Victor Serge

Victor Serge (born Victor Lvovich Kibalchich (Russian: Виктор Львович Кибальчич) was a Belgian-born Russian revolutionary and writer. His father had fled Russia in 1887 and settled in Switzerland, where he met and married Victor's mother. Prior to returning to Russia to join the revolution, Victor Serge had participated in trade unionist strikes and anarchist street actions, most notably in Spain. After becoming disillusioned with the Spanish anarchists unwillingness to take power, he tried to return to Russia via France at the start of WWI. On the way through France he was declared an undesirable and put in prison. He was eventually traded, along with a small number of Russian "soldiers" for French POWs. He returned to Russia to witness and write about the Civil War, but was later kicked out of the party and spent the rest of his life in exile.