The aim of this article is to present the activites undertaken by Alexandra Kollontai during her stay in Sweden in 1914. Alexandra was a famous socialist activist at the time, and as a consequence of her activity had to flee Russia in 1908. For the following eight years, she remained in exile. She traveled throughout Europe, but collaborated most closely the with German Social Democrats party. After the I World War began, Kollontai – along with her son, Michael – was arrested. Thanks to an intervention of influential German politicians, both of them were released from jail. Shaken, she broke up her ties with the German socialist movement. Alone, Kollontai traveled to Sweden in September 1914, and moved for good to Stockholm. During the sojourn in Sweden, Kollontai was in touch with one of the most prominent local socialist activists, Hjalmar Branting, and took an active part in the Swedish socialist movement. During her short-term stay in Norway, Kollontai was not formally a supporter of the Bolshevik proposition, but she still wrote letters to Lenin. She also had a love affair with a Bolshevik comrade, Alexander Shliapnikov. The Swedish police arrested Kollontai for participation in anti-military propaganda activities. She was exiled from the country in November 1914, to Copenhagen. Also there, Kollontai managed to establish close relationship with the Bolsheviks. Hereafter, she has played a crucial role in the re-opening of the northern smuggling route.
The image of Alexandra Kollontai activity wasn’t placed in the magazine „Dalpilen”. The office of the newspaper was definitely conservative, but surprisingly new social groups coming into existence in Sweden became emancipated and demanded their laws. Journalists for this newspaper tried to fight as amended with the feather. The office of „Dalpilen” was not interested Alexandra Kollontai and her connections with Sweden before the World War I. It could result from the provincialism of the newspaper. Only discussion in the contemporary press and numerous addresses of socialists objecting to the arrest and the left-wing deportation activists forced „Dalpilen” to the reaction. They joined in the campaign of right-wing media being aimed at a discredit then Kollontai and her friends. In the next article about Kollontai Russian sympathy for promoters of the disarmament journalist of „Dalpilen” criticised activity of the left-wing activist in Norway and accused Kollontai also for being a spy of the tsarism. According to the version from Falun pacifist passwords delivered by her were supposed to serve making Scandinavian countries defenceless before the invasion of Russians. „Dalpilen” didn’t write about Alexandra Kollontai through a few years. Only in 1925 when she reignited from the ambassadorship journalists from Falun wrote about Kollontai. In the article Liberation from communist embrace she was a symbol the USSR in Norway which steered the local left hand of the political landscape. Her defeats editors accepted „Dalpilen” with joy. The image of Kollontai in newspaper „Dalpilen” evolved from the tsarist agent for the woman – of ambassador supervising Norwegian communists. To this image stereotypes made up to the subject of Russia and discrediting Swedish socialists. One should however underline, that since the newspaper from Falun concentrated on domestic and Scandinavian matters, of information about the author of the Love of worker bees it was little. Her as the supporting figure were usually being put in texts, they took a stance for her cooperation with Bolsheviks, not treating her as the socialist standing up for women’s rights.
The spontaneous demonstrations at the end of February 1917 were disapproved by writers. Eye witnesses of those incidents perceived them at first only as a rebellion of lower social strata, but, despite the critical opinion about the behaviour of the crowds, many committed themselves to helping the demonstrators. On the other hand, those writers who at that time were abroad or in other parts of Russia welcomed the events in Petrograd enthusiastically. Some of them made immediate attempts to return to the capital. With time also the writers who were in the capital came to accept the uprising of the Russian people. Almost all members of the Petrograd literary circles received the abdication of the Tsar enthusiastically. Changes of political and social realities were also observed. During the first weeks after the February Revolution of 1917 worship of Revolution heroes and opponents of the Tsarism developed. It is worth emphasizing that some writers even participated in creation of this cult. On the other hand, writers noticed also the dark sides of the new order, e.g. growing role of ordinary soldiers, manifesting itself in assaults and robberies. They tried also to counteract them, but without greater effects. A visible trend in the literary circles was a growing interest in politics, yet writers tried to assume rather an attitude of observers of the public life. Only few became involved in activities of government structures or workers’ councils (Soviets). Such behaviour most probably resulted from a negative attitude to the Party and lack of political experience. It will have adverse effects in the future.