Isidora Dolores Ibárruri Gómez (; 9 December 189512 November 1989), also known as ("the passionate one" or

Passion flower ''Passiflora'', known also as the passion flowers or passion vines, is a genus of about 550 species of flowering plants, the type genus of the family Passifloraceae. ''Passiflora'' species are widely cultivated for their striking flowers, fla ...

"), was a Spanish Republican politician during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

(1936–1939) and a

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

. She is renowned for her slogan ''¡No Pasarán!'' (" They shall not pass!"), which she issued during the Battle for Madrid in November 1936. Ibárruri joined the Spanish Communist Party () when it was founded in 1920. In the 1930s, she became a writer for the

Communist Party of Spain The Communist Party of Spain (; PCE) is a communist party that, since 1986, has been part of the United Left coalition, which is currently part of Sumar. Two of its politicians are Spanish government ministers: Yolanda Díaz (Minister of L ...

(PCE) publication ''

Mundo Obrero ''Mundo Obrero'' (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Workers World'') is the periodical of the Communist Party of Spain (main), Communist Party of Spain (PCE). The paper is based in Madrid, Spain. History and profile ''Mundo Obrero'' was first publishe ...

,'' and in February 1936, she was elected to the

Cortes Generales The (; ) are the Bicameralism, bicameral legislative chambers of Spain, consisting of the Congress of Deputies (the lower house) and the Senate of Spain, Senate (the upper house). The Congress of Deputies meets in the Palacio de las Cortes, ...

as a PCE deputy for

Asturias Asturias (; ; ) officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensive with the provinces of Spain, province of Asturias and contains some of the territory t ...

. After going into exile from Spain towards the end of the Civil War in 1939, she became General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Spain, a position she held from 1942 to 1960. The Party then named her honorary president of the PCE, a post she held for the rest of her life. Upon her return to Spain in 1977, she was re-elected as a deputy to the Cortes for the same region she had represented from 1936 to 1939 under the

Spanish Second Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of democratic government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931 after the deposition of King Alfonso XIII. It was dissol ...

Biography

Dolores Ibárruri was born in 1895 as the eighth of eleven children. She had a

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

miner father and a Castilian mother. She grew up in Gallarta but later moved to Somorrostro (

Biscay Biscay ( ; ; ), is a province of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Autonomous Community, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the Bay of Biscay, eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilb ...

). Gallarta was adjacent to a large

siderite Siderite is a mineral composed of iron(II) carbonate (FeCO3). Its name comes from the Ancient Greek word (), meaning "iron". A valuable iron ore, it consists of 48% iron and lacks sulfur and phosphorus. Zinc, magnesium, and manganese commonly ...

mine. Ibárruri left school at 15 after spending two years preparing for teachers' college at the encouragement of her schoolmistress. Her parents could not afford further education, so she went to work as a

seamstress A dressmaker, also known as a seamstress, is a person who makes clothing for women, such as dresses, blouses, and evening gowns. Dressmakers were historically known as mantua-makers, and are also known as a modiste or fabrician. Notable d ...

and later as a housemaid. She became a waitress in the town of Arboleda, the most important urban nucleus in the region of Somorrostro. There, she met Julián Ruiz Gabiña, a union activist and founder of the

Socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

Youth of Somorrostro. They married in late 1915, two years after the birth of their first child.Fallece Julián Ruiz, marido de "La Pasionaria"
''La Vanguardia Española''. August 5, 1977, p. 10. The young couple participated in the general strike of 1917, which led to the imprisonment of Ruiz. During this time, Ibárruri spent nights reading the works of

Karl Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...

Engels Friedrich Engels ( ;"Engels"
''

Holy Week Holy Week () commemorates the seven days leading up to Easter. It begins with the commemoration of Triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, marks the betrayal of Jesus on Spy Wednesday (Holy Wednes ...

and focused on

religious Religion is a range of social- cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relate humanity to supernatural ...

hypocrisy Hypocrisy is the practice of feigning to be what one is not or to believe what one does not. The word "hypocrisy" entered the English language ''c.'' 1200 with the meaning "the sin of pretending to virtue or goodness". Today, "hypocrisy" ofte ...

, contrasting with the

Passion of Christ The Passion (from latin language, Latin , "to suffer, bear, endure") is the short final period before the death of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, described in the four canonical gospels. It is commemorated in Christianity every year during Holy ...

. Because of the article's theme and timing, she signed it with the alias Pasionaria.La presidenta del PCE, Dolores Ibárruri, "La Pasionaria," falleció a los 93 años
'' ABC''. November 13, 1989, p. 30. In 1920, Ibárruri and the Workers' Centre joined the newly formed

(PCE), and she was named a member of the Provincial Committee of the Basque Communist Party. After ten years of

grassroots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or continent movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from volunteers at the local level to imp ...

militancy The English word ''militant'' is both an adjective and a noun, and it is generally used to mean vigorously active, combative and/or aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant reformers". It comes from the 15th century Lat ...

, she was appointed to the Central Committee of the PCE in 1930.Lorenzo Peña:
Nota Biográfica de La Pasionaria
España Roja. During this time, Ibárruri had six children. Of her five daughters, four died very young. She "used to relate how her husband made a small coffin out of a crate of fruit."Irene Falcon confidante of La Pasionaria as quoted by newspaperwoman Pilar Urbano in:
'A Dolores y a Carrillo, Stalin les llamó "izquierdistas"'
" ''El Mundo''. December 10, 1995. Her son, Rubén, died at twenty-two during the

Battle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad ; see . rus, links=on, Сталинградская битва, r=Stalingradskaya bitva, p=stəlʲɪnˈɡratskəjə ˈbʲitvə. (17 July 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II, ...

. The remaining child, Amaya Ruiz Ibárruri, outlived her mother. She was married to

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

's adopted son, Artyom Sergeyev. In 2008, Amaya resided in the

working-class The working class is a subset of employees who are compensated with wage or salary-based contracts, whose exact membership varies from definition to definition. Members of the working class rely primarily upon earnings from wage labour. Most c ...

neighbourhood of

Ciudad Lineal Ciudad Lineal (, "Linear City") is one of 21 district of Madrid, districts of Madrid, Spain. Geography Wards The district is administratively divided into nine wards: * Atalaya (Madrid), Atalaya * Colina (Madrid), Colina * Concepción (Ma ...

in Madrid. She died in 2018 at the age of 95.

In Madrid (1931–1936)

With the advent of the Second Republic in 1931, Ibárruri moved to

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

and became the editor of the PCE newspaper . She was arrested for the first time in September 1931. Jailed with common offenders, she persuaded them to begin a

hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance where participants fasting, fast as an act of political protest, usually with the objective of achieving a specific goal, such as a policy change. Hunger strikers that do not take fluids are ...

to secure freedom for political detainees. Following a second arrest in March 1932, she led other inmates in singing "

The Internationale "The Internationale" is an international anthem that has been adopted as the anthem of various anarchist, communist, socialist, democratic socialist, and social democratic movements. It has been a standard of the socialist movement since ...

