Travel as a social and political practice: The case of the Greek communist Miltiadis Porfyrogenis
Twentieth Century Communism - ISSN 1758-6437
Volume 2024 Number 26
Travel as a social and political practice: The case of the Greek communist Miltiadis Porfyrogenis
ANASTASIA KOUKOUNA pages 73-103
Abstract
Miltiadis Porfyrogenis, a Greek lawyer and communist leader (1903-1958), stood out among the select few high-ranking members of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) who boasted academic credentials, fluency in several foreign languages, adept communication skills, and a social stature that facilitated dialogue with fellow travellers, bourgeois politicians, and figures from diverse national backgrounds. Delving into Porphyrogenis’s extensive travels, spanning from the early days of his involvement in communism in the late 1920s to the 1950s, this paper endeavours to underscore the pivotal role of travel as a formative experience that profoundly shaped the communist cadres during the Stalinist era. Moreover, it contends that, in Porphyrogenis’s case, these travels encompassed not only political but also social and personal dimensions, and played a significant role in moulding a distinct lifestyle for the party elite, distinct from that of simple party members. By discussing Porfyrogenis’s mobility, this paper seeks to situate his trajectory and the Greek communist movement within contemporary historiographical debate, addressing both the experience of communist activism and its broader transnational dimensions.
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To cite this article
ANASTASIA KOUKOUNA (2024) Travel as a social and political practice: The case of the Greek communist Miltiadis Porfyrogenis, Twentieth Century Communism, 2024(26), 73-103