(Dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Paris Commune)

"On the morning of March 18, 1871, Paris was awakened by the thunderous cries of' Vive la Commune!' What is the Commune, this sphinx that has posed such a difficult riddle to bourgeois minds? " 1 -this is the question posed by Karl Marx, which he answered by giving an ingenious definition of the Commune as the first dictatorship of the proletariat in history. No less a "mystery" to the bourgeois and reactionaries were and still are the Communards themselves, these "obscure proletarians," as they called themselves. What kind of slander was not erected at their address... But the truth about the Commune reached the consciousness of the world proletariat and inspired it to fight the exploiters. The Paris freedom fighters became for new generations of revolutionaries a model of service to the cause of the working people, an example of perseverance and loyalty in achieving their chosen goal. The Paris commune put forward not only outstanding fighters, but also a talented galaxy of heralds of its ideas, who served the revolution with a fiery word, exposing the enemies and supporting the defenders of freedom.

One of them is Raoul Rigaud. Everything about him, from his appearance to his beliefs, gave him away an extraordinary personality, rare for the time of Imperial France. There was a hint of mockery in his shrewd gaze, which turned to rage when something was said that was unacceptable to Rigaud. His voice, unusual in its timbre, seemed to resound all over Paris: in clubs, at meetings, wherever people gathered. He was always in action, always surrounded by people. The natural environment provided excellent ground for Rigaud to become the propagandist of the idea that was increasingly taking hold of the masses, the idea of the Commune. "The movement will be communist... We have never hidden our sympathies for this new social system. The people have waited long enough, " 2 Rigaud wrote of the aims of the revolution of 1871. He shared the aspirations of the Socialists led by Louis Auguste Blanqui. He saw the main way of fighting in active action with weapons in his hands. At the International Students ' Congress, six years before the Paris Commune, he and other members of the French delegation protested against the imperial regime and called for an uprising against its hated order.

September 4, 1870 The second Empire fell, but the bourgeois republic that succeeded it did nothing in the interests of the people. The revolutionary movement grew. On October 31, it turned into an uprising. Rigaud is a member of this uprising, one of those who led the armed battalion of the National Guard3, the Government brutally cracked down on those who led the people to storm the bourgeois republic. But Rigaud is not discouraged by the defeat, he sees a new perspective, believes in the final victory and calls not to spare the enemy. He supports the abolition of the death penalty for all. For everyone except political opponents.

When the reaction, which had fled to Versailles on March 18, 1871, began to bombard Paris, Rigaud demanded that the Commune shoot all those arrested for their connection with Versailles. Rigaud is brave, bold, and talented at uncovering secret reaction maneuvers. His perspicacity, excellent memory, and powers of observation made him a real terror to the police during the Empire. Visitors to Paris were introduced to Rigaud, calling him the most interesting person in the capital, and showed how he dealt with spies. They literally ran away when they saw someone approaching them

1 K. Marx and F. Engels, Soch. Vol. 17, p. 339.

2 "La Nouvelle Republique", 21.III.1871.

3 G. da Costa. Commune vegue. Vol. II. P. 1904, p. 340.

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Rigaud 4 . Rigaud did all this with inimitable humor and mockery. In his spare time, he studied trial materials and kept a record of spies in his notebook. Blanqui noticed his unusual talent and said that it was precisely in exposing the accomplices of reaction that Rigaud's true vocation lay.

After the establishment of a bourgeois republic in the country, he became commissar of police, hoping to "blow up" it from within and transform it into a democratic institution. And although the plan failed, Rigaud managed to do a lot of useful things for the cause of the revolution in this post. He seized valuable incriminating materials from the Prefecture of Police and handed them over for public disclosure in order to convince the people that a group of traitors to the interests of the republic was in power. Rigaud constantly turns to the press to raise the revolutionary heat among the masses. Shortly before the revolution, when he became a regular contributor to O. Blanky's newspaper La Patrie en dangeur, he published the dossier of the " Democrats "who were spies of the Empire. 5 Here, if we take into account the topics of his speeches, he continued what he had done earlier in the La Marseillaise, the newspaper of the bourgeois Republican Rochefort. The newspaper was published with the participation of the section of the International and allowed socialists not only to fight the empire, but even to defend socialist ideas. It was attended by leading figures of the revolutionary movement, including E. Varlen, who is close in his views to Marxism.

After the proclamation of the Commune, Rigaud continued to work in the press, often using it for propaganda purposes. Reports on the sessions of the indictment jury headed by R. Rigaud were published by the newspapers "Awakening of the People"and" Tribune of the People". Rigaud's revealing speech was approved and supported by "Father Duchesne" 6 . The enemies, inventing all sorts of fables about the communards, repeated fables about the" ignorance "and" lack of education " of the leaders of the revolution. The biography of Rigaud, like many of his comrades in the struggle for the rights of the people, refutes this statement. After graduating from the lyceum, then college, he received a bachelor's degree, Rigaud showed an aptitude for mathematics, studied medicine, which was a hobby of a number of other figures of the Commune. Medicine then became synonymous with everything progressive in science, it opened up broad prospects for exposing religion - the long-standing support of anti-people regimes. Speaking to Parisian workers, Rigaud used his remarkable erudition, coupled with revolutionary passion and determination. And when the Commune won, Rigaud's militant atheism was revealed in all its relentlessness and ruthlessness. Among the first enemies of the revolution he detained were church officials, including the Archbishop of Paris.

Rigaud was far from thinking lightly that religion could be eradicated by such measures. He recognized the great propaganda influence of the churchmen, and therefore sought to counter them with the power of revolutionary conviction and agitation. While still a student, he collaborated in the newspaper Candide (Candide means" sincere", "truthful", "sincere").

It was founded by the youth of the Latin Quarter and denounced churchmen, but paid the price of" insulting religion " by arresting many of its editors. Rigaud continued his anti-religious propaganda on the pages of the newspaper Democrit, which he edited. For the article "On tolerance", the court sentenced him to three months in prison and a fine of 7 . But during the Commune, the newspaper Father Duchesne, inspired by Rigaud, kept the priests under constant fierce fire. "The red banner cannot be carved out of a priest's garb," 8 the newspaper declared, combining the struggle against religion with agitation for the education of a new type of people, for high civil and patriotic beliefs, and for the introduction of secular education. "Father Duchesne" denounced the clergy as accomplices of Versailles and spies.

