About Alexander Parvus
Alexander Israel Helphand (born Israel Lazarevich Gelfand, Russian: Израиль Лазаревич Гельфанд; 27 August 1867 – 12 December 1924), better known as Alexander Parvus, was a Russian-born Marxist theorist, journalist, and activist who became a prominent figure in the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). Parvus has become best known for his collaboration with Leon Trotsky in developing the theory of permanent revolution around 1905, and for his controversial role during World War I: he devised a plan to destabilize the Russian Empire by promoting internal revolution, which he presented to the German government. With financial support from the German government, he established a network to aid the Bolsheviks and is widely remembered for his part in arranging Vladimir Lenin and associates to return to Russia from exile in the "sealed train" in April 1917. After the Bolsheviks seized power in Petrograd in November 1917, Lenin rejected Parvus's request to return to Russia, stating that "the cause of the revolution should not be touched by dirty hands". Parvus remained in Germany, becoming a wealthy industrialist and a political advisor to early leaders of the Weimar Republic. His career featured marked contrasts between his revolutionary activities, his intellectual contributions to Marxism, and his later affluence and political maneuvering, which have made him an enigmatic and highly controversial figure. Parvus is best known for his collaboration with Leon Trotsky in developing the theory of permanent revolution around 1905, and for his controversial role during World War I. He became attracted to the nascent Russian Marxist movement, particularly the Emancipation of Labour group founded by Georgi Plekhanov.
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