Deciphering "revolutionary gimnastics": the genealogy of Juan García Oliver's anarcho-Bolshevik armed struggle (1917-36)

Authors

  • Chris Ealham Saint Louis University, Campus Madrid

Keywords:

Insurrectionism, anarcho-Bolshevism, CNT, armed struggle, anarcho-syndicalism

Abstract

The main aim of this paper is to analyse the genealogy of anarcho-syndicalist insurrectionalism after the Russian Revolution and the origins of anarcho-Bolshevism in Spain. Through a more precise understanding of insurrectionalism we can demystify the history of anarcho-syndicalism and the libertarian movement, since, to date, the origins of anarcho-syndicalist armed politics have been little studied and with insufficient rigour. Here, due importance is given to the role of Alfonso Miguel Martorell in the ideological formation of Juan García Oliver, the individual most identified with the anarcho-Bolshevism and assumed to be the creator of “revolutionary gymnastics”.

Author Biography

Chris Ealham , Saint Louis University, Campus Madrid

He works at the Madrid Campus of Saint Louis University. He is a specialist in the history of the Spanish anarchist and anarcho-syndicalist movements. His books include La lucha por Barcelona: clase, cultura y conflicto, 1898-1937, Madrid: Alianza, 2005 and Vivir la anarquía, vivir la utopía: José Peirats y la historia del anarcosindicalismo español, Madrid: Alianza, 2015. He has published more than 45 articles in academic journals and book chapters in Catalan, English, French, Italian, Russian and Spanish. He is currently preparing a critical biography of Juan García Oliver (under contract with Debate/Random House).

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Published

2024-10-25

Issue

No. 110 (2024)

Section

Estudios