Rigaud had the most fruitful relations with the newspaper "Father Duchesne". Its editor, M. Villaume, said that Rigaud became one of Gazet's closest friends-

4 G. Laronze. Histoire de la Commune de 1871. P. 1928, pp. 42 - 47.

5 M. Vilhom. In the Days of the Commune, l. 1925, pp. 174-175.

6 "Le Pere Duchene", 20.V. 1871; "Le Tribun du peuple", 21.V.1871; "Le Reveil du peuple", 21.V.1871.

7 Ch. Proles. Les Hommes de la Revolution de 1871. P. 1898, pp. 10, 20; A. Lurie. Portraits of figures of the Paris Commune, Moscow, 1956, pp. 190, 194.

8 "Lo Pere Duchene", 18.V.1871.

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you 9 . He invited the editor to attend meetings in the Town Hall, introduced you to the leaders of the Commune, to the problems that were discussed in the Council of the Commune. This revolutionary newspaper vividly reminded Rigaud of the "great anger" and " fiery feelings "of the former" Father Duchesne", created by Jacques Rene Hebert, a talented journalist and politician in 1793. Hebert was dear to Rigaud because he was a supporter of terror against the enemies of the people and even in the days of the bourgeois revolution of the late XVIII century.defended the working strata not only from the nobles, but also from the bourgeoisie. Rigaud had read Hébert's "Father Duchesne" many times in the National Library and knew many of its pages by heart. He dreamed of resurrecting for the revolution of 1871 such a "Father Duchesne" who could speak to the masses in an imaginative and intelligible language. But Rigaud the journalist gave way to Rigaud the fighter and statesman. The commune elected him to the Public Safety Commission and then appointed him its prosecutor. Under his influence, the Commune adopted a decree on hostages: for the execution of each communard, three times the number of enemies of the people were arrested and executed. Despite the opposition of a number of conciliatory members of the Commune Council, Rigaud defended the need for revolutionary terror, considering that the Commune had no right to hesitate even for a moment. He took to heart the division of the Commune Council into a "majority" and a "minority" and prepared arrest warrants for dissenters. On May 17, apparently not without Rigaud's influence, the newspaper "Father Duchesne" gave a sharp rebuke to those who brought discord into the ranks of the communards, and demanded that they be brought to justice. But Rigaud's move might have added to the difficulty. His comrades persuaded him to refrain from reprisals, and the newspaper "Father Duchene" instilled in the Council the need to restore unity.

Rigaud's determination was hateful to many. Among the Communists, he was perhaps the most important target of their slander. Reactionary propaganda called his perspicacity morbid suspiciousness, uncompromising-a pathological feature of his psyche .10 Slanderers try not to notice the creative work that Rigaud was engaged in. He created a democratic, truly popular justice and formulated its program: "The court has no right to judge in absentia. Our court should become a real revolutionary tribunal." His contribution was not only to strengthen the revolutionary rule of law, but also to develop the public services and administration of the Commune, which he liberated from saboteurs and traitors. Rigaud also worked in the field of culture. With his participation, the Public Safety Commission put the creativity of theaters on a revolutionary path. Rigaud personally organized the so-called "performance in favor of the widow of Duval", a general of the Commune who was killed by the Versaillians. Contrary to the desire of the bourgeois theater administration, the proceeds were transferred to the families of the defenders of the Commune .11
As for the struggle against the enemy, Rigaud was by no means a supporter of universal arrests, as some "eyewitnesses" of the Commune and bourgeois authors write about him. Rigaud was deeply outraged by any illegal arrests, if they could have taken place in principle, and in an official document he warned that the perpetrators, if anything like this happened, would be punished. He demanded to draw up a detailed report indicating the crime of the detained person, the names and addresses of witnesses. "I would rather,"he said at a meeting of the Commune Council," let the guilty go than punish even one innocent person."

At the same time, he was merciless to enemy propaganda. While many Commune ideologues thought that reactionary and bourgeois newspapers should preserve freedom of speech, Rigaud showed an understanding of the interests of the victorious working class and applied decisive measures. None of the machinations of his enemies stopped him in the fight against hostile publications. Rigaud was created "from the stuff that makes real revolutionaries," Rochefort wrote of him. "He was ready to sacrifice everything to his cause: both his personal affections and his very life." 12
At Rigaud's instigation, the most virulent organs of Versailles propaganda were shut down in Paris. If the newspaper did not comply with the decree of the Commune, Rigaud sent

9 M. Vilhom. Op. ed., p. 130.

10 l. Dubreuil. Commune of 1871. Moscow, 1920, p. 171.

11 Yu. Danilin. Literature and theater of the Paris Commune. "The Paris Commune of 1871", vol. II, Moscow, 1961, p. 48.

12 A. Rochefort. Adventures of my Life, Moscow, 1933, p. 280.

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to the National Guard printing house to seal the printing presses. Journalists and publishers who opposed the revolutionary authorities were subject to detention. Thus, a reporter for the National newspaper was arrested, and the newspaper did not fail to accuse Rigaud of "gratuitous" arrest of its employee. They say he only came to Rigaud's to ask for a passport. And passports were required to travel outside Paris, and the documents were primarily needed by the Versailles spies.

Rigaud was assisted in exposing the treacherous role of bourgeois and reactionary publications by the revolutionary press. In almost every issue of every newspaper of the Commune, a struggle was waged against the hostile tendencies in the Parisian press. "Father Duchesne" pointed out to the communards the reactionary journalist Chaudet, who contributed to the execution of the Parisian rebels on January 22, 1871. Rigaud authorized his arrest. Versailles saw this as a reprisal; Rigaud was accused of persecuting Chaudet for personal reasons. Rigaud, however, did not know Chaudet at all, and had no other claims against him than those laid by revolutionary Paris .

Rigaud's efforts to counteract the reaction were not quite sufficient. In particular, they were not supported by the purposeful and systematic work of the entire Commune apparatus. Referring to the experience of the Commune, V. I. Lenin noted that " it is still necessary to suppress the bourgeoisie and its resistance. This was especially necessary for the Commune, and one of the reasons for its defeat is that it did not do it resolutely enough. " 14 It was not without reason that treachery opened the doors of Paris to the Versaillians. Fierce fighting broke out on the barricades. Rigaud, wearing the uniform of a National Guard commander, joined the fighting. Rescuing from the Versaillese the owner of the house from which Rigaud commanded the battle, he went out to meet his executioners. They wanted to force Rigaud to renounce the revolution, but his last words were " Long live the Commune!"

