[2] Owing to political difficulties between Soviet Russia and the rather conservative social democratic government of Germany and the eruption of civil war there, Berlin was quickly rejected as inhospitable for a foundation congress.

[2] On January 21, 1919, a meeting of about a dozen communists living in Moscow determined to hold a formal gathering in that city, to begin February 15 – little more than 3 weeks hence.

[3] The formal convention call was composed by People's Commissar of War Leon Trotsky and listed invited political organizations by name.

[4] Owing to communications difficulties ensuing from the Allied blockade, few organizations outside of Soviet Russia heard of the convention call in sufficient time to send delegates.

[9] Most of these delegates had already been residing in Soviet Russia, however, with only 9 of those attending the founding congress managing to break through the allied blockade of the country from abroad.

In addition to the five delegates assigned as representatives of the various "Eastern peoples" of the former Russian Empire, six regular and two consultative delegates were in attendance, including such key figures of the Russian Communist Party as Lenin, Joseph Stalin, Trotsky, Grigori Zinoviev, Nikolai Bukharin, Georgii Chicherin, V. V. Vorovsky, and Valerian Osinsky.

[13] The long, narrow hall was barely large enough for 100 people, with the delegates seated upon flimsy chairs at small tables spaced throughout the room.