" in the visiting room and encouraged them to reject poorly paid menial labor in the prison yard. She wrote two articles from jail: one published by the PCE periodical and the other by . On 17 March 1932, she was elected to the Central Committee of the PCE at the 4th Congress held in Seville. In 1933, Ibárruri founded , a women's organisation opposed to Fascism and war. On 18 April,

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

astronomer

Grigory Neujmin Grigory Nikolayevich Neujmin (; – 17 December 1946) was a Georgian–Russian astronomer, native of Tbilisi in Georgia (country), Georgia, and a discoverer of numerous minor planets as well as 6 periodic comet, periodic and a List of hyperbolic ...

discovered

asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet—an object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified comet—that orbits within the Solar System#Inner Solar System, inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter (Trojan asteroids). As ...

1933 HA and named it " Dolores" in her honour. In November, she travelled to

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

as a delegate of the 13th Plenum of the

Executive Committee of the Communist International The Executive Committee of the Communist International, commonly known by its acronym, ECCI (Russian acronym ИККИ - for ), was the governing authority of the Comintern between the World Congresses of that body. The ECCI, established by the Fo ...

(ECCI), which assessed the dangers posed by fascism and the threat of war. The sight of the Russian capital thrilled Ibárruri. "To me, who saw it through the eyes of the

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

", she wrote in her autobiography, "it was the most wonderful city on earth. The construction of

socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

was being managed from it. In it were taking shape the earthly dreams of freedom of generations of

slave Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

s, outcasts,

serf Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery. It developed du ...

s, and

proletarians The proletariat (; ) is the social class of wage labor, wage-earners, those members of a society whose possession of significant Value (economics), economic value is their labour power (their capacity to work). A member of such a class is a pro ...

. From it one could take in and perceive the march of humanity toward communism."Dolores Ibárruri, María Carmen García-Nieto París, María José Capellín Corrada. ''El único camino''. Madrid: Editorial Castalia, 1992. She did not return to Spain until the new year. In 1934, she attended the First World Meeting of Women against War and

Fascism Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...

() in Paris. Although the meeting was chaired by Gabrielle Duchêne, president of the French branch of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, the separate was an organ of the short-lived French Popular Front. Both the and the Front dissolved in 1939. Toward the end of 1934, Ibárruri and two others spearheaded a risky rescue mission to the mining region of

to bring more than a hundred starving children to Madrid. The parents of these children had been jailed following the failed

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

, which was suppressed by General Franco at the behest of the Republican government. Ibárruri succeeded in her mission but was briefly detained in the prisons of Sama de Langreo and

Oviedo Oviedo () or Uviéu (Asturian language, Asturian: ) is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain and the administrative and commercial centre of the region. It is also the name of the municipality that contains th ...

. To spare her children further anguish, she sent them to the Soviet Union in the spring of 1935. In 1935, she secretly crossed the Spanish border to attend the 7th World Congress of the

Communist International The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern and also known as the Third International, was a political international which existed from 1919 to 1943 and advocated world communism. Emerging from the collapse of the Second Internationa ...

, held from 25 July to 21 August in Moscow. At this Congress,

Georgi Dimitrov Georgi Dimitrov Mihaylov (; ) also known as Georgiy Mihaylovich Dimitrov (; 18 June 1882 – 2 July 1949), was a Bulgarian communist politician who served as General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party from 1933 t ...

delivered a keynote speech proposing an alliance with "progressive

bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and Aristocracy (class), aristocracy. They are tradition ...

" governments against the

fascist Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...

s. Under this

doctrine Doctrine (from , meaning 'teaching, instruction') is a codification (law), codification of beliefs or a body of teacher, teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a ...

, the Popular Front would come to power in France in June 1936. Ibárruri welcomed Dimitrov's speech as a vindication of the PCE's long-standing position and returned home "full of enthusiasm, determined to do the impossible to achieve a consensus among the various workers' and democratic organisations of our country." At the same Congress, she was elected a deputy member of the ECCI and became the second prominent Communist figure in Spain after José Díaz, the secretary-general of the PCE. In 1936, Ibárruri was jailed for the fourth time after enduring severe abuse from the arresting officers in Madrid. Upon her release, she went to Asturias to campaign for the PCE in the general elections held on 16 February. In these elections, 323,310 ballots were cast. However, "one ballot, one vote" did not apply; each voter could choose up to 13 candidates simultaneously. The PCE received 170,497 votes, enough to secure one seat in Parliament for Dolores Ibárruri. The Popular Front's election platform included the release of political prisoners, and La Pasionaria set out to free the detainees in Oviedo immediately.

As soon as the victory of the Popular Front in the elections became known I, already an elect member of Parliament, showed up at the prison of Oviedo the next morning, went to the office of the Director, who had fled in a mad panic because he had behaved like a genuine criminal toward the Asturian prisoners interned after the revolution of October 1934, and there I found the Administrator to whom I said, "Give me the keys because the prisoners must be released this very day." He replied, "I have not received any orders", and I answered, "I am a member of the Republic's Parliament, and I demand that you hand over the keys immediately to set the prisoners free." He handed them over and I assure you that it was the most thrilling day of my activist life, opening the cells and shouting, "Comrades, everyone get out!" Truly thrilling. I did not wait for Parliament to sit or for the release order to be given. I reasoned, "We have run on the promise of freedom for the prisoners of the revolution of 1934—we won—today the prisoners go free."

In the months before the Spanish Civil War, she joined the strikers at the Cadavio mine in Asturias and stood beside poor tenants evicted from a suburb of Madrid. Around this time,

Federico García Lorca Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936) was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27, a g ...

, La Pasionaria, and friends were chatting and sharing a coffee in a Madrid café when Lorca, who had been observing Ibárruri's appearance, told her, "Dolores, you are a woman of grief, of sorrows... I'm going to write you a poem."Dolores Ibárruri. ''Me faltaba España, 1939–1977''. Barcelona: Editorial Planeta, 1984. The poet returned to Granada and met his death at the hands of the

Nationalists Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, Id ...

before completing the task.

