The Founding Congress of the Comintern in 1919 did not elect an Executive Committee, rather it stipulated that an Executive Committee would be formed with representatives of the most important sections, and that other parties joining the International would get their own representatives. The Congress decided that the Executive Committee would elect a five-member bureau to run the daily affairs of the International. However, such a bureau was not constituted and Lenin, Trotsky and Rakovsky later delegated the task of managing the International to Grigory Zinoviev as the Chairman of the Executive. Zinoviev was assisted by Angelica Balbanoff, acting as the secretary of the International, Victor L. Kibaltchitch[1] and Vladmir Ossipovich Mazin.[2] Material was presented by Lenin, Trotsky and Alexandra Kollontai. The main topic of discussion was the difference between "bourgeois democracy" and the "dictatorship of the proletariat".[3] Until the Second Congress in 1920, the composition of the Executive Committee was constantly changing. Attendees of the meetings of the Committee at various times were:

The Second Congress of the Comintern in 1920 elected a full Executive Committee with the following members:

The Executive Committee elected a "Small Bureau” consisting of Bukharin, Kobetsky, Meyer, Rudniansky, and Zinoviev. This Bureau was later englarged to nine with the addition of Bela Kun (Hungary), Rosmer, Wilhelm Koenen (Germany), and Radek.

The Third Congress of the Communist International in 1921 did not elect its Executive Committee, instead it determed that the RCP(b) should be allowed 5 delegates, the 4 parties with 40 votes at the conventions should send 2 delegates, and the 14 other parties with more than 20 votes should send one delegate. Other parties were to have a consultative voice on the committee. Zinoviev remained as the Chairman of the Committee.

The ECCI was consistuted as follows immediately after the Third Congress:

The Committee was also later joined by full members from Japan (Sen Katayama) and Profintern (Alexandr Lozovsky), and consultative members from Australia (Bill Earsman) and South America (José Penelón).

This Executive Committee elected a 8-member Presidium consisting of: Bukharin (Russia), Gennari (Italy), Heckert (Germany), Humbert-Droz (Switzerland), Kun (Hungary), Radek (Poland), Souvarine (France), and Zinoviev (Russia).

The First Enlarged Plenum of ECCI [Feb. 21-March 4, 1922] elected a new 8-member ECCI Presidium consisting of: Bukharin (Russia), Brandler (Germany), Katterfeld (USA), Kreibich (Czechoslovakia), Radek (Russia), Souvarine (France), Terracini (Italy), Zinoviev (Russia), Valetsky (Poland, candidate) and Kuusinen (Finland, candidate).

The Second Enlarged Plenum of ECCI [June 7-11, 1922] elected a ECCI Presidium consisting of: N.I. Bukharin (Russia), Brandler (Germany), Gramsci (Italy), Jordanov (Bulgaria), Radek (Russia), Šmeral (Czechoslovakia), Souvarine (France), Zinoviev (Russia), Jilek (Czechoslovakia, without vote), Leiciagu? (France, without vote), James P. Cannon (USA, candidate) and Otto Kuusinen (Finland, candidate).

The Fourth Congress of the Communist International in 1922 elected the following ECCI, which was nominated as a single list by the Presidium and voted on en bloc:

There was a 12 member Presidium, consisting of Bukharin (Russia), Gennari (Italy), Katayama (Japan), Kolarov (Bulgaria), Kuusinen (Finland), MacManus (Great Britain), Radek (Russia), Shatzkin (Youth), Šmeral (Czechoslovakia), Souvarine (France), Zetkin (Germany) and Zinoviev (Russia), and with H?rnle (Germany), Gramsci (Italy) and Neurath (Czechoslovakia) as candidates.

There was also a 5 member Secretariat, consisting of Kolarov (Bulgaria), Kuusinen (Finland), Piatnitsky (Russia), Rakosi (Hungary), and Stoecker (Germany).

The Third Enlarged Plenum of ECCI [June 12-23, 1923] elected a 13 member ECCI Presidium consisting of Bukharin (Russia), Sen Katayama (Japan), Vasil Kolarov (Bulgaria), Otto Kuusinen (Finland), Arthur MacManus (Great Britain), Neurath (Czechoslovakia), Karl Radek (Poland), Shatzkin (Youth), Boris Souvarine (France), Terracini (Italy), Clara Zetkin (Germany), Zinoviev (Russia) plus one representative of the Scandinavian countries.

There was also a Secretariat. According to Comintern sources it consisted of 3 members (Kolarov (Bulgaria), Neurath (Czechoslovakia), Osip Piatnitsky) and 3 deputy members (Brand, Otto Kuusinen (Finland), Matyas Rakosi (Hungary)). However, other sources dispute this.

  1. ^ Kibaltchitch would later take the name 'Victor Serge'. A former anarchist, he was not even a member of the RCP(b) at the time. In his own words, he considered that it was his knowledge of various European languages that motived his inclusion into the Comintern apparatus. See: Serge, Victor. Memoirs of a Revolutionary.
  2. ^ [1]
  3. ^ Marxist Internet Archive