Silvestre Savitski was a Russian communist, and pioneer in the

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

n socialist movement. Savitsky was a student in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, when the Soviet government sent him to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

to purchase foodgrains. However, Savitsky reportedly lost the money handed to him by the Soviet government playing

roulette Roulette (named after the French language, French word meaning "little wheel") is a casino game which was likely developed from the Italy, Italian game Biribi. In the game, a player may choose to place a bet on a single number, various grouping ...

, and found himself in a position of not being able to return to Russia. He fled to

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, and then to

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

, before finally arriving in Colombia. He settled down in Colombia, and began propagating

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

ideas there. Around him a circle of followers emerged, including José del Mar, Gabriel Turbay and Luis Tejada. The group maintained contacts with the

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

, but retained a separate political identity. Savitsky assisted the May 1, 1924, conference of the Socialist Party, which pledged to follow the 21 theses of the

Communist International The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern and also known as the Third International, was a political international which existed from 1919 to 1943 and advocated world communism. Emerging from the collapse of the Second Internationa ...

.Guerra, Sergio/Prieto, Alberto. ''Cronologia del movimiento obrero y las luchas por la revolución socialista en América Latina y el Caribe (1917-1939)''. Havana: Casa de las Americas, 1980. p. 42 In 1925 he was expelled from Colombia, and settled in Mexico where he continued political activities.Clara Rocio Rodriguez Pico.
Los retos de la democracia: viejas y nuevas formas de la política en Colombia y América Latina
'. Fundación Foro Nacional por Colombia, 2005. p. 100 Per Lazar/Jeifets (2001) the real intentions behind Savitski's political activities in Colombia, which ran in parallel to different business ventures, could have been opportunistic attempts to clear his name ahead of a possible return to the Soviet Union. The Communist International maintained suspicion against his role.

References

{{reflist Colombian communists Year of birth missing Year of death missing