Boris Yelensky (February 17, 1889-June 18, 1974) was a Russian

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...

propagandist from the early 20th century. Born in Russia in 1889, he participated in the

1905 Revolution The Russian Revolution of 1905,. also known as the First Russian Revolution,. occurred on 22 January 1905, and was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire. The mass unrest was directed again ...

, later migrating to the US, returning to take part in the 1917 Revolution and migrating once more to the US. Once there, he became a prominent figure in the anarchism movement, particularly in the Anarchist Red Cross in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

.Zimmer, Kenyon. "Premature Anti-Communists?: American Anarchism, the Russian Revolution, and Left-Wing Libertarian Anti-Communism, 1917-1939."Labor 6.2 (2009): 45-71.Walter, Nicolas. "Anarchism in Print: yesterday and today." Government and Opposition 5.4 (1970): 523-540.

Life

Early years

Boris Yelensky was born in

Krasnodar Krasnodar (; rus, Краснода́р, p=krəsnɐˈdar; ady, Краснодар), formerly Yekaterinodar (until 1920), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city stands on the Kuban River in southern ...

, Russia in 1889, near Novorosisk on the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...

in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

. Born to a capmaker father, he attended a Russian primary school, and worked for his father as a young boy. His family were

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

, but did not practice

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...

, and Boris did not learn to speak or write

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...

as a child.

Activism

He began reading socialist literature at the age of 12, joining the

Union of Socialists-Revolutionaries Maximalists Union of Socialists-Revolutionaries Maximalists () was a political party in the Russian Empire, a radical wing expelled from the Socialist-Revolutionary Party in 1906. The Union united agrarian terrorists, the 'Moscow Opposition' and other radica ...

and participating in the 1905 botched revolution. Due to repressive pressure (allegedly by the

Ohrana Ohrana ( bg, Охрана, "Protection"; ) were armed collaborationist detachments organized by the former Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO) structures, composed of Bulgarians in Nazi-occupied Greek Macedonia during World War I ...

), he emigrated to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

in 1907, joining the

Union of Russian Workers The Union of Russian Workers in the United States and Canada, commonly known as the "Union of Russian Workers" (Союз Русских Рабочих, ''Soiuz Russkikh Rabochikh)'' was an anarchist political association of Russian emigrants in t ...

and the Radical Library (a branch of the

Workmen's Circle The Workers Circle or Der Arbeter Ring ( yi, דער אַרבעטער־רינג), formerly The Workmen's Circle, is an American Jewish nonprofit organization that promotes social and economic justice, Jewish community and education, including Yiddi ...

) shortly thereafter. With Morris Beresin they were two of the founders of the Black Red Cross. In Philadelphia, he met and married Bessie, who became his lifelong partner. He also learnt English and Yiddish once in America. Travelling to Chicago in 1913, he became the Chicago chapter's secretary of the Anarchist Red Cross until 1917; in May that year he travelled to Russia via Japan-Siberia with other members of ''

Golos Truda ''Golos Truda'' (russian: Голос Труда ''The Voice of Labour'') was a Russian-language anarchist newspaper. Founded by working-class Russian expatriates in New York City in 1911, ''Golos Truda'' shifted to Petrograd during the Russian Re ...

''. Hundreds of anarchists left via that same route to participate in the revolution. He was present during the October Revolution, and active in the factory committee movement in

Novorossijsk Novorossiysk ( rus, Новоросси́йск, p=nəvərɐˈsʲijsk; ady, ЦIэмэз, translit=Chəməz, p=t͡sʼɜmɜz) is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. It is one of the largest ports on the Black Sea. It is one of the few cities hono ...

. During his stay in Russia, he was imprisoned twice. He left Russia with his family in 1922, being banned from the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

in 1923, and deported as a US citizen; he remained secretary of the Russian Political Relief Committee in 1924-1925. Settling in Chicago once more, he led the Chicago Aid Fund for eleven years, from 1925 on, during which time he formed a section of the Relief Fund of the

International Workingmen's Association The International Workingmen's Association (IWA), often called the First International (1864–1876), was an international organisation which aimed at uniting a variety of different left-wing socialist, communist and anarchist groups and trad ...

for Anarchists and Anarcho-Syndicalists Imprisoned and Exiled in Russia. He participated in the new

Free Society ''Free Society'' (1895–1897 as ''The Firebrand''; 1897–1904 as ''Free Society'') was a major Anarchism, anarchist newspaper in the United States at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries."''Free Society'' was the pri ...