As is typical of many outstanding revolutionaries, most of the communards were able to hold both a gun and a pen in their hands, were at the same time fighters of the revolution and its ardent propagandists! These qualities were not always balanced. For some communards, the first and second aspirations were alternately brought to the fore; for others, one or the other became the leading one. Among those who fought against the Versaillese with a pen is the name of Pascal Grousset , a revolutionary known mainly as a journalist. Referring to Grusset's pre-revolutionary journalism, bourgeois commentators declare him "unprincipled", "politically omnivorous"; they claim that he brought materials to newspapers of all shades and trends and allegedly wrote scientific and fantastic articles about politics and literature with equal ease. They spoke of Gruss as someone who could take advantage of an opportunity. "He collaborated with Figaro and Etandar, but not finding satisfaction in his ambition, he moved to the radical camp and became an employee of the La Marseillaise of Rochefort. Here he became the unwitting cause of the murder of a newspaper employee, Victor Noir, as a result of a controversy between Grousset and Prince Bonaparte... Hence begins his fierce opposition to the Second Empire"; "Grousset appeared on the scene only in connection with the case of Prince P. Bonaparte" 15, etc., etc.

To restore the truth, it should be said that, of course, the revolutionary ideals were not born in Grousset all at once. However, the story of Prince Bonaparte, so widely described in bourgeois memoir literature, did not play such a role in the change of mood of Grousset. The origins lie deeper. They are inseparable from the general rise of the class struggle in France in the 70s of the XIX century. As Grusset gradually joined the camp of revolutionary democracy, his journalistic fame also grew. At first, he is an employee of the Marseillaise, but soon breaks with it, because its publisher Rochefort, having joined the bourgeois government, betrayed the socialists. He then hastened to express his disapproval of Grousset for publishing the article "Long Live the Democratic and Social Republic!" and banned his former newspaper 16 . Go to the top

13 G. da Costa. Op. cit., pp. 95 - 96.

14 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 33, p. 42.

15 J. Clareti. Histoire de la revolte de 1870 - 71. P. 1872, p. 619; M. Justess. Histoire de la Commune de Paris. Zurich. 1872, p. 252.

16 R. Manevy. La Presse frangaise de Renaudot a Rochefort. P. 1958, p. 360.

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After the revolution of 1871, Grousse was already a well-formed political fighter and publicist with pronounced socialist views and published the militant newspaper " Iron Mouths "("La Bouche de fer"). Together with other revolutionary publications, the bourgeois government banned its publication a few days before the proclamation of the Commune.

Bourgeois historical scholarship stubbornly denies Grousse any significant role in the Commune. ("The only credit to Grousset is the cut of his trousers. No one has ever dressed better than him.") As for his work, how can it compare, according to critics, with his appearance? "The Grousse newspaper! No, you have to know him, so clean, so well-trained, to feel the extraordinary ridiculousness caused by this contrast... Fussy, adoring advertising", etc. And the most" destructive "word is prepared at the end:" Under the Commune, he was forced to defend an ideal in the realization of which he did not believe " 17. "Forced"! But those who did not want to defend the Commune left Paris. Together with the bourgeois government, the editorial offices of many newspapers, including Figaro and Gaulois, the most ardent organs of reaction, moved to Versailles. In Paris itself, too, there were many newspaper men who poured out a torrent of lies against the revolutionary people. Even those who, like the reactionary editor A. de Paine, participated in an armed demonstration against the Commune, managed to get out of Paris without suffering the punishment they deserved, thanks to the excessive humanity of the communards. And only those who believed in the ideals of the Commune were then on its side and defended it from the first to the last days, as Grusset did.

Grousset immediately declared to revolutionary Paris that all his sympathies belonged to the working masses, to the people in revolt. He showed his fervent support for the revolution primarily through journalism. Since March 19, the newspaper Novaya Respublika has been published under Grousse's editorship. It proudly reported that it was a political newspaper, unlike the amorphous, purely literary publications. The newspaper spoke loudly about what the people thought. The "New Republic" declared sacred the right of the working people of Paris to dispose of themselves, their city. At a time when bourgeois newspapers were slandering that the National Guardsmen had misappropriated their weapons and turned them against the government, Grousse wrote: "The issue of guns is a simple one. Do they belong to the National Guard or not? It's obvious to everyone that they do. First, the people paid for them. And secondly, if the people had not taken them into their own hands, they would have gone to the Prussians." Only with weapons in hand could Paris be expected to win. The "New Republic" constantly rebuffed bourgeois slanders. In spite of the reactionaries ' cries of "ruin," the newspaper's voice rang out, calling on the people to build a new life, to create. Grusset's articles are filled with a deep belief in the creative impulse of the revolution: "The era that now begins is not a mess... The March 18 Revolution in action. You will see that it will bear the desired fruit. " 18
Grousse was one of the communards who believed in the unconditional sovereignty of the people: "The people will vote... in accordance only with their own opinions and with their true interests." 19 Through the newspaper, Grousset instills confidence in Parisians: "Two worlds stand face to face: the world of the past, injustice and privilege, and on the other hand - the world of the future, the world of equality... Then Paris. There are 300-400 thousand citizens, five hundred guns and a minimum of ammunition. But our army knows what it wants... And the result of the battle is certain: victory belongs to Paris. " 20 Following Paris, the Commune was proclaimed in a number of major industrial centers of the country. These events, which filled the hearts of Parisians with pride and inspired them, were quickly reported by the Grousset newspaper, combining accuracy of facts with enthusiasm and imaginative style. Grousset spent a lot of time dealing with the problem of the province , a painful issue of the Commune, which she never managed to solve or even really raise. In the word " about-

17 H. Aimer as. La Vie parisierme pendant le siege et sous la Commune. P. 1927, p. 120.

18 "La Nouvelle Republique", 21 et 22.III.1871.

19 "La Nouvelle Republique", 22.III.1871.

20 "La Nouvelle Republique", 23.III.1871.

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VINCE " communards put a broad concept. Most often, this definition was sarcastic and applied to the reactionary strata of the French population, to its representatives in the National Assembly. But often the Commune's ideologists associated it with the peasantry.

The commune did not immediately understand the need to get the support of the peasantry and weakly promoted its ideas in this environment. Grousset, along with everyone else, also initially believed that Paris could do without the solidarity of the rest of France: "Paris can, if it wants, be the dictator of the province, based on the fact that it represents all of France... But he doesn't want that... Go your own way, and we'll go our own. And we'll see who chose the right path. " 21 Judging by the text of Grousset's articles, the contrast between Paris and the provinces is not a dissociation, but a hope that the revolutionary example of the capital will be contagious not only for large cities. Grousset, who is authorized by the Commune to communicate with the province, delegates several revolutionary agitators there, including A. Collet, a member of the International and former correspondent of the newspaper La Marseillaise. Grousse instructs them to establish contact with local newspapers, and if they are not available, then take care of the production of leaflets and other printed publications promoting the ideas of the Commune .22 In the New Republic, the article "What do we need?" explicitly states that Paris believes in the possibility of awakening the provinces: "When the peasants see that the big cities live happily, they will do the same." However, it took a long time to attract the peasantry with just a clear example. And the Commune history has released only 72 days.

