Der Komunist (Yiddish: דער קאָמוניסט, 'The Communist') was a Yiddish language daily newspaper published from Vilna between December 26, 1918 and April 3, 1919.[1] [2] It was an organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Lithuania and Belorussia.[1] [2] The inaugural issue of Der Komunist was printed completely in red letters.[3] At the time, the editor was Moshe Lunevsky.[4] Semyon Dimanstein was one of the contributors to the newspaper.[4] The newspaper had four pages, in a format of 30x46 cm.[1] Copies of Der Komunist were sold for 10 kopeks.[1]
Der Komunist frequently included attacks on the Zionist movement and different Jewish socialist groups (especially the General Jewish Labour Bund).[3]
Der Komunist fell out of favour with the Central Committee of the Communist Party, who resolved to merge it with Der shtern (a Minsk-based newspaper, whose editorial board was shifted to Vilna).[3] [2] The last issue of Der Komunist, published on April 3, 1919, declared that Der shtern was the new Central Committee organ.[3] In total, 74 issues of Der Komunist were published.[1]