Spanish Civil War (1936–1939)

Ibárruri delivered a series of speeches, some of which were radio broadcasts from Madrid: "Danger! To Arms!" (19 July), "Our Fighters Must Lack for Nothing!" (24 July), "Discipline, Composure, Vigilance!" (29 July), "Restrain the Hand of the Foreign Meddlers!" (30 July), "Fascism Shall Not Pass!" (24 August), "Better to Die Standing Up Than to Live Kneeling Down!" (3 September), "A Salute to Our Militia Women on the Front Line" (4 September), and "Our Battle Cry Has Been Heard by the Whole World" (15 September). It can be inferred that the majority in Madrid rallied to the Republic's side, that uncontrolled elements roamed the capital and many rounds of gunfire were wasted out of nerves (29 July), that Nationalist propaganda was more effective (30 July), and that she recognised early on that the war would be lost without foreign aid (24 August). On 2 October, she wrote a revealing letter to her son in Russia, apologising for not having written earlier and describing the harrowing situation: "You cannot even imagine, my son, how savage is the struggle going on in Spain now... Fighting is going on daily and round the clock. And in this fighting, some of our finest and bravest comrades have perished." She recounted spending many days beside the troops at the front and expressed her concerns about the war's outcome: "It is my hope that in spite of all the difficulties, particularly the lack of weapons, we shall still win." The war became particularly brutal in 1937. Just as

the Blitz The Blitz (English: "flash") was a Nazi Germany, German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom, for eight months, from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941, during the Second World War. Towards the end of the Battle of Britain in 1940, a co ...

later drove the Allies to bomb German cities mercilessly, the

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

bombardment of open cities spurred Ibárruri (then the newly named fourth vice president of Congress) to demand an equal response from the "progressive bourgeois" government. President

Manuel Azaña Manuel Azaña Díaz (; 10 January 1880 – 3 November 1940) was a Spanish politician who served as Prime Minister of Spain, Prime Minister of the Second Spanish Republic (1931–1933 and 1936), organizer of the Popular Front in 1935 and the la ...

, an

intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and Human self-reflection, reflection about the nature of reality, especially the nature of society and proposed solutions for its normative problems. Coming from the wor ...

and writer, was unwilling to flout

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

al or

international law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...

s, while Prime Minister

Francisco Largo Caballero Francisco Largo Caballero (15 October 1869 – 23 March 1946) was a Spanish politician and trade unionist who served as the prime minister of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. He was one of the historic leaders of the ...

, a socialist, was reluctant to cooperate with the PCE. The closing lines of her speech signalled her readiness to endorse radical violence. On 24 February, Stalin forbade the sending of Soviet volunteers to fight in Spain, but he did not recall Alexander Orlov, an

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

awardee from the

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...

(secret police). Orlov and the NKVD orchestrated the

May Days The May Days (, ), sometimes also called May Events (, ), were a series of clashes between 3 and 8 May 1937 during which factions on the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republican side of the Spanish Civil War engaged one another in str ...

, the conflict that erupted between 3 and 8 May in Barcelona between the Popular Front and the Trotskyist Workers' Party of Marxist Unification (

POUM The Workers' Party of Marxist Unification (, POUM; , POUM) was a Spanish communist party formed during the Second Spanish Republic, Second Republic and mainly active around the Spanish Civil War. It was formed by the fusion of the Trotskyism, Tro ...

). The battle resulted in approximately 1,000 fighters being killed and 1,500 injured, though estimates vary. Following the suppression of the POUM, any possibility of Spain serving as a refuge for Leon Trotsky was eliminated. Orlov employed the same methods of terror, duplicity, and deception used during the

Great Purge The Great Purge, or the Great Terror (), also known as the Year of '37 () and the Yezhovshchina ( , ), was a political purge in the Soviet Union that took place from 1936 to 1938. After the Assassination of Sergei Kirov, assassination of ...

(1936–1938). As a result of the events from 3 to 8 May in Barcelona, the

Trotskyists Trotskyism (, ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as a ...

and the

Anarchists Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or hierarchy, primarily targeting the state and capitalism. Anarchism advocates for the replacement of the state w ...

came to be seen by Ibárruri as the "

Fascist Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...

enemy within."

When we point out the need of opposing Trotskyism we discover a very strange phenomenon, that voices are raised in its defense in the ranks of certain organizations and among certain circles in certain parties. These voices belong to people who themselves are intoxicated with this
counter-revolutionary A counter-revolutionary or an anti-revolutionary is anyone who opposes or resists a revolution, particularly one who acts after a revolution has occurred, in order to try to overturn it or reverse its course, in full or in part. The adjective "c ...

ideology An ideology is a set of beliefs or values attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely about belief in certain knowledge, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones". Form ...
. The Trotskyists have long been transformed into the agents of Fascism, into the agents of the German
Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...
. We saw this on the ground during the May putsch in Catalonia; we saw this clearly in the disturbances that occurred in various other places. And everybody will realize this when the trial opens against the
POUM The Workers' Party of Marxist Unification (, POUM; , POUM) was a Spanish communist party formed during the Second Spanish Republic, Second Republic and mainly active around the Spanish Civil War. It was formed by the fusion of the Trotskyism, Tro ...
. leaders who were caught spying. And we realize that the hand of Fascism is behind every attempt to demoralise our home front, to undermine the authority of the Republic. Therefore it is essential that we wipe out Trotskyism with a firm hand, for Trotskyism is no longer a political option for the working class but an instrument of the counter-revolution. Trotskyism must be rooted out of the
proletarian The proletariat (; ) is the social class of wage-earners, those members of a society whose possession of significant economic value is their labour power (their capacity to work). A member of such a class is a proletarian or a . Marxist philo ...
ranks of our Party as one roots out poisonous weeds. The Trotskyists must be rooted out and disposed of like wild beasts, for otherwise every time our men wish to go on the offensive we will not be able to do so due to lawlessness caused by the Trotskyists in the rear. An end must be put to these traitors once and for all so that our men on the front lines can fight without fear of being stabbed in the back.

Ibárruri attributed the events to an "anarcho-

Trotskyist Trotskyism (, ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as an ...

" attempt to undermine the Republican government on orders from Franco, acting in concert with Adolf Hitler. She claimed the violence was the culmination of an

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

plot that included plans to halt train movement and cut all telegraph and telephone lines. She cited an "order rom the Catalan governmentto its forces to control the telephone building and disarm all people whom they encounter in the streets without proper authorization" as part of the anarchist scheme. She did not cite specific evidence for these claims, which were accepted by many Party members at the time. Later analyses by historians have challenged the validity of these claims. The Communist Party alleged that the anarchist "putsch" was motivated by resentment of the centralized military command sought by the Communists and their allies in Lluís Companys's Catalan government, as well as a desire to seize political power. The anarchists and Trotskyists viewed the events as an attempt by the Communist Party (in close contact with the Stalinist

) to dominate all revolutionary activity and blamed the Communists for

authoritarianism Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and ...