At that time, Paris was surrounded by a ring of blockade: on one side were the troops of the Prussian army, and on the other - the troops of Versailles. Their propaganda had an unimpeded effect on the peasantry, and it never became the mainstay of the Commune. "The French workers had to pay unprecedented heavy sacrifices for the first experience of a workers' government, the meaning and purpose of which the vast majority of the peasants in France did not know, " 23 V. I. Lenin said of one of the reasons for the defeat of the Commune. At the crucial moment, the eyes of the revolutionary capital were turned with hope only to the major centers. Grousset calls on them to help Paris: "Big cities, you have sent him the assurance that you are fraternally joining him; you have told him :' We are with you in heart.' Big cities, the time for declarations has passed! When the guns started talking, it was time to act!.. We have weapons and ammunition! Rise up, cities of France " 24 . As editor of the newspaper, P. Grousse looks at events from the height of a statesman, sees not only the internal, but also the international significance of the Commune. The Central Committee of the National Guard decided to observe the terms of the armistice concluded with Prussia by the bourgeois government and rather difficult for the people. But Grousse believes it is very important for the revolution to adhere to the treaty. After all, this would allow Paris, as he hoped, to count on the neutrality of German troops and concentrate its forces to fight the internal enemy.

His newspaper regularly introduces Parisians to foreign responses to the actions of the Commune. Grousse mobilizes the agitation and propaganda resources of the newspaper to break the Prussian-Versailles handshake and, if possible, delay the final collusion between the reactionaries of Prussia and France .25 Revolutionary Paris appreciated Grousset's political qualities, his ability to navigate the international situation, his ability to take care of French interests and keep a sharp eye on the intentions of counter-revolutionary governments. The Central Committee of the National Guard appoints him as a delegate to foreign relations, in fact, the first proletarian Minister of Foreign Affairs. In this post, Grousse met with clear sabotage by government officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. When he arrived at the ministry's premises, he found only the doorman and the floor polisher, who were helpful-

21 "La Nouvelle Republique", 21.III.1871.

22 M. Choury. La Commune au coeur de Paris. P. 1967, p. 241.

23 V. I. Leni n. PSS. Vol. 35, p. 261.

24 "Le Journal officiel", 16.V.1871.

25 For Grusset's further actions on relations with Germany, see A. I. Molok. German Intervention against the Paris Commune of 1871, L. 1939, pp. 62-66, 99.

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just by introducing him to the layout of the building. The first thing that Grusset did in his new post was to raise the question of the need to establish diplomatic relations between the rebellious city and foreign states. On behalf of the revolutionary Government, he asked General Fabriza to evacuate German troops from the Paris forts.

On April 3, Grousset invited the members of the Council of the Commune to inform all foreign powers of the existence of the Commune's authority and drew up an appeal expressing the desire of the French-Parisians to strengthen fraternal ties with the peoples of other countries. "In the face of the Prussian army, which has annexed two French provinces to Germany," wrote Karl Marx, "the Commune has united the workers of the whole world to France." 26 Grousset inspires his comrades, as if revealing the outstanding historical mission of Paris: "Paris is a fighter for France and for the whole world." He is confident that "after the end of the war, the Commune will do everything possible not only to alleviate the situation of the suffering classes, but also to strengthen and expand the revolution in Europe." 27
His enemies accused him of ambition. In fact, like his other revolutionary colleagues, Grousset was not free from the "excessive" honesty that, in the words of Karl Marx, reached the communards almost to the point of suspiciousness. As an exponent of the workers ' opinion, Grousse doubted whether the masses themselves considered it "their" opinion and whether they recognized the right of the Central Committee of the NG to lead the revolution. Therefore, the Central Committee of the NG is in a hurry to hold government elections as soon as possible, making a concession to the bourgeois understanding of legality. "The Central Committee resigned its powers too soon..." 28 wrote Karl Marx, who saw this as one of the reasons for the failure of the revolution. And Grusset, from room to room, conducted a propaganda campaign in favor of the elections on the pages of the "New Republic". The Commune did not raise the question of the necessity of depriving the bourgeoisie of the right to vote. However, the Commune press taught Parisians political vigilance and helped them navigate the electoral lists so that they would vote only for those who cared about the interests of the people. Labor Paris has once again confirmed that it believes in the people who fought with it for freedom on March 18.

On March 28, the newspaper reported on the first results of the elections in the editorial "The Duty of the Commune". It expressed the desire for the peaceful development of the revolution. "They did not want to start a civil war,"as if the monstrous degenerate Thiers had not already started a civil war by trying to disarm Paris!" 29 - this is how Karl Marx defined a situation that most communards did not understand. Grousset exposed the machinations of Versailles, who was assembling an army to capture revolutionary Paris and drown it in blood. But together with most of the communards, he refrained from agitating for the defeat of reaction in its lair until it had gathered its forces. "The province and Paris could live side by side, each according to his own beliefs," wrote Grousset, " but the Versailles Assembly does not want this... It was not enough for her to deprive Paris of the title of capital. Now she has to decapitate Paris. She needs blood flow. It needs a civil war." While discovering the aggressiveness of Versailles, Grousset gradually came to the conclusion that the Commune should "pass judgment on these despicable people" who were ruining the nation. It is necessary that retribution overtake them and punish them mercilessly. " 30 Of course, this is still a very vague wish. Later, when the people see the mistake, they will take to the streets of Paris demanding to go to Versailles. But the time for a favorable outcome of the battle will already be lost. However, even then, in April, Parisians will not stop hoping for their final victory, they will not stop being inspired by the ideas of the Commune.

On March 26, Grousse was elected to the Commune Council from the 18th arrondissement. He became one of the most active members of the Council. Grousse was known as a supporter of the strong, centralized power of the Commune. His views, more than the views of some of its other representatives, corresponded to the tasks of the moment being experienced. In the decree adopted by the Council on the reorganization of its staff, the idea of Grousse and his srt was implemented-

26 K. Marx and F. Engels, Soch. Vol. 17, p. 350.

27 "Le Journal officiel", 15.V.1871.

28 K. Marx and F. Engels, Op. 33, p. 172.

29 Ibid., p. 172.

30 "La Nouvelle Republique", 28.III.1871.

