World War II for the purpose of creating an underground revolutionary force in Soviet Russia. The organization, despite the support of foreign intelligence agencies, could not match the powerful network of the OGPU and NKVD. The pre and post war attempts were the least successful, often ending in shootouts with the Soviet Secret police, or capture. The war period was the most successful, although there were a high number of casualties who either suffered at the hands of the Gestapo, or sleeper cells which were uncovered by the Soviet secret police.
The NTS was also actively involved in the Russian Liberation Movement during the war.
NTS adopted a new strategy after the war called the "molecular theory" of revolution, where Soviet citizens were urged (via propaganda literature and radio messages) to create "molecular revolutionary groups" no larger than three people in size in order to minimize the risk of infiltration. These groups were to keep in contact with the NTS center which was located in Frankfurt, Germany. At a ripe moment, the center would coordinate the activity of the molecules and create a revolutionary army out of them.
NTS's "closed sector", the coordination center for underground revolutionary activity, was dissolved in 1991 after the fall of the Soviet Union.
[edit] Propaganda
The NTS actively sent out propaganda leaflets via air balloons and other means, including direct mail. Messages with anti-Stalinist slogans and NTS's political program were printed on leaflets, hankerchiefs, fake roubles, false books, etc.
NTS had also set up a radio station called "Radio Free Russia". Broadcasts were made from West Germany into the Soviet zone until the West German government was pressured by the Soviet government to shut the station down.
[edit] Publications
The Posev publishing house was run by NTS as a means of publishing anti-Soviet literature. Samizdat literature smuggled outside of the USSR was published, such as Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's writings and the poems of Alexander Galich & Bulat Okudzhava. Posev (which means "the Sowing" in Russian) is also the name of a magazine published by NTS since 1945.
Currently, the Posev publishing house mainly publishes books on Russian history, focusing specifically on the history of the anti-communist movement.
[edit] Soviet response
The Soviets responded to NTS's activities via several methods.
- Arrests - NTS members who were found on Soviet controlled territories were arrested, interrogated under torture, and usually executed or sometimes confined to the GULAG where many would die.
- Assassinations - Several assassination attempts were made against key NTS members. One of them, NTS chairman George Okolovich, had his would be assassin, Mikhail Khokhlov, confess to him and defect, embarrassing the Soviet government with his media campaign. There were also several bombing attempts.
- Kidnappings - Dr. Rudolf Trushnovic,[1] a prominent NTS member of Slovenian origin, was kidnapped by Stasi agent Heinz Glezke and smuggled abroad in a Soviet diplomatic car to the East German sector. He is believed to have died in transit as a result of the trauma from the struggle that ensued during his kidnapping.
- Counter-propaganda - Anti-NTS pamphlets and newsreel films were produced by the USSR. One such pamphlet was supposedly written by Constantine Cherezov, a former NTS member who defected from Germany back to the USSR. The pamphlet accuses the leaders of NTS being employees of American and British intelligence. It also labels them as drunkards, homosexuals, and gamblers who had at one point or another served the Nazi regime.
- Diplomatic pressure - the Soviet government used its international ties to pressure foreign governments to suppress NTS's activities. One such successful example is the closing down of "Radio Free Russia" by the West German government.
[edit] Songs
A song titled "The bright hour knocks" ("Byet Svetliy Chas") became the organization's main song, used as an anthem but never called such. It was written in the early 1930's by NTS member Michael Gnilorybov.
The Bright Hour Knocks (English translation)
The bright hour of Russia’s last battle knocks
We aren’t deterred by lead or steal
Russia’s call is stronger and more victorious
We go forward and are willing to sacrifice all
Chorus:
Forward goes Russia’s new hope
Bravely into battle, we will break the chains of our dear country
Let’s tighten our ranks and attack the tyrant’s trenches
In storm of war, a decisive battering ram
For a new order, life, and people's honor
For free labor, for peace to our native fields
Shoulder to shoulder through cloudy stormy weather
On the right path, to the death of the executioners
(Chorus)
We fear not death when Russia calls
We are not alone – the whole country will rise
In giving away our young lives
We know that victory is fated to us.
(Chorus)
Midi File
Another song was also very popular, called "The Youth Song" or "The Past is the Source of Inspiration", written by NTS member Pavel Zelensky (1904 - 1978) in the late 1930's. This song was also adopted by the Russian scout organization ORYuR as the anthem of its leadership circle, which had many NTS members.
The Youth Song or The Past is the Source of Inspiration (an English translation)
The past is the source of inspiration
With the acts of the Sech and Peter 1
In the future it shall be fraternal service
But in our present it is battle.
For the people who of all peoples
Are most loving, deep, and brave
At the edge of new great beginnings
In effort, order, and people.
In this is a higher calling
In this is happiness and honor
And it shall be our generation
That shall give account to history
So let us swear together, brothers
Give all our strength for our nation
And let us carry our promise
From abroad to Moscow
The saints shall illuminate our path
With infinite chivalrous words:
Let Russia rise
Let our names die.2
(1) The Sech refers to the Zaporizhian Sich, while Peter refers to Russian emperor Peter the Great.
(2) "Let our names die" is interpreted as the death of the ego of those who are fighting for Russia, a sign of ultimate selflessness.
[edit] External links
- Official site of the NTS
- Site of the Posev publishing house
- Site of the Perm NTS group, which split off from the main NTS organization in the early 1990's (in Russian)
[edit] References
- (1994) The Mission of the Russian Emigration, M.V. Nazarov. Moscow: Rodnik. ISBN 5-86231-172-6
- (1986) Novopokolentsy, B. Prianishnikoff. Silver Spring, MD. ISBN 0-9616413-1-2
