Russia was to the Communist International. The Russian trade union movement had begun developing with particular intensity after the October Revolution under the ideological and political leadership of Lenin.
Lenin followed the development of the trade union movement with the same interest with which he followed that of the Communist movement. He would always explain that the Amsterdam International is the main support of the international bourgeoisie, and because of this was he so much interested in the Red International of Labor Unions, as can be seen from his communication to the First Congress of the R. I. L. U. ( July, 1921) where Lenin said:
"It is hard to express in words the importance of this international trade union congress. Everywhere in the whole world the Communist ideas find ever more followers among the membership of the trade unions. The progress of Communism does not follow a straight line. It is not regular, it has got to overcome thousands of obstacles, but it moves forward just the same. This international trade union congress will hasten the progress of Communism, which will be victorious in the trade union movement. There is no power on earth that is able to prevent the collapse of capitalism and the victory of the working class over the bourgeoisie."
From this it can be seen what importance Lenin attached to the international unification of the revolutionary trade union movement for the struggles of the working class.
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