. They contrasted the Communist

police state A police state describes a state whose government institutions exercise an extreme level of control over civil society and liberties. There is typically little or no distinction between the law and the exercise of political power by the exec ...

with the

egalitarian Egalitarianism (; also equalitarianism) is a school of thought within political philosophy that builds on the concept of social equality, prioritizing it for all people. Egalitarian doctrines are generally characterized by the idea that all h ...

conditions that existed prior to the May 1937 events. Ibárruri, Díaz, and the rest of the PCE viewed the Trotskyists as a significant threat and worked to suppress their influence. The remnants of the POUM leadership were put on trial in Barcelona on 11 October 1938. Referring to the arraignments, Ibárruri said: "If there is an adage that says in normal times it is preferable to acquit a hundred guilty ones rather than punish a single innocent one, when the life of a people is in danger, it is better to convict a hundred innocent ones than to acquit a single guilty one." On 30 April 1938, Stalin proposed a military alliance to France and Britain, effectively forsaking the Spanish Republic.

Exile, part I (1939–1960)

On 6 March 1939, she flew out of Spain under enemy naval fire to the major

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

n port city of

Oran Oran () is a major coastal city located in the northwest of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria, after the capital, Algiers, because of its population and commercial, industrial and cultural importance. It is w ...

, then under French sovereignty. Her arrival surprised the authorities, who hurriedly put her aboard a liner bound for

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

. The ship's captain was a Nationalist sympathiser, but a clandestine Communist cell aboard ensured he did not steer the ship towards Nationalist-held Barcelona. This was the third time Ibárruri had evaded capture by the Nationalists. Ibárruri was helped in France by the Communists, who sheltered her in Paris under police surveillance (the Communist Party would be outlawed by the government of

Édouard Daladier Édouard Daladier (; 18 June 1884 – 10 October 1970) was a French Radical Party (France), Radical-Socialist (centre-left) politician, who was the Prime Minister of France in 1933, 1934 and again from 1938 to 1940. he signed the Munich Agreeme ...

on 26 September). From Paris, she travelled to Moscow and stayed there with Díaz, generals

Enrique Líster Enrique Líster Forján (21 April 1907 – 8 December 1994) was a Spanish communist politician and military officer. He participated in the Spanish Civil War as an officer in the People's Army of the Republic and rose to the rank of major gen ...

and Juan Modesto, and others. She was reunited with Amaya and Rubén, who had escaped from a French internment camp at the end of the Spanish Civil War. The Soviet Union received the

refugee A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

s warmly. Ibárruri was given an apartment in Díaz's building and was assigned a chauffeur to drive her around Moscow. She was also invited to dine at the Dimitrovs'. She enjoyed attending performances at the

Bolshoi Theatre The Bolshoi Theatre ( rus, Большо́й теа́тр, r=Bol'shoy teatr, p=bɐlʲˈʂoj tʲɪˈat(ə)r, t=Grand Theater) is a historic opera house in Moscow, Russia, originally designed by architect Joseph Bové. Before the October Revolutio ...

and the Romen Theatre, and was an avid reader. She delighted in witnessing the

emancipation Emancipation generally means to free a person from a previous restraint or legal disability. More broadly, it is also used for efforts to procure Economic, social and cultural rights, economic and social rights, civil and political rights, po ...

of Russian women. She helped other families adapt to their new country and generally felt happy enough to sing on occasion. Ibárruri worked in the

Secretariat at the

Headquarters near the

Kremlin The Moscow Kremlin (also the Kremlin) is a fortified complex in Moscow, Russia. Located in the centre of the country's capital city, the Moscow Kremlin (fortification), Kremlin comprises five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Mosco ...

. Her work involved the continual evaluation, analysis, and discussion of the progress of Communism outside the Soviet Union. This was complemented by internal discussions within the PCE central committee, which focused on Spain. No serious disagreement existed between the

and the

Communist Party of the Soviet Union The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...

until 1968 over the

Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia On 20–21 August 1968, the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was jointly invaded by four fellow Warsaw Pact countries: the Soviet Union, the Polish People's Republic, the People's Republic of Bulgaria, and the Hungarian People's Republic. The ...

. The PCE supported or excused Stalin's domestic and

foreign policies Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...

, including the signing of the

Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, officially the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and also known as the Hitler–Stalin Pact and the Nazi–Soviet Pact, was a non-aggression pact between Nazi Ge ...

on 24 August 1939. In January 1940, La Pasionaria wrote the following praise of

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

: Ibárruri was asked to manage a new

short-wave radio Shortwave radio is radio transmission using radio frequencies in the shortwave bands (SW). There is no official definition of the band range, but it always includes all of the high frequency band (HF), which extends from 3 to 30 MHz (app ...

station that broadcast news, analysis, and opinion to the citizens of

Francoist Spain Francoist Spain (), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (), or Nationalist Spain () was the period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death i ...

. The Moscow station was officially named , but in Spain, it was nicknamed "," ("The Pyrenees one") partly due to the mistaken belief that it was located in the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

and partly because the radio itself used the label occasionally. Radio España Independiente began broadcasting on 22 July 1941, one month after Germany invaded the Soviet Union. Initial broadcasts were made from candle-lit basements under sporadic aerial bombardment. Ibárruri recounted that seniors, women, and children kept watch on the terraces of Moscow every night for incendiary bombs dropped by the

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

. Civilians would pick up the burning sticks with tongs and dunk them in buckets of water. Many Spanish refugees volunteered to fight alongside the Russians despite Stalin's initial disapproval. According to Ibárruri, more than 200 died in battle. On 18 July 1941, she greeted the Spanish 4th Special Unit assigned to the defence of the

. Elsewhere, from

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

to Finland, the Spanish Communist volunteers fought as guerrillas behind enemy lines, in the Red Army, or with the Soviet air force; some made it to Berlin, and at least one scouted territory held by the Spanish Nationalist

Blue Division The 250th Infantry Division (), better known as the Blue Division (, ), was a unit of volunteers from Francoist Spain operating from 1941 to 1943 within the German Army () on the Eastern Front during World War II. It was officially designated t ...

. On 13 October 1941, martial law was declared in Moscow as the German

3rd Panzer Army The 3rd Panzer Army () was a German armoured formation during World War II, formed from the 3rd Panzer Group on 1 January 1942. 3rd Panzer Group The 3rd Panzer Group () was formed on 16 November 1940. It was a constituent part of Army Grou ...

came within 140 kilometres (87 miles) of the capital. On 16 October, the ECCI was evacuated by train from Moscow to Ufa, the capital of

Republic of Bashkortostan Bashkortostan, officially the Republic of Bashkortostan, sometimes also called Bashkiria, is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia between the Volga, Volga river and the Ural Mountains in Eastern Europe. The republic borders Perm Krai to th ...

