МАРСЕЛЬ БОДИ: ТИПОГРАФСКИЙ РАБОЧИЙ ИЗ ФРАНЦИИ, СТАВШИЙ СОВЕТСКИМ ДИПЛОМАТОМ
Marcel Body: Printshop Workman from France, who became a Soviet Diplomat

Summary/Abstract: Strange is the destiny of Marcel Body (1893-1983). Although he was only a simple typographer from Limoges, he learned Russian on his own at the age of 13 and passioned himself for the country's culture. By chance, he would play a role in History. Called to service during the 1st World War, he was sent to the French military Mission in Moscow. There he took part in the bolshevik revolution from its very beginning and joined the French communist group in Moscow. His activeness was noticed by the authorities, who appointed him to a job of high responsibilities: first secretary of the Embassy in Oslo. In this position he collaborated actively with the Ambassador, Alexandra Kollontai. He went back to Moscow in 1925. He showed off for having brought the famous Lenin's Testament to the Occident. Not feeling in accordance with the regime's orientation, he left the Soviet Union in 1927. In his homeland, he left the French communist party in the late 20s but remained in the revolutionary movement. He was unknown by the general public, even though he translated the works of Lenin, Trotsky and Bakunin.

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