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Roynikov: From now on, the Executive Committee consisted of delegates from the leading commissions, and their functions were more clearly defined. Thus, in the face of the impending decisive battle with reaction, the Commune strengthened the headquarters of the revolutionary forces and rallied, as befits a militant organization of the dictatorship of the proletariat. According to V. I. Lenin, it "made an attempt to smash and destroy the bourgeois state apparatus to its foundations ..." 31. P. Grousse advocated a clear subordination of the press to the tasks of the revolution, centralized management of the press in the person of the Committee of Public Salvation, organized during the difficult May days for the Commune.

Without waiting for any complete decision of the Soviet on the development of the revolutionary press, Grousse, one of the few editors of the Commune, carried out the confiscation of materials necessary for the newspaper. When the owner of the paper warehouse did not want to deal with revolutionary publications, Grousse took away from him as much paper as the New Republic needed .32 The newspaper Grousse approves of the "first wave of the broom" by which the Central Committee removed the reactionary administration from the National Printing House. Irony, sarcasm, ridicule of ridiculous accusations-this is the arsenal that this newspaper masterfully uses. Such notes are published under the heading "Poison of the reactionary press" : "They say that the editorial office of the newspaper "Figaro" is returning to Paris. We ask the Commune to sprinkle chlorine on the street. " 33 But often, instead of attacking the reactionary press, the newspaper took a defensive position.

Grousse's activities as a propagandist during the Commune were not equally intense. In No. 22, the newspaper Novaya Respublika announced that Grousse had joined the Executive Committee and therefore no longer took part in the newspaper's affairs. However, he soon returned to journalism and began publishing the newspaper" Osvobozhennyy "("L'affranchi"). With this title, Grousse wanted to emphasize that the cause for which the people fought on March 18 is already firmly established in life. Meanwhile, reaction was preparing to attack the gains of the revolution. The newspaper calls on the Commune to be resolute, for only in this way can the brutality with which Versailles attacks the captured communards be checked, and reaction in Paris itself be curbed .34 Grousse approves the creation of an Indictment Jury, considering it a pledge that "past crimes will not be repaid, and new ones will be prevented." Rich material reflecting the organization of military operations by the Commune, skilful and versatile exposure of the leaders of the Versailles counter-revolution made the newspaper a military weapon of the Commune. K. Marx drew attention to these facets of its revolutionary propaganda when analyzing the press of the communards. He made a number of interesting extracts from the articles of this newspaper, drawing on the experience of the struggle both from the successes and defeats of the Commune.

At a critical moment for the Commune, Grousset does not leave the battlefield. Five days before the Versaillese enter Paris, a fiery tribune expresses the determination of the entire city to fight to the end: "Behind its walls are barricades, behind barricades are houses that the enemy will have to tear out by force, house by house, and which Paris, if necessary, will blow up rather than surrender to the mercy of the enemy." 35 The Versailles court sentenced Grousse to death. Some time later, it was replaced by a life-long exile to New Caledonia, cut off from the rest of the world by the Pacific Ocean. But even here, after the death of thousands of comrades in the struggle, in the grueling conditions of hard labor, the surviving communards did not leave their courage and faith in the future. More than once in those days, Grousse thought hard about what the new, free society would be like. He recalled the evenings spent together with the great science fiction writer and dreamer Jules Verne, their arguments, hopes. He shared the bold flight of the writer's imagination, which opened the way to the center of the Earth and to the Moon, to the underwater depths and cosmic distances. He was sure that the time would come when a free, enlightened humanity would have access to the true joy of life. Ironically, in his exile, Grousset found himself in the very places where the hero of the novel, J. P. Blavatsky, was born. Verna Captain Grant wanted to establish his own utopian colony. But for Grousset, utopian socialism was already a stage passed. Commune

31 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 37, p. 493.

32 "Le Dossier de la Commune devant les conseils de guerre". P. 1871, p. 140.

33 "La Nouvelle Republique", 30.III.1871.

34 "L'Affranchi", 4.IV.1871.

35 "Le Journal officiel", 16.V.1871.

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She helped Gruss approach scientific Marxism. He paid tribute to Jacobin illusions by addressing the revolution of 1793. However, as the revolution revealed its proletarian character, Grousset's views became increasingly leftist...

Edouard Moreau, a member of the Central Committee of the National Guard, was among the newspaper's authors who shared Grusset's thoughts. On March 18, he was among the first to take over the leadership of the uprising. His contemporaries described him as "one of the most influential figures of the beginning of the revolution." 36 It is believed that it was largely thanks to him that the Central Committee decided to declare itself the government and stay in the Town Hall, where representatives of the empire used to meet in gilded uniforms. Now the headquarters of the revolution is located here. Parisians in soldiers ' greatcoats, without epaulettes and aiguillettes decided matters of national importance. "The person who sent the proclamations to the set had a whole arsenal of weapons on his belt. That day I saw Edouard Morbe for the first time, " recalls the participant and later historian of the Commune A. Arnoux. "He was still a very young man, pale and fair, with expressive features..." 37 Moreau wore his hair and beard long. His comrades jokingly called him " the aristocrat." In fact, although he was a "noble family", he came from a poor family and worked as an ordinary merchant employee. Moreau, full of enthusiasm, convinced of the rightness of the cause of the people, became its ardent propagandist. The comrades entrusted him with the drafting of official documents, appeals of the Central Committee of the National Guard to the revolutionary masses. Participants and eyewitnesses of the revolution noted that Moreau edited these materials carefully and with talent. They were excellent in both content and form. His signature was on the first Central Committee proclamation, dated March 19. "Citizens! The people of Paris were freed from the oppression to which they had been subjected... Paris and France must jointly lay the foundations of a Republic, unanimously approved and with all its consequences, the only form of government that will forever end the era of invasions and civil wars,"the declaration said.