. Díaz, who was gravely ill, went south to

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

, the capital of the

Georgian Soviet socialist Republic The Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, also known as Soviet Georgia, the Georgian SSR, or simply Georgia, was one of the republics of the Soviet Union from its second occupation (by the Red Army) in 1921 to its independence in 1991. Cotermin ...

. Radio España Independiente now broadcast from Ufa. She used various aliases, such as Antonio de Guevara or Juan de Guernica, presumably to create the impression that the station had an extensive network of commentators and journalists. On 19 March 1942, Díaz committed suicide. La Pasionaria became secretary-general of the PCE after a brief period of consultations with Stalin. On 3 September Ibárruri's son Rubén Ruiz Ibárruri lost his life fighting heroically at Stalingrad. Asteroid 2423 Ibarruri is named in his honour. On 1 March 1943, Stalin established the

Union of Polish Patriots Union of Polish Patriots (''Society of Polish Patriots'', , ZPP, ) was a political body created by Polish communists in the Soviet Union in 1943. The ZPP, unofficially controlled and directed by Joseph Stalin, became one of the founding structur ...

, and on 15 May, the ECCI annulled the

Third International The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern and also known as the Third International, was a political international which existed from 1919 to 1943 and advocated world communism. Emerging from the collapse of the Second Internation ...

and granted

theoretical A theory is a systematic and rational form of abstract thinking about a phenomenon, or the conclusions derived from such thinking. It involves contemplative and logical reasoning, often supported by processes such as observation, experimentation, ...

independence to each national Communist party. Ibárruri agreed with the decision. On 23 February 1945, La Pasionaria left Moscow for a trip to

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

and

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

. In Cairo, she and her party booked passage on the first passenger ship departing from

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

, believing it was bound for

. In fact, the ship, part of a British convoy, headed to

Boulogne-sur-Mer Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...

near the Belgian border. The voyage lasted three months, and she arrived in Paris too late to meet with

Juan Negrín Juan Negrín López (; 3 February 1892 – 12 November 1956) was a Spanish physician and politician who served as prime minister of the Second Spanish Republic. He was a leader of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (, PSOE) and of the le ...

, the last president of the Spanish Republic, to work out a common political strategy against Franco. From 5 to 8 December, the PCE held a central committee plenum in

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

where Santiago Carrillo, the former leader of the Unified Socialist Youth in pre-war Spain who had arrived in liberated France in November 1944, "gained control of the PCE," according to fellow Communist

.Enrique Líster. ''Así destruyó Carrillo el PCE''. Barcelona: Editorial Planeta, 1983. In his book ''Así destruyó Carrillo el PCE'', Líster criticised Ibárruri's conduct between 1939 and 1945, writing: The persecution of dissidents within the PCE increased over time. Interrogations were cruel: "Carrillo and Anton inflicted true terror. Some comrades came to the brink of insanity during the rounds of interrogation, and others were driven to suicide by the despicable accusations made against them." The book lists party members who were betrayed or murdered: Juanchu de Portugalete (1944), Gabriel León Trilla (1945; "the decision to eliminate Trilla belongs to Santiago Carrillo and Dolores Ibárruri"), Jesus Hernandez (1946), Lino (1950), Joan Comorera (1954), Monzon, Quiñones, Luis Montero, and Jose el Valenciano. Even generals Modesto and Líster himself were at one point targeted by the PCE leadership, only to be inadvertently saved by Stalin, who praised them in the presence of Ibárruri, Carrillo, and Anton. During that period the PCE also persecuted members in northwestern Spain. They included Victor Garcia, alias El Brasileño, a local leader in Galicia, and his deputy Teófilo Fernández. Garcia had previously expressed dissatisfaction with the party's exiled leadership and was labelled a provocateur. Party documents showed that he was suspected of being a police informant, but historian Lupe Martínez contends that he had been accused of being in contact with Allied forces in helping downed airmen cross into Portugal from France through Galicia. His planned murder was mentioned as early as 1946, but only conducted in 1948. He was shot in the head in a wooded area in the town of Moalde, after which the regional PCE liaison wrote "At last we have hunted him down. This riffraff withstood us like a leech. We managed to catch him in

Lalín Lalín is a municipality in the north of the province of Pontevedra Pontevedra (, ) is a city in the autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, in northwestern Spain. It is the capital of both the ''Pontevedra (comarca), Comarca'' and ...

, from where he directed certain adventurous, uncontrolled groups. He is a provocateur who has given us many troubles; though belatedly, we have eliminated him." His body was discovered days later and buried in the local cemetery.

The exile, part II (1960–1977)

At the 6th Congress of the PCE, held in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

from 28 to 31 January 1960, 64-year-old Ibárruri ceded the post of secretary-general to Carrillo and accepted the honorary position of president. As confirmation of her retirement from active politics, she wrote her first memoir in 1960. The book, titled ''El Único Camino'' (The Only Way), was first published in Paris in 1962 and subsequently printed in Moscow in 1963. It was translated into English and published in New York in 1966 under a new title. In her second memoir, ''Memorias de Pasionaria, 1939–1977'', Ibárruri notes that the childhood memories recorded in ''El Único Camino'' came to her in vivid detail. On 10 November 1961, Ibárruri was awarded an

honorary Doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

in Historical Sciences by

Moscow State University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public university, public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, a ...

for her contributions to the development of Marxist theory. In her acceptance speech, she asserted that

class struggle In political science, the term class conflict, class struggle, or class war refers to the economic antagonism and political tension that exist among social classes because of clashing interests, competition for limited resources, and inequali ...

is the motor of history. In 1962, she attended the 10th Congress of the

Italian Communist Party The Italian Communist Party (, PCI) was a communist and democratic socialist political party in Italy. It was established in Livorno as the Communist Party of Italy (, PCd'I) on 21 January 1921, when it seceded from the Italian Socialist Part ...

, held from 2 to 8 December in Rome, where she met

Socialists Socialism is an economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes the economic, political, and socia ...

, Christian-Democrats, and some church representatives. To the clerics, she remarked, "We are not as wicked as you think, and we are not as good as we probably think we are." During the first few months of 1963, Ibárruri unsuccessfully appealed to the Spanish government to spare the life of executive committee member Julián Grimau. Before his execution, Grimau wrote to Ibárruri, saying, "My execution will be the last one." During the week of 13 May, Ibárruri unveiled a plaque in his honour on Building 11, Block 1, of the newly renamed Grimau Street in Moscow. On 5 December, she arrived in

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution () was the military and political movement that overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, who had ruled Cuba from 1952 to 1959. The revolution began after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état, in which Batista overthrew ...

. Cuban leader Fidel Castro invited Ibárruri to move permanently to the island, but she declined. On 15 April 1964, Ibárruri spoke at the banquet celebrating

Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and the Premier of the Soviet Union, Chai ...

