Victor Serge

1. Maison d'arrêt de la Santé
   Dates unknown

Victor Serge (French: [viktɔʁ sɛʁʒ]; born Viktor Lvovich Kibalchich, Russian: Ви́ктор Льво́вич Киба́льчич; 30 December 1890 – 17 November 1947) was a Belgian-born Russian revolutionary, novelist, poet, historian, journalist, and translator. Serge was a key eyewitness to and participant in the revolutionary movements of the 20th century and the opposition to Stalinism, which influenced his writing along with contemporary Modernist experiments. His notable and best-known works as an author include such novels as The Case of Comrade Tulayev, his historical account Year One of the Russian Revolution, and his Memoirs of a Revolutionary, 1901–1941. Originally an anarchist, Victor Serge joined the Bolsheviks in January 1919 after arriving in Petrograd (Saint Petersburg) at the height of the Russian Civil War. He worked for the Comintern as a journalist, editor, and translator and was an early critic of the emerging Stalinist regime. Serge joined the Left Opposition in 1923 and was expelled from the Communist Party in late 1927 or early 1928. He was imprisoned by the Soviet regime in 1928 and again from 1933 to 1936. Following an international campaign by prominent intellectuals, Serge was released from deportation in Orenburg and allowed to leave the Soviet Union in April 1936. During his subsequent exiles in France and Mexico, he continued to write extensively, producing critical analyses of the Soviet Union, several acclaimed novels depicting the lives of revolutionaries and the psychological toll of political struggle, and historical works. His writings offer a unique perspective on the Russian Revolution, its degeneration into totalitarianism, and the broader struggles against fascism and authoritarianism; critics have also embraced his fiction works as remarkable examples of Modernist literature influenced by Joyce, Freud and Russian modernism. After decades of relative obscurity, interest in Serge's work experienced a significant revival towards the end of the 20th century and into the 21st, with many of his books being republished. He is remembered for his unwavering commitment to socialist ideals, his defense of individual freedom and critical thought, and his powerful literary testimonies to the "unforgettable times" he lived through.