Alexandra Kollontai - the Russian Revolutionary

The Russian revolutionary, Alexandra Kollontai, and the assessment of her contribution to the political and social life of Russia began in March 19 1872; Alexandra Mikhailovna Kollontai was born into an aristocratic family on in St. Petersburg. Her father, Mikhail Domontovich, was a general in the Imperial Russian Army. Her mother, Alexandra Domontovich, was the daughter of a Finnish wood merchant and dairyman. She had three children from her earlier marriage. The starting point for Kollontai’s future ideas was planted by her parents. Her mother had been no more than a peasant; her father from Russia’s landed class. To cross such distinctive class lines was scandalous enough at the time, but additionally Kollontai’s mother had to divorce her previously arranged marriage in order to marry Mikhail. Kollontai later wrote in amazement at the unconventionality of her parents’ marriage which significantly serves her future roles.

She was situated at home and spent plenty of time playing with the local children as well as developing compassion for the peasants. She spent her childhood mastering English, German and French. She acquired early fluency in the language that served the revolutionary movement well and led her to a career as a soviet diplomat. Before the beginning of her political work, at the age of 20 Kollontai married her cousin, Vladimir Kollontai. Her parents disliked the relationship and sent Alexandra on a tour of Western Europe in hopes that she would forget about Vladimir, but their relationship remained and went on to marry in 1893.Alexandra became pregnant soon after her marriage and brought her a son, Mikhail, in 1894.

To Alexandra the marriage with Vladimir was a disappointment; she felt trapped and disliked the domestic life of housewife. She admitted that she ‘married early, partly as a protest against the will of her parents’. She worked towards and played a major role in forcing the Russian socialist movement to organize special work among women and to organize mass movements of working class-women and peasants. Kollontai grew up reading the writings of Marx and Engels, who inspired herself as well as growing number of young people to initiate a change in Russian society. She showed full commitment and dedication to raise awareness of the struggles of the working class as well as the struggles of women.

By 1896 she was actively involved in a textiles workers strike, by distributing leaflets and organizing strike funds. It was at that time were she came to see the harsh reality of the system and the desperate need for a transformation. She involved herself in to more political activities for Russia’s Marxist Social Democratic Party. Her publication of articles on education and Marxism drew attention to Lenin. In 1915 she becomes a Bolshevik and writes ‘Who Needs War’ which expresses the socialist hatred of war and nationalism. Kollontai was a constant agitator for revolution in Russia