, running it until 1957. He was also active in the

Alexander Berkman Alexander Berkman (November 21, 1870June 28, 1936) was a Russian-American anarchist and author. He was a leading member of the anarchist movement in the early 20th century, famous for both his political activism and his writing. B ...

Aid Fund from 1936 to 1957, serving as its secretary general. Yelensky also ran several committees initiated by the former organizations, such as the Maximoff Memorial Publication Committee. In 1937, he organized the 50th anniversary memorial of the

Haymarket affair The Haymarket affair, also known as the Haymarket massacre, the Haymarket riot, the Haymarket Square riot, or the Haymarket Incident, was the aftermath of a bombing that took place at a labor demonstration on May 4, 1886, at Haymarket Square (C ...

. When the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

broke out, he raised funds for the CNT-FAI through Maximiliano Olay's intermediation.Boscà, Martí, José Vicente, and Antonio Rey González. "El viaje de Félix Martí Ibáñez a Norteamérica en busca de apoyos internacionales. Agosto–diciembre, 1938."Goldman, Emma. Vision on Fire: Emma Goldman on the Spanish Revolution. AK Press, 2006. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and immediately afterwards, he offered assistance to victims of the war through his European contacts, sending parcels through CARE. Yelensky wrote proficiently, and the

International Institute of Social History The International Institute of Social History (IISH/IISG) is one of the largest archives of labor and social history in the world. Located in Amsterdam, its one million volumes and 2,300 archival collections include the papers of major figur ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

now houses his complete archive, including articles he wrote under his

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

Berl Kavkazer.

Death

In 1959, he moved with his wife to

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, becoming secretary of the Simon Farber Memorial Fund. He died of cancer in June, 1974. He is interred in the

German Waldheim Cemetery Forest Home Cemetery is at 863 S. DesPlaines Ave, Forest Park, Illinois, adjacent to the Eisenhower Expressway, straddling the Des Plaines River in Cook County, just west of Chicago. The cemetery traces its history to two adjacent cemeteries, G ...

, close to where Harry Kelly and other prominent anarchists are buried.

Publications

Boris Yalensky published a series of texts during his lifetime, including in publications ''Golos Truzhenika'' (Chicago, 1918-1927), '' Delo Truda Probuzhdenie'' (New York, 1940-1963), ''

Freie Arbeiter Stimme ''Freie Arbeiter Stimme'' ( yi, פֿרייע אַרבעטער שטימע, romanized: ''Fraye arbeṭer shṭime'', ''lit.'' 'Free Voice of Labor') was a Yiddish-language anarchist newspaper published from New York City's Lower East Side between ...

'' (New york, 1890-1977), ''Dos Fraye Vort'', ''

Industrial Worker The ''Industrial Worker'', "the voice of revolutionary industrial unionism", is the magazine of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). It is currently released quarterly. The publication is printed and edited by union labor, and is frequently ...

'', ''Freedom'' (New York, 1919) and '' The Match!'' (Tucson, 1969-). However, he is most notable for two works: his published letters, the ''Boris Yelensky papers, 1939-1975'', which consists of a series of letters (including to

Lucy Parsons Lucy Eldine Gonzalez Parsons (born Lucia Carter; 1851 – March 7, 1942) was an American labor organizer, radical socialist and anarcho-communist. She is remembered as a powerful orator. Parsons entered the radical movement following her marriag ...

), essays, novels, and memoirs, including photographs;Maximoff, Gregori Petrovich. Syndicalists in the Russian Revolution. South London DAM-IWA, 1985.Maximoff, Grigorii Petrovich. "The guillotine at work." Twenty Years Terror in Russia (1940). and ''In the Struggle for Equality'', a history of the Anarchist Red Cross.Yelensky, Boris. "In the Struggle for Equality." (1958).

References

External links

Access to Yelensky's PapersHistory of the Anarchist Red Cross by Boris YelenskyIn the Social Storm: Memoirs of the Russian Revolution by Boris YelenskyBoris Yelensky's memoirs of the Russian Revolution condensed into one siteThe Struggle for Equality full versionBoris Yelensky Papers on the IISH
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yelensky, Boris 1889 births 1974 deaths American anarchists American people of Russian-Jewish descent Russian anarchists Print journalists Anarchist writers Jewish anarchists Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States