in the rural area. 1913–1914 period saw a particularly severe outburst of violence toward the Chinese-Indonesians, priyayi officials and the Dutch colonial regime. In some areas, SI became a shadow administration which obliged priyayi officials to accommodate their demand. Radicalization SI was loosely organized and its regional branches retained considerable autonomy. Under the circumstances, the SI Semarang branch led by a union activist Semaun began to radicalize and embrace communism. The radicalization was a result of the heightening Marxist-socialist influence in the city which led to the establishment of the Indies Social Democratic Association (ISDV) in 1914. ISDV, founded by a Comintern agent Henk Sneevliet, composed almost entirely of Dutch members, and they sought to spread their thought among the native Indonesian population. Thus ISDV turned to SI which grew into a political organization with the largest number of followings. Semaun joined SI in 1914 and also ISDV in 1915, leading him to hold dual party membership. Semaun militantly advocated the communist ideas and pushed for the leftist turn of SI, competing with the more moderate position taken by the central SI leaders such as Tjokroaminoto. The leftist turn was also aided by the events outside of Indonesia, notably World War I (1914–1918) and the Bolshevik Revolution (1917–1923). The subsequent SI Congress held in 1917 incorporated openly anti-colonialist and anti-capitalist tones. In May 1918, the colonial administration established the People's Council (Volksraad) as a concession to the rising demand for democratization. A few SI leaders became members of the council, including Tjokroaminoto and Agus Salim, a trusted advisor of Tjokroaminoto who joined the SI leadership in 1915 and was known for his commitment to the modernist Islam and pan-Islamism. Despite the demand for democratization, the council only had an advisory power, and the members were appointed by the colonial government. Since the SI Congress held from September to October 1918, communist SI members such as Semaun, Darsono Notosudirdjo, and Alimin joined the ranks of the SI leadership, enabling them to pressure Tjokroaminoto to boycott the Volksraad and take firmer political action. Tjokroaminoto finally answered their calls and demanded the Dutch colonial administration to form a parliament based on the popular election and alleviate labor issues, and refused to cooperate with the Volksraad unless the government addresses these grievances. The radicalization of SI prompted the Dutch colonial government to suppress the organization. In May 1919, the government accused SI responsible for