Moreau's signature on this document is the fifth. Some historians believe that the selection of people who signed the proclamation is partly quite random39 . As for Moreau, this cannot be attributed to him: the Central Committee entrusted him with editing program documents, and thus his signature was quite natural. This document appeared in the press on March 20, and the day before, at noon, the Central Committee of the National Guard met on another urgent issue: it was necessary to discuss a response to the slander of the bourgeois press about the murder of Generals Lecomte and Thomas in the streets of the rebellious city. The official newspaper "Government Bulletin"laid the blame for this on the Central Committee. On March 19, it issued a statement calling on the bourgeois government to repel "elements" who were disrupting order in the capital. That day, early in the morning, the Central Committee delegated Moreau as its representative to this newspaper, as well as to the National Printing House. But judging by the rapid pace at which the revolution was developing, this decision was too late. And now the Central Committee is faced with the need to respond to slanderous fabrications. The Committee decided to restore the truth by publishing a report in the same newspaper, which was now entirely under the influence of the revolution. Moreau 40 was entrusted with editing the response . It was necessary to refute the rumors that the murder was committed with the knowledge of the Central Committee, but at the same time not to separate the revolutionary government from the people's thoughts and actions, and to reveal the justice of popular retribution. "The corrupt leaflets and newspapers used by Trochu to force Paris to surrender, the hired scribblers of all the Versailles groups, have united, as in June 1848, against the workers, and do not cease to spit on the National Guard. On the occasion of the murder of generals, they invented a wild legend about a mob tearing corpses apart and trampling them underfoot, " wrote Moreau, denouncing all the nonsense of reactionary fictions. In this statement, he found great propaganda prowess. The report compiled by him went all over the revolutionary press.

Meanwhile, the reaction and its accomplices were preparing new attacks on the people's government.-

36 M. Dommanger. Hommes et choses de la Commune. Marseille. [1937], p. 20.

37 A. Arnoux. Folk History of the Paris Commune, L. 1919, p. 125.

38 "Le Journal offlciel", 20.III.1871.

39 "The Paris Commune of 1871", vol. I, p. 298.

40 E. Lissagare. History of the Paris Commune, St. Petersburg, 1906, p. 122.

41 A. Ollivier. La Commune. P. 1939, p. 160.

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the agency. Taking advantage of the gains of the revolution, bourgeois mayors and deputies declared their "right to power", demanded that the revolutionary capital reconcile with the people who had fled to Versailles, and hindered the holding of elections to the Commune. The Central Committee had to resolve this conflict as well. There were negotiations to be held with mayors and other contenders for government posts. The Central Committee has allocated a special delegation to carry out this responsible mission. Moreau was included in its membership 42 . The Central Committee rejected the claims of the accomplices of Versailles. Moreau also has a great deal of credit for this. Through the official gazette, the Central Committee of the National Guard issued a warning to the reactionaries and their press that repeating the call to sabotage the elections would result in severe punishment.

Moreau enthusiastically accepted the Commune chosen by the people. His signature is placed under the fervent greeting to the Commune on behalf of the Central Committee. Perhaps it is to him that these lines belong: "Citizens! Today we were present at the most grandiose national celebration that we have ever seen... Paris applauded the Revolution. Paris has opened a new page of history and clearly inscribed its name there. Two million free Parisians proclaim a new era to the roar of cannon. " 43 The Central Committee calls on Parisians to rally more closely around the Commune, to boldly and firmly follow the path that leads to the future, to fight for a "World Republic". E. Moreau's initiative is truly remarkable, and his efficiency is enviable. Devoting much of his time and energy to the Government Gazette, he also actively collaborated in P. Grousse's newspaper Novaya Respublika, where, like Grousse, he fiercely exposed the reaction, defending the revolutionary government from the attacks of the bourgeois press: "Who are the robbers that Messrs. Thiers and Picard are trying to intimidate Parisians with? Let them show them to us, let them name at least one fact of disorder during these days of the uprising, which does honor to Paris. We see these "robbers" sitting in the Town Hall for twelve hours without food or drink, while in front of them are cellars overflowing with bottles and food. " 44
From room to room, Moreau writes in the newspaper "Chronicle of the day". There he raises a wide variety of topics, but always directly related to the problems of the revolution. Most often, these are short notes. However, in addition to mentioning the facts, they also contain a clear, warm attitude of the author to what is happening. Moreau transfers everyday phenomena to the soil of the class struggle and thus reveals their true meaning, revealing its essence behind the external form: It is no accident that the shops are closed in the second arrondissement of Paris-this is sabotage of the reaction that makes up the majority of the population of the rich quarters... Moreau consistently expresses a proletarian attitude to the cultural and scientific heritage of the French people: why did classes at the Sorbonne Faculty of Law stop? Don't the professors know that the people struggle with reaction, but they respect science and education?.. He is pleased with the unprecedented manifestation of democracy in the field of culture and art, and he hastens to report that luxurious gardens and parks are open to working people, where previously only noble gentlemen walked... A passionate advocate of the new, he wants the Commune to be resolute to the end in replacing the old bureaucracy - the bureaucracy left over from the empire-with revolutionary cadres: "Why did Bonapartist Taschereau from the National Library refuse to meet with readers? Why is he, who was quite resourceful under the Empire, and now, under the Republic, remains in the post of director? Please, citizens of the Commune, take a broom down the Rue Richelieu! " 45 .

Moreau was aware of the aspirations and moods of the revolutionary people. He can be called one of the ideological inspirers of the Commune, who, in the words of V. I. Lenin, "created with the genius instinct of the awakened masses"; It was not by chance that it was Moreau who headed the Information Bureau at the Ministry of War. He informed the military delegate of the morale of the Parisians. As noted by the communards, Moreau put this case very sensibly. The reports were detailed and were received daily .46 Passionate, enthusiastic, partly subject, like other communards, to overestimation

42 These negotiations are described in detail by E. Lissagaret (see edict op., passim).

43 Cit. by: E. Pierotti. Rapports et decrets de la Commune de Paris. P. 1871, pp. 64 - 66.

44 "La Nouvelle Republique", 19.III.1871.

45 "La Nouvelle Republique", 28 et 31.III.1871.

46 C Daub an. Le Fond de la societe sous la Commune. P. 1873, p. 110.

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of his own strength, Moreau was not right in everything, not always far-sighted. Sometimes he substituted simple faith and hope for the success of the revolution for a deep analysis of events, and sometimes he exaggerated this success, making a single phenomenon a generalization and thereby unwittingly dulling the vigilance of his own and other communards. He believed, for example, that in Versailles itself there might be an uprising of soldiers against Thiers, although the Commune did very little to promote its ideas in that environment. Moreau was convinced that the reaction would receive no reinforcements from the provinces, unless Versailles was followed by officers, but not soldiers .

Moreau's delusions, though sincere, prevented him from meeting the Commune's measures with the proper understanding. This was also reflected in the newspaper "Republican Federation of the National Guard", of which he became the editor. It was not an organ of the communards as a whole, but reflected the line of the CC48 . At the end of April and in May, the views of the Central Committee and the Commune Council on a number of issues differed significantly. Moreau had the right to defend the line of the Central Committee and criticize the Council of the Commune in the press, taking into account that even in the Council itself there were disagreements among the communards. There were substantial reasons for this: it is known that the Commune made several fatal mistakes for it. Thus, internal differences weakened the revolution. But it would also be in no way justified to cover up the wrong steps of the Commune. The absence of a united proletarian party, the absence of a clear program of action - this was the main problem of the Commune and predetermined its downfall.

