In late October 1922, Moscow becomes the setting where the fortunes of Italian and Russian communism sharply diverge. The Italian delegates arrive after defeat by the Fascists and successive divisions within their own movement; in the city, they confront a revolution at the height of its triumph and the growing authority of its leaders. Moscow is thus more than a destination: it is the center from which the weakened Italian communists must reckon with their dependence on the Russian movement.

The Italian Delegation in Moscow

The delegation reaches Moscow after the Italian communists have been defeated by the Fascists, split from the Socialists, and then divided internally. The contrast with the Russian revolution is stark. While the Italian movement retreats, the communists of the East are nearing the founding of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the opening of what the narrative describes as a new era in world history. Within the Communist International, Russian influence is becoming dominant; Italian communists, with Amadeo Bordiga at their head, are left to support the Russian advance from a position of defeat.

Nicola Bombacci recognizes the imbalance. He has consistently looked to Moscow, and had urged his comrades to proceed in the light of the Russian revolution even through fear and grief. His political isolation at home accompanies the delegation’s arrival: after advocating a unified front with the Socialists, he has been ostracized and removed from his party’s central committee. In Moscow, the gap between the revolutionary center and the defeated Italian movement gives that isolation an international dimension.

A Center of Revolutionary Power

The narrative evokes Moscow’s authority through Leon Trotsky’s rise from writer, nicknamed “Pen,” to organizer of the Red Army. In a few months, he has built an immense popular army; over four years of civil war, it has defeated the revolution’s enemies across two continents and numerous fronts. This account places Moscow at the center of a political and military transformation on a scale that the Italian delegates, arriving after repeated setbacks, cannot match.

That power is not portrayed as a simple source of comfort for the visitors. The Italian communists have come to a triumphant movement, but their own defeats make their subordinate position within it increasingly plain. The city’s significance lies in this double encounter: Moscow represents the apparent success of revolution and, at the same time, the growing Russian hegemony over an international communist movement whose Western members are in retreat.

Lenin and the Italian Visitors

Lenin receives the Italian comrades after already suffering a stroke. Smiling, he addresses Bordiga and Camilla Ravera in Italian, recalling his earlier years as an exile in Capri. Bordiga voices the delegation’s concern for Lenin’s health. Lenin reassures them that he is following his doctors’ strict prescriptions and asks instead about events in Italy.

When Bordiga raises relations with the Socialist Party, Lenin cuts short the discussion. His attention is fixed on the Fascists and their advance in Italy. The exchange gives the Moscow visit its clearest political focus: the hosts’ authority is expressed not only by the revolution’s victories but by Lenin’s insistence that the Italian delegates attend to the immediate threat at home. Moscow becomes the place where their internal disputes are measured against the pressure of Fascism and the unequal strength of the international movement.