Stalin's personally approved CPGB General Secretary who led the party for 25 years
10 May 1920, Port of London. Pollitt convinced dockers not to load the SS Jolly George with munitions bound for Poland, then at war with Soviet Russia. The ship sailed empty on 15 May.
Founding member and General Secretary of the Communist Party of Great Britain for over 25 years, the most significant British communist of the 20th century. He persuaded London dockers to block munitions bound for Poland in the 1920 Hands Off Russia campaign. Appointed General Secretary with Stalin's personal approval, he was the party's secret 'Code Holder' in direct radio contact with Moscow. He supported the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War and co-authored The British Road to Socialism, committing the CPGB to a parliamentary path. When Khrushchev denounced Stalin in 1956, Pollitt refused to take down Stalin's portrait from his living room.
Career Timeline
- 1920Founding member of the CPGB
- 1924–1929National Secretary, NMM & British Bureau of Profintern
- 1929–1939General Secretary, CPGB (first term)
- 1939–1941Removed as General Secretary; retained in Political Bureau
- 1941–1956General Secretary, CPGB (second term)
- 1956–1960Chairman, CPGB