Otto Bernhard Grimlund (30 December 1893 – 15 September 1969) was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

Communist politician. Originally a member of the Swedish Social Democratic Party he joined the revolutionary left-wing in the party split of 1917 and represented the Swedish Social Democratic Left Party at the founding of the

Communist International The Communist International (Comintern), also known as the Third International, was a Soviet-controlled international organization founded in 1919 that advocated world communism. The Comintern resolved at its Second Congress to "struggle by ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

in 1919. Together with the Swiss Socialist

Fritz Platten Fritz Platten (8 July 1883 – 22 April 1942) was a Swiss communist politician and one of the founders of the Communist International. Early life Platten was born in the village of Tablat, now part of St. Gallen, on 8 July 1883, to and Old Cathol ...

, Otto Grimlund had been the main organizer of

Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1 ...

’s 1917 trip from the exile in Switzerland, through

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and Sweden, back to

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

. Grimlund was in the leadership of the Swedish Communist Party from 1918 to 1925, and living in

for many years, he was in the leadership of the Comintern. But he moved from the Soviet Union and left the party after the rise of Stalinism in Russia. Grimlund rejoined the Social Democratic Party around 1930. Condemning Stalinism, Grimlund called himself a Communist all his life, and kept a signed photograph of

on the wall in his office. Grimlund was key to Lenin's arrival in Russia.

References

1893 births 1969 deaths Swedish communists Executive Committee of the Communist International {{Sweden-politician-stub