's 70th birthday. On 30 April, she shared the International Lenin Prize for Strengthening Peace Among Peoples, with three others. On 22 February 1965, Ibárruri requested that the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and the Spanish Army, as well as the defence attorney, appear as witnesses at the

court martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the mili ...

of former Republican commander Justo López de la Fuente, who had been condemned to twenty-three years in prison. Everyone expected that he would be sentenced to death. Ibárruri held a press conference in Moscow to publicise these actions. On 27 February, the Captain General of the Madrid region annulled the proceedings. However, the initial sentence remained, and López later died in prison. Sometime in 1965, Ibárruri flew from Paris to

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik, historically known as Ragusa, is a city in southern Dalmatia, Croatia, by the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, a Port, seaport and the centre of the Dubrovni ...

to apologize to

Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito ( ; , ), was a Yugoslavia, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and politician who served in various positions of national leadership from 1943 unti ...

as president of the PCE. On 17 May 1948, the

Cominform The Information Bureau of the Communist and Workers' Parties (), commonly known as Cominform (), was a co-ordination body of Marxist–Leninist communist parties in Europe which existed from 1947 to 1956. Formed in the wake of the dissolution ...

, successor to the ECCI, had expelled

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

from the community of Socialist countries, and Ibárruri had supported this censure. The

20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union The 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union () was held during the period 14–25 February 1956. It is known especially for First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev's " Secret Speech", which denounced the personality cult and dictator ...

, held from 14 to 26 February 1956, had repudiated the charges against Yugoslavia. Now, Ibárruri came face to face with the man she had slandered. She began to apologise profusely, but Tito interrupted her, saying, "Do not vex yourself, Dolores, do not worry. I know very well how things worked in those days. I know it perfectly. Furthermore, believe me, I most likely would have done what you did had I been in your situation." Ibárruri returned to visit Yugoslavia several times thereafter. In late December 1965, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR awarded Ibárruri the

medal. Between 1930 and 1991, a total of 431,418 decorations were given out, but only seventeen were awarded to foreigners. Ibárruri chaired the editorial commission that wrote the four volumes of ''Guerra y revolución en España, 1936–1939'' (War and Revolution in Spain, 1936–1939), which present the PCE's view of the Spanish Civil War. The volumes were published between 1966 and 1971. 1972 Dolores Ibarruri visiting Bucharest

1972 Dolores Ibarruri visiting Bucharest

On 19 April 1969, former Republican general Juan Modesto died in Prague. Ibárruri delivered a brief eulogy. On 6 May 1970, the Spanish right-wing newspaper ''ABC'' reported that the PCE and the Kremlin had reached a new pact. According to the report, the Spanish party dropped its censure of the

Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia On 20–21 August 1968, the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was jointly invaded by four fellow Warsaw Pact countries: the Soviet Union, the Polish People's Republic, the People's Republic of Bulgaria, and the Hungarian People's Republic. The in ...

in exchange for the Kremlin's blessing on the party's wish to collaborate with non-Communist parties. The newspaper also reported that PCE president Dolores Ibárruri resided permanently in Moscow, while the secretary-general lived in Italy. On 8 November 1972, Ibárruri's estranged husband, 82-year-old Julián Ruiz Gabiña, returned from a workers' clinic in Moscow to Somorrostro, expressing a desire "to rest and die in my land." On 14 March 1974, Ibárruri condemned the execution of 26-year-old Catalan anarchist Salvador Puig Antich on 2 March. She also noted the revolutionary political stance taken by Bishop Antonio Añoveros Ataún of Bilbao, who publicly defended Basque cultural identity and defied Franco's decision to remove him. On 20 November 1975, Spanish dictator Franco died. Ibárruri commented laconically, "May the earth rest lightly upon him." During the week of 17 November, Ibárruri was awarded the Order of the October Revolution. On 14 December, many representatives of Communist parties from around the world gathered in Rome to pay homage to her. The following summer, Ibárruri attended the 3rd Plenary of the Central Committee of the PCE, held 28–31 July 1976 in Rome, under the theme of "national reconciliation." On the night of 24 January 1977, a commando unit of Spanish and Italian neo-Fascists killed three Communist labour-rights attorneys, a law student, and a manager at their law office in downtown Madrid; four others were seriously injured. On 16 February, Ibárruri asked the Spanish authorities in Moscow to allow her to return to Spain. She stated that she had travelled outside the USSR many times, that her profession was a publicist and contributor to newspapers and magazines, that she was the president of the PCE, and that she wanted to travel freely to her own country. On 22 February, the still-illegal PCE announced its list of candidates for the general elections on 15 June. Ibárruri was a candidate in two electoral districts,

and

, to ensure her election; Carrillo appeared in three. Despite a climate of fear and insecurity, the Spanish government legalized the PCE on 9 April, but the authorities denied Ibárruri a visa. On 27 April, Julián Ruiz stated that he would not be at the airport to greet his estranged wife, but added, "Nevertheless, she is the mother of my children, and I wish her health and a peaceful life." The PCE arranged for Ibárruri to land in Madrid with or without a visa on 13 May; however, on 12 May, the authorities relented and provided the visa.

Back in Madrid (1977–1989)

At 2:00 p.m. Moscow time on 13 May 1977, Ibárruri left

Sheremetyevo Airport Sheremetyevo International Airport (, , Internal code: ШРМ) is one of four international airports that serve the city of Moscow. It is the busiest airport in Russia and the post-Soviet states, as well as the ninth-busiest airport in Euro ...

aboard an

Aeroflot PJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines (, ), commonly known as Aeroflot ( or ; , , ), is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Russia. Aeroflot is headquartered in the Central Administrative Okrug, Moscow, with its hub being Sheremetyevo Interna ...

jet after a "very affectionate" send-off from

Boris Ponomarev Boris Nikolayevich Ponomarev (; 17 January 1905 – 21 December 1995) was a Soviet politician, ideologist, historian and member of the Secretariat of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. His patron in his rise to the Politburo was Mikhail ...

Mikhail Suslov Mikhail Andreyevich Suslov (; 25 January 1982) was a Soviet people, Soviet statesman during the Cold War. He served as Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union#Secretariat, Second Secretary of the Communist Party of the Sovi ...

, three other civilians, and Colonel Sergeyev, the husband of Ibárruri's daughter. On the tarmac, a girl in traditional costume offered the departing president of the PCE a bouquet of flowers."La Pasionaria" llegó ayer a Madrid
''La Vanguardia Española''. May 14, 1977, p. 3. At 7:59 p.m. Madrid time, the Aeroflot jetliner landed at Barajas Airport. The PCE did not give her an official welcome, and secretary-general Carrillo was in

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

. Five hundred party members and sympathisers, some waving PCE flags and wearing red berets with a communist insignia, gathered at the airport. They went up to the observation deck to watch and cheer as she landed.Francisco Frechoso and Juan Carlos Escudier:
"Pasionaria," el mito utilizado
" ''El Mundo''. December 10, 1995. Ibárruri then visited the office of the Registrar General of Fuencarral and officially changed her name from Isidora to Dolores. Ibárruri's first campaign rally was held on 23 May at the Exhibition Fairgrounds of

Bilbao Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the Provinces of Spain, province of Biscay and in the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the List o ...