There is little information about Moreau in the memoir and historical literature, and the first period of his revolutionary activity is covered in more detail. The importance of his work in the Central Committee before the election of the Commune Council is beyond doubt, and the correctness of Moreau's actions is generally recognized here. But then there are discrepancies in the assessment of its role. His adherence to the line of the Central Committee is equated by some almost with opposition to the revolution. So, Moreau is blamed for refusing the opportunity to be elected to the Commune. Meanwhile, his letter to the editorial office of the newspaper "Cry of the People" speaks quite eloquently not about a disregard for trust, but about deep doubts about my right to it: "I am not well known in the ranks of democracy, and therefore before accepting a new appointment, I must prove my involvement in it." 49 For such reasons, Moreau was not the only one who removed his name from the electoral lists. But this did not prevent him from remaining an active fighter of the revolution and an indefatigable herald of its ideas. In May, Moreau collaborates in the newspaper "Free Paris". Here, like Grousse in the New Republic, he chronicles the war under the heading "Battle." He reports on the heroism of the Communards, who fiercely resisted the Versaillese. Moreau shares with readers his thoughts on the future course of military events, notes the successful action of the artillery of the workers of Montmartre and the support of other proletarian districts of Paris50 . On the most difficult days for the Commune, he combines newspaper work with agitation at meetings, participates in the preparation of program documents of the Nicola-des-Champs club 51 .

The Paris Commune inspired not only the organizational and journalistic talent of Edouard Moreau. The revolutionary soil was also beneficial for the development of his literary abilities. Even before the Commune, readers noticed Moreau's talented articles published in literary magazines; they spoke well of his one-act comedy "Needle Point". He was accepted into the Society of Dramatic Writers. Musically gifted, he also wrote compositions on various musical themes.

47 См. "La Nouvelle Republique", 31.III.1871.

48 For the position of E. Moreau in this period, see: M. Shuri. Commune in the heart of Paris, Moscow 1970, pp. 364, 365, 367, etc. Unfortunately, the rich documentary material devoted to E. Moreau is sometimes not accompanied by the author's commentary; the contradictions between the correct theoretical statements of E. Moreau and the fallacy of the position that he took in relation to the Commune Council remain unresolved. The author also blamed E. Moreau for what, in our opinion, should deserve a different assessment: for example, the appeal to the Versailles soldiers during the fighting on the streets of Paris.

49 M. Choury. La Commune au coeur de Paris, p. 224.

50 "Paris libre", 20 et 21.III.1871.

51 "La Revolution politique et sociale", 14.V. 1871; A. I. Molok. Essays on the life and culture of the Paris Commune in 1871, l. 1924, p. 73.

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topics 52 . The revolution then gave a new meaning, a new content to his work. Never before had he felt such a rush of inspiration, such a need to say proud words about Paris, bathed in the bright spring sunlight, about the exultant Parisians who felt truly free for the first time, about the red banners that bloomed the revolutionary capital. Lines were born in his head and formed into stanzas of poems. But more often than not, there was no time to even write them down or think about them, to polish them. Moreau did not publish them, because he hoped that everything was still ahead. When the Commune finally triumphs, when the Versaillese are defeated, he will finish what he started.

However, there was a bloody May ahead. The Versaillese captured Moreau in the midst of barricade fighting. The interrogation lasted no more than a minute. They didn't ask the prisoners anything, not even their names. They only looked at their hands: are there any calluses, are there traces of gunpowder? Moreau was immediately sentenced to death and taken to the Lobo barracks, where mass executions of communards were taking place .53 Moreau's wife followed the convoy. They moved through streets that had once been so festive, but now were strewn with the ashes of fires, drenched in blood, and littered with the bodies of fallen defenders of the Commune... As the barracks gates closed, a double salvo rang out. Edouard Moreau was gone. The executioners did not hear a word of cowardice from him. He was 27 years old at the time. Such a path was taken by a man who, until 1871, kept aloof from politics and who was immediately made a staunch fighter for the rights of the people by the first proletarian revolution in the world.

Charles Amourou is another of the famous heralds of the Paris Commune. When you talk about Pascal Grousse and Edouard Moreau, you can't help but think of Charles Amour - a worker, a blanquist, an active trade unionist. Before the Commune, he was well known among the proletariat as the founder of the hatmakers ' union in Nantes. All his revolutionary activity took place in the ranks of the First International. Since 1864, Amourou lived and worked in Paris, where he participated in all the revolutionary demonstrations directed against the Second Empire, and often attended workers ' meetings. The police tried to persuade him to denounce them, but he resolutely refused to inform the Okhrana about the nature of the discussions that took place in the working-class districts of Paris. This refusal cost him heavy reprisals. He spent more than three years in prison and paid a fine of over 5,000 francs54 .

The commune gave its inspirers the opportunity to communicate most closely and frequently with the masses of the people. Cupid was often seen at meetings of Parisian clubs. "One of the youngest and most popular members of the Commune, he soon became a favorite of the meetings," wrote his contemporary, Jean - Claude d'Amour. Claire. Amura was called one of the brightest speakers. A member of the Commune, G. Lefransay, said that Amourou had "a lively, sharp and piercing word, like a bullet punishing injustice." His pale face and excessive thinness - evidences of a difficult fate - gave Cupid a sad and tired look. But when he spoke of the revolution, when he defended before his comrades the legality and justice of the Commune's most decisive measures against its enemies, his strength was doubled, and all the energy of his youth and the ardent desire to break down the reaction were revealed. In his speeches, revolutionary passion was combined with common sense, with the ability to give the word an irresistible effectiveness and the ability to organize the masses.

On May 14, together with Moreau, he took part in one of the largest popular forums in Paris, formed at the Nicola-des-Champs Club. It was a difficult time for the Commune. Versailles had increased its attacks on Paris and was already planning a decisive assault on the revolutionary citadel. Addressing his fellow citizens, Amourou speaks of the insolent pretensions of the Versailles reaction. He shows that the triumph of reaction would mean war, whereas " if the Commune wins, it will abolish the army... A free Paris will say to Europe: we want peace, we have shed our blood to get rid of tyrants and subjugate them.-

52 Yu. Danilin. Poets of the Paris Commune, Moscow, 1947, pp. 373-414; "Anthology of Poetry of the Paris Commune", Moscow, 1948, p. 20.

