An Anthropological Look at the Komintern Archives

Uyghur Initiative Papers No. 7, December 2014

By Sabine Trebinjac

The story begins with Stalin’s idea to annex the northeast and northwest of China, not only through infiltration by emissaries but also by educating cohorts of young migrants at the Communist University of the Eastern Workers located in Moscow. The whole strategy was implemented with Beria as the prime conductor, and the date offensive was decided. However, Stalin died exactly the day before it was due to proceed and everything was cancelled. This paper will attempt to explain how all this was organized.

At the Komintern Archives in Moscow, there are documents that show how Soviet communists tried to educate a circle of Uyghur revolutionaries, who, once they returned home, were supposed to spread what they had learned in the USSR. The entire Uyghur population would then support the communist ideal, in this case, by turning away from China and joining the USSR.