, where she spoke before 30,000 to 50,000 supporters. She acknowledged feeling tired but volunteered to explain the workings of socialist countries, "where the workers can live very well without capitalism." However, the emotion of the day exhausted her, and an evening press conference had to be cancelled. The following day, she spoke at the Suárez Puerta Stadium in

Avilés Avilés (Asturian and ;) is a town in Asturias, Spain. Avilés is, along with Oviedo and Gijón, one of the main cities in the Principality of Asturias. The town occupies the flattest land in the municipality, partially in a land that belonged ...

in front of "many thousands of workers." A 20-year-old eyewitness recalled, "The city wore red. '

' was heard everywhere... the atmosphere, the silence when Pasionaria spoke, the explosion of joy that day, are unforgettable memories." On 25 May, at the presentation of his book ''

Eurocommunism Eurocommunism was a trend in the 1970s and 1980s within various Western European communist parties, which said they had developed a theory and practice of social transformation more relevant for Western Europe. During the Cold War, they sough ...

and the State'', Carrillo told a reporter that Ibárruri reminded him of Pablo Iglesias as he knew him as a child—a sick, elderly man who participated very little in party activities and often remained silent during meetings. On 28 May, Ibárruri spoke in Sama de Langreo, and the right-wing newspaper ''ABC'' admitted that she was drawing "multitudes." On 30 May, she affirmed in

La Felguera La Felguera is a parish of Langreo, and the most important district in the municipality of Langreo ( Principality of Asturias) in northern Spain, with 21,000 inhabitants. It is located 18 minutes by car to Oviedo, the capital of Asturias. La Fel ...

that the same spirit which had motivated her in 1936 continued to drive her in support of the PCE and Asturias. On 8 June, a full house (6,000 people according to ''ABC'', 8,000 according to ''La Vanguardia'') listened to her at the Palacio de los Deportes in

, the capital of Asturias. The following day, she appeared at the national rally of the party held in the neighbouring

province of León León (, ; ; ; ) is a province of northwestern Spain in the northern part of the Region of León and in the northwestern part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. About one quarter of its population of 463,746 (2018) lives in the c ...

. In the general elections held on 15 June, the Oviedo constituency saw 584,061 votes cast, with a voter turnout rate of 74.6%. The PCE received 60,297 votes (10.5% of the total), securing one seat for Dolores Ibárruri. The party with the most votes was the Spanish Workers' Socialist Party (31.8%), while the dictatorship's party,

Falange Española Falange Española (FE; English: Spanish Phalanx) was a Spanish fascist political organization active from 1933 to 1934. History The Falange Española was created on 29 October 1933 as the successor of the Movimiento Español Sindicalista (M ...

, garnered a mere 0.46%. On 13 July at 10:05 a.m., as noted in her memoirs, Ibárruri returned to the Congress chamber she had left forty-one years earlier. Moments later, she took her place in the vice-presidential chair for the inaugural session. The following day, Radio España Independiente aired its final broadcast, number 108,300. On 22 July, the king opened Parliament. Ibárruri participated in the one-minute general standing ovation, though she remained seated. Earlier, as she entered Congress, a 56-year-old man in Falangist uniform gave the Roman salute and heckled her, saying, "Drop dead! If you had any shame, you would not have returned to Spain." On 4 August, 87-year-old Ruiz died in a hospital residence in

Barakaldo Barakaldo (; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality located in the Biscay province in the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country in Spain. Located on the Left Bank (Biscay), Left Bank of the Estuary of Bilbao, the city is pa ...

, and Ibárruri attended his funeral. She traveled to Moscow in October to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

and did not return until 21 November.El P.C.E. de Asturias pide la sustitución de La Pasionaria como diputada
''ABC''. November 22, 1977, p. 14. Her ailing health led to her hospitalization three times during the first nine months after her return. Her age and frail condition prompted the regional branch of the PCE in Asturias to request her retirement and substitution as early as 21 November 1977. However, the central committee argued that her symbolic presence was important, and she served out her full term. On 31 October 1978, she cast a very loud "Yes" vote for the new

Spanish Constitution The Spanish Constitution () is the supreme law of the Kingdom of Spain. It was enacted after its approval in 1978 in a constitutional referendum; it represents the culmination of the Spanish transition to democracy. The current version was a ...

. On 29 December, President

Adolfo Suárez Adolfo Suárez González, 1st Duke of Suárez (; 25 September 1932 – 23 March 2014) was a Spanish lawyer and politician. Suárez was Spain's first democratically elected Prime Minister of Spain, prime minister since the Second Spanish Republi ...

dissolved Congress and called new elections for 1 March 1979. The 84-year-old Ibárruri was not a candidate. Her life, along with that of every Communist, was put in danger on 23 February 1981, when Fascist elements of the Spanish armed forces and paramilitary police staged a coup. Broadly speaking, the remaining years of Ibárruri's life were marked by a series of feminist rallies, political gatherings, congresses of the PSUC and PCE, presiding over meetings of the executive committee, and summer holidays in the Soviet Union. Ibárruri denounced

Enver Hoxha Enver Halil Hoxha ( , ; ; 16 October 190811 April 1985) was an Albanian communist revolutionary and politician who was the leader of People's Socialist Republic of Albania, Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985. He was the Secretary (titl ...

's stance against Khrushchev during the

Sino-Soviet Split The Sino-Soviet split was the gradual worsening of relations between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) during the Cold War. This was primarily caused by divergences that arose from their ...

, describing Hoxha as "a dog that bites the hand that feeds him". Survivors of the

International Brigades The International Brigades () were soldiers recruited and organized by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front (Spain), Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The International Bri ...

came to celebrate her 90th birthday, and the PCE held a party at the Palacio de Deportes in Madrid for 15,000 to 20,000 well-wishers. In October 1987, Ibárruri requested financial assistance from Congress, as she had not contributed to the national social security program and had no pension. Congress granted her a monthly allowance of 150,000 pesetas (approximately $1,250 in

US dollar The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

s at the time). On 13 September 1989, she was hospitalized with severe

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

. Although she recovered and left the hospital on 15 October, she experienced a relapse on 7 November and died on 12 November at age 93. On 14 November, thousands of people paid homage as her body lay on a catafalque. Among those who paid their respects were veterans of the Civil War, war amputees, and the ambassadors of

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

, and China, as well as the mayor of Madrid. On 16 November, a short cortege carried her body from the PCE headquarters to the Plaza de Colón, where Rafael Alberti and Secretary-General Julio Anguita delivered brief eulogies. She was then driven to Almudena Cemetery and interred near the grave of Pablo Iglesias. Thousands attended her funeral and chanted, "They shall not pass!" The mayors of several townships declared four days of official mourning.