53 A. I. Molok. The White Terror in France in 1871, Moscow, 1936, p. 20.

54 "Dictionnaire bibliographique du mouvernent ouvrier francais". Vol. IV. P. 1969, p. 32.

55 J. Clere. Les Hommes de la Commune. P. 1871, pp. 17 - 20.

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warmongers " 56 . Cupid calls for revolutionary vigilance: what Versailles could not achieve by force, he will try to achieve by using spies and traitors.. The speaker recalled the event at Moulin-Saquet, when the Versaillese managed to capture the sleeping National guardsmen and commit a brutal massacre over them: the executioners gouged out their victims ' eyes, cut corpses to pieces with bayonets, and cut open their bellies. "The people are the power behind them," says Amuru. But for it to bear the desired fruit, it requires organization and intransigence in the enemy.

Even in the first days after the victory of the revolution, Amourou went on behalf of TSE to major provincial cities in France to provide support for the Commune there. On March 24, he visited Lyon, then his homeland of Chalabre, and kept in touch with Marseille. Feeling the need for more extensive agitation, he asks the Commune to increase the number of propagandists sent to province 57 . Amourou explains the goals of the communards to the local population, and inspires Parisians to fight with an example. He sends a dispatch to Paris, which was immediately published by the capital's revolutionary newspapers: "We arrived in Lyon and immediately went to the Town Hall, appeared on the balcony to the applause of 20 thousand citizens. 18 battalions out of 24 enthusiastically joined the 215 battalions of Paris. Not a single drop of blood was spilled due to the measures taken. The Versailles government is no longer recognized here. " 58 However, this mission was not carried out successfully enough. Amour, like the other Paris delegates, did not take care to draw the entire army to the side of the rebels, did not mobilize the masses to capture strategically important points. At that time, no one wanted to think that the revolutionary centers, and then Paris, would be attacked by the Versailles reaction .59
On his return to Paris, Amourou was elected a member of the Commune Council, and on April 11 became its secretary. "The duties of the secretary did not prevent him from actively interfering in all discussions," Zh. Claire. This author, who was far from sympathetic to the Commune, tries to belittle the role of Amur and speaks of his lack of education, which allegedly did not allow him to rise "above the general level." But the facts do not show us the ordinary role and personality of Amur. The power of propaganda for the Commune's ideas largely depended on him. He prepared official documents and reports of Council meetings for publication in newspapers. This painstaking work, which was large in scope and often lasted until late in the evening, required great physical exertion and a sense of political vigilance that was not dulled: Amuru had to exclude from the report everything that the enemy could use and that would give food to reactionary propaganda.

Only in May, the Commune appointed journalists A. Arnoux and O. Vermorel, and then P. Vezinier, to help Amur. But even then Amour remained the "workhorse of the secretariat," as his fellow communists called him. Realizing the enormous role of the press in fostering the morale of the communards and their ability to fight back against reaction, Amourou tried to mobilize all the resources of the revolutionary newspapers. He was engaged in forwarding to the provinces and abroad of the central newspaper "Government Bulletin" 60 . He is known for criticizing this organ of the Commune for the lightness of a number of materials published there. Amuru took care of the circulation of the newspaper, its distribution and efficiency of publication. He was one of the few who insisted on the need to nationalize the newspaper, which, obviously, would bring the transfer of other periodicals to the state closer. But the Communards did not dare to take this correct and necessary step.

While supporting the young revolutionary press, Amuru saw that its development was hindered by the freedom of action of the bourgeois and reactionary press. In April, when the issue of hostile newspapers is once again put on the agenda of the Commune Council, Amour also takes the floor. He would like to demand an unconditional ban on all Versailles publications. But Amuru is afraid to give his enemies a reason for even more slander

56 "La Revolution politique et sociale", numero special, 16.V. 1871.

57 M. Choury. Op. cit., p. 239.

58 "La Nouvelle Republique", 28.III.1871.

59 A. Olivesi. La Commune de 1871 a Marseille et ses origines. P. 1950, pp. 142 - 145.

60 M. Choury. Op. cit., p. 250.

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to the Commune. It takes into account that many members of the Council did not approve the first decrees passed against the opposition press. And then Amur offers a compromise: let them decree the closure of all newspapers, without exception, except for the official "Government Bulletin". It is clear that in such a decision the Commune would lose a particle of its power - its printing assistants. It was a difficult situation. The proposal to Amur was not accepted, but the truly revolutionary measures were postponed for another month.

In April, when the situation of the Commune became more difficult, as the threat from Versailles grew, Amourou supported the demand for secret meetings of the Commune. He defended this necessity in response to the reproach of Vermorel, the editor of the newspaper "Friend of the People", who did not understand the disastrous consequences of publicizing all the actions of the Commune. Amourou voted for the most energetic measures, approved the creation of the Committee of Public Safety, which many communards did not want to recognize, for fear of replacing the collective leadership in defense affairs with the "dictatorship" of committee members. He believed that it was necessary to occupy the bank with armed forces in order to eliminate this stronghold of reaction. Irreconcilable to the enemy, smashing him with a merciless word of revolutionary propaganda, an orator capable of leading the masses, Amour was at the same time very tactful towards his comrades, attentive to his interlocutors, and patient in friendly discussions. He was one of those communards who in everyday life remained typical Puritans, ready to go to any hardships if the revolution demanded it.

Devoted to the revolution to the end, Amuru defended it with weapons in his hands during the bloody May week, and was wounded. He was tried three times and then sentenced to hard labor for life and exile in remote New Caledonia. 61
An active propagandist of the Commune's ideas, Amourou wanted future revolutionaries to know the truth about its life and struggle. It is to him that we owe the preservation of a priceless relic and the most important source of studying the heritage of communards - the minutes of meetings of the Commune Council-for history and for subsequent generations. While the fires and outrages of reaction destroyed many of the Commune's documents, this record of its thoughts, doubts, discoveries and achievements was safely hidden on behalf of Amur by Municipal Councilor G. Mayer. Leaving his homeland, Amuru did not feel despair and doubt. There was hope in his future gaze: "The commune is defeated, but not defeated!"

The belief in the immortality of the Commune's ideas was fought and lost by its defenders. They were not mistaken in their work, in the purpose of their life, in their faith. "The principles of the Commune are eternal and cannot be destroyed...", the leader of the world proletariat Karl Marx prophetically said about it .62 A century later, the Communards are still close and dear to us as one of the first fighters for the dictatorship of the proletariat.

61 A. I. Molok. White Terror..., p. 42.

62 K. Marx and F. Engels, Soch. Vol. 17, p. 629.

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