In 1927 Chiang Kai-shek and his Kuomintang regime were stepping
up their anti-Communist campaign. In April the government sent troops marching
into Shanghai and in December it ruthlessly crushed a Communist uprising
in Kanton. The crackdown seriously soured China's relations with the Soviet
Union. Capitalizing on that, Joseph Stalin's archenemy, Lev Trotsky, fired
a barrage of criticism against the dictator's foreign policy. In November,
Stalin's patience ran out and Trotsky was expelled from the party ranks
and 75 of his leading associates were also jettisoned when a party congress
convened in December. It was the end of the opposition and Stalin emerged
from the battle as an undisputed master of the USSR… By late 1927 the party
leaders seemed to have resolved their differences and Trotsky said that,
in a sense, the Communist bureaucracy had replaced the bourgeoisie of old.
His opinion was fully shared by the old revolutionaries, oblivious of the
fact that Stalin was only bringing to a logical end the very Communist
doctrine which they had faithfully espoused all their life. Now that the
idea had already been fulfilled, they were no longer needed - a classical
case of a revolution devouring its children…
From politics, let's now move on to more interesting subjects.
In 1927 the American pilot Charles Lindbergh made the world's first solo
flight from Long Island to Paris. In the Ryan monoplane "Spirit of
St.Louis" of his own make he made the flight in 33 hours and a half
on May 20 through 21.
The British Imperial Airways became the first commercial air
carrier to offer various services depending on the ticket. As early as
in October 1927, the company's clients could choose between a two and a
half hour first-class flight from London to Paris for nine pounds and a
nearly three hour hop over by second class for seven pounds.
Also in 1927 the outstanding Italian engineer Umberto Nobile
built a giant airship, the Italia. Its specifications boggled the mind!
Moved by 750 horse powers harnessed by its three engines, the dirigible
was able to take 9.5 tons five and a half thousand miles away flying at
90 kilometers per hour.
In 1927 Alexander Alyokhin won the world championship from Jose
Raul Capablanca and for twenty years he was touted as one of the world's
finest players. The victor in many international tournaments, Alyokhin
won the world championship for blindfold chess in 1924, 1925 and 1933.
Few players anywhere could boast a win from the great master. In some cases,
Alyokhin traded colors with a hopelessly losing playmate several times
during the game and always emerged victorious…
In 1927 Russia was saying her last farewells to Mitrofan Pyatnitsky,
the man who devoted all his life to popularizing the Russian folk songs.
The choir that he founded and which eventually took his name has since
been applauded all across world. Mitrofan Pyatnitsky recorded about 400
Russian folk songs and boasted a unique collection of folk instruments
and period costumes.
In the same year, there came the sad news of the tragic death
in Nice, France, of Isadora Duncan, the great revolutionary of the dance
who repudiated artificial technical restrictions. This outstanding American
liberated the dance from dependence on worn-out formulas paving the way
for the development of modern expressive dance. Isadora Duncan's dancing
barefoot in a loose tunic, suggested by Greek sculpture, furthered the
20th century emancipation of women's dress. She toured extensively including
in this country where, in 1922, she married the great Russian poet Sergei
Yesenin.
The great Swedish politician Ulof Palme was also born in 1927.
He entered politics as a young man and for many years was at the head of
his country's Social-Democratic Party. A Prime Minister and chairman of
a committee on international security and disarmament, Ulof Palme will
be remembered for the many good things he did for his country and the world
at large .
THE 20th CENTURY:YEAR AFTER YEAR series
of historical programs is prepared by Vladimir Zhamkin.
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