Monuments and memorials

Dolores Ibárruri served as inspiration for artist Arthur Dooley, who was commissioned in 1974 by the International Brigade Association of Scotland to create a monument commemorating the 2,100 British volunteers of the International Brigade. These ordinary men and women joined the Republican forces in the

to fight against Franco's regime. The monument’s inscription is dedicated to the 534 volunteers who died in the conflict, including 65 from

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, where the monument is situated. The statue was funded by money raised from Trade Unionists and Labour movement supporters. However, the £3,000 raised was insufficient to cover the artist's plans to cast the statue in bronze. Instead, an armature was welded together from scrap iron and covered in fiberglass. The final version of the monument is a stylized female figure representing Dolores Ibárruri, depicted in a long dress, standing with legs apart and arms raised. On the plinth, Dooley carved Dolores's famous slogan: "Better to die on your feet than live forever on your knees." Originally used by the Mexican revolutionary leader

Emiliano Zapata Emiliano Zapata Salazar (; 8 August 1879 – 10 April 1919) was a Mexican revolutionary. He was a leading figure in the Mexican Revolution of 1910–1920, the main leader of the people's revolution in the Mexican state of Morelos, and the insp ...

, Ibárruri gave the phrase new meaning when she used it during the miners' strike in Asturias, Spain, in 1934. Over time, the B-listed statue fell into extremely poor condition, generating criticism from the public, elected officials, and trade unionists. A restoration project was carried out between April and August 2010, and the monument was re-dedicated on 23 August 2010 by the Leader of the Council, Bailie Gordon Matheson, and the General Secretary of the Scottish Trades Union Congress, Grahame Smith, in the presence of Thomas Watters, 97, a surviving International Brigade veteran. Watters was a veteran of the Scottish Ambulance Unit, which worked on the front lines in Spain to aid wounded fighters and volunteers from around the world. In February 2017, the People's Party of the Basque Country called for a street named after her to be renamed due to her “terrible role in the Spanish Civil War” and her close association with Stalin.

List of works

* ''Dolores Ibárruri: Speeches & Articles 1936–1938'', New York, 1938. * ''El único camino'', Moscow, 1963. (republished in 2023 by Akal with ) * ''Memorias de Dolores Ibarruri, Pasionaria: la lucha y la vida'', Barcelona, 1985. *
They Shall Not Pass: The Autobiography of La Pasionaria
', New York, 1966. * ''Memorias de Pasionaria, 1939–1977: Me faltaba España'', Barcelona, 1984.

In popular culture

The Brazilian punk rock band Blind Pigs included an English-language song about Ibárruri in their 2002 album ''Blind Pigs''. In

Anthony Powell Anthony Dymoke Powell ( ; 21 December 1905 – 28 March 2000) was an English novelist best known for his 12-volume work '' A Dance to the Music of Time'', published between 1951 and 1975. It is on the list of longest novels in English. Powell ...

's novel ''

Casanova's Chinese Restaurant ''Casanova's Chinese Restaurant'' is a novel by Anthony Powell (). It forms the fifth volume of the twelve-volume sequence ''A Dance to the Music of Time'', and was originally published in 1960 Many of the events of the novel were included in th ...

'', Norah and Eleanor have a picture of La Pasionaria on their mantelpiece. In

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway ( ; July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Known for an economical, understated style that influenced later 20th-century writers, he has been romanticized fo ...

's novel ''

For Whom the Bell Tolls ''For Whom the Bell Tolls'' is a novel by Ernest Hemingway published in 1940. It tells the story of Robert Jordan, a young American volunteer attached to a Republican guerrilla unit during the Spanish Civil War. As a dynamiter, he is assigned ...

'', El Sordo's unit debates La Pasionaria's motives for sending her son to the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

during the

while under attack from pro-Franco forces. The Glasgow-based fusion band Inyal included an instrumental song dedicated to Ibárruri, entitled "Pasionaria," on their 2017 album ''INYAL''. The American sculptor

Jo Davidson Jo Davidson (March 30, 1883 – January 2, 1952) was an American sculptor. Although he specialized in realistic, intense portrait busts, Davidson did not require his subjects to formally pose for him; rather, he observed and spoke with them. ...

created a portrait bust of Ibárruri in 1938. Davidson describes his sittings with Ibárruri at his hotel in Madrid in his autobiography, ''Between Sittings: An Informal Autobiography''. In 2012,

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova Nadezhda Andreyevna "Nadya" Tolokonnikova ( rus, Надежда Андреевна "Надя" Толоконникова, p=nɐˈdʲeʐdə ɐnˈdrʲejɪvnə ˈnadʲə təlɐˈkonʲːɪkəvə; born November 7, 1989) is a Russian musician, concep ...

, a member of the Russian protest punk band

Pussy Riot Pussy Riot is a Feminism in Russia, Russian feminist protest and performance art group based in Moscow that became popular for its provocative punk rock music which later turned into a more accessible style. Founded in the fall of 2011 by the th ...

, wore a T-shirt with the phrase "¡No Pasarán!" and an image of a raised clenched fist during her trial.

Bibliography

*Yusta Rodrigo, M. (2023). Dolores Ibárruri, Pasionaria (1895–1989): Communist Woman of Steel, Global Icon. In: de Haan, F. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Communist Women Activists around the World. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-13127-1_7

Notes

External links

Dolores Ibárruri Archive at marxists.org

* ¡No Pasarán! Speech Dolores Ibárruri's "No Pasaran!" speech translated to English {{DEFAULTSORT:Ibarruri, Dolores 1895 births 1989 deaths People from Abanto y Ciérbana-Abanto Zierbena Communist Party of Spain politicians Members of the Congress of Deputies of the Second Spanish Republic Members of the constituent Congress of Deputies (Spain) Politicians from the Basque Country (autonomous community) Spanish anti-fascists Spanish people of the Spanish Civil War (Republican faction) Exiles of the Spanish Civil War in France Marxist journalists Marxist writers Spanish women in politics Female revolutionaries Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Lenin Peace Prize Burials at Cementerio de la Almudena People granted political asylum in the Soviet Union Exiles of the Spanish Civil War in the Soviet Union Spanish women of the Spanish Civil War (Republican faction) Exiled Spanish politicians Spanish women of the Spanish Civil War Women's International Democratic Federation people Basque women in politics Spanish Marxists