Clerkenwell Marxism arrived with Vladimir Ilich Lenin in April 1902. He was given a small room at number 37a Clerkenwell Green with only one window that overlooked a blank wall. It was in this little room that he worked on, and produced Iskra (The Spark), the Russian Marxist newspaper which was banned in Russia at the time. He produced 17 issues during his 10 months here – about 1 edition every two weeks.
Lenin decided London would be the perfect place for his exile operations. The Proletariat class struggle was so advanced here in England. The British Social Democrats were very supportive of his work. Even their leader, Quelch, helped Lenin with printing and generally supported him in his efforts.
Years later, when Quelch’s son Harry made a visit to Moscow. The very first question he was asked by Russia’s new leader was “How is everybody at Clerkenwell Green?”
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