The Young Communist League of Lithuania and Belorussia (Belarusian: Камуністычны Саюз Моладзі Літвы і Беларусі, abbreviated КСМЛіБ, Lithuanian: Lietuvos ir Baltarusijos Komunistinės Jaunimo Sąjungos, abbreviated L ir BKJS, Russian: Коммунистический Союз Молодежи Литвы и Белоруссии, abbreviated КСМЛиБ) was a youth organization in Lithuania and Belorussia 1919-1920.
The organization was founded in Minsk on February 10, 1919 at a joint session of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Young Communist League of Belorussia and the Provisional Central Bureau of the Young Communist League of Lithuania.[1] The meeting decided to merge the Lithuanian and Belorussian communist youth organizations.[2] [3] The founding congress elected a Central Committee, whose secretary was (who remained at the helm of the organization throughout its existence).[2] Other members of the Central Committee were S. Alperavičius, A. Movšenzonas and Nikolay Volov.[1] [4] [5] Following the founding meeting, a special appeal to the youth was issued by the organization on February 14, 1919.[1] The Provisional Central Bureau of the organization was based at 9, Varnų Street (present-day A. Jakšto Street) hosted the party headquarters.[6]
By the beginning March 1919 the organization had some 300 members in Vilna.[2] Most of them were part of the Liebknecht Military Detachment which fought at the frontlines during the Polish offensive.[2]
The organization planned to hold a congress June 25, 1919, but this had to be postponed due to the situation on the Western Front.[7] It was then planned for July 16, 1919, but could not be held.[7]
The organization was active behind the frontlines, organizing underground cells in areas under the control of the Republic of Lithuania.[2] Young communist cells were formed in Vilna, Kaunas and Rokiškis in the latter half of 1919.[2] In 1920 clandestine cells were created in Marijampolė, Vilkaviškis, Panevėžys, Šiauliai, Joniškis, Jonava, Dotnuva and Ukmergė.[2] In Minsk organizers in the underground included Vorobyov (Central Committee member), Zaidenvar ('Zucker'), Savchik, Zak and Proshchitsky.[8] Other active underground cells of the organization existed in Bobruisk, Slutsk, Grodno and other locations under Polish occupation.[9]
An organizational conference of the organization was held in Vilna April 1920 - which reaffirmed Greifenbergeris' role as the leader of the organization and elected him as its delegate to the congress of the Russian Young Communist League.[2] The conference adopted a program based on that of the Russian Young Communist League.[2] On May 4, 1920 a Lithuanian Central Bureau of the organization was founded at a conference in Kaunas.[2] Members of the Lithuanian Central Bureau included, at different stages, Greifenbergeris,, Aizik Lifshits, Antanas Stasiūnas, Eugenija Tautkaitė, Jonas Žagas and Leiba Šapira.[2] The organization held a Kaunas regional conference in July 1920 and a Suwalki regional conference on August 24, 1920.[2]
The organization was divided into separate Lithuanian and Belorussian youth organizations on November 5, 1920.[2] The Lithuanian Central Bureau became the leading body of the Young Communist League of Lithuania.[2] The Young Communist League of Belorussia was reconstituted as an integral part of the Russian Young Communist League.[10]
On February 29, 1920 the organization became a section of the Communist Youth International.[2]
The organization began publishing the Russian language periodical ('Torch of Communism') on March 2, 1919.[2] The first issue was published in Vilna, the second and third were issued from Minsk as the joint organ of the Central Committee and Minsk Committee of the organization.[5] It was edited by Greifenbergeris.[5]
On March 11, 1919 another Russian language periodical, the weekly ('Red Youth'), was launched.[2] In August 1920 the Lithuanian Central Bureau began publishing the periodical ('Young Communist').[2]