Category Archives: Russian revolution

Clara Zetkin: Preached principle, promoted unity

Admired by contemporaries, ignored by subsequent history.

Marilyn J Boxer and John S Partington (eds) Clara Zetkin: national and international contexts Socialist History Society occasional publications, series No31, pp118, £7 It would appear that in historical research we are beginning to witness something of a revival of interest in a figure who must surely count as one of the most outstanding Marxists in ...

Breaking with the cold war consensus

Has today's anti-Stalinist left sleepwalked into a Stalinoid conception of 'Bolshevism'? This is an edited and expanded version of the speech delivered by Ben Lewis (CS executive & CPGB)  to the March 31-April 1 Platypus convention in Chicago. First published here. I must begin by thanking Platypus for hosting this debate. It is a shame that ...

An enigmatic bolshevik

Liam Conway reviews The Trial of Bukharin, by George Katkov. Nikolai Bukahrin remains one of the Soviet Union’s most intriguing figures over 70 years after his demise. An exceptionally gifted writer and intellect Bukharin’s life was both eventful and tragic at the same time. From his youthful days as a leading member of the left-wing ...

Rediscovering Lenin

Communist Students raise the banner of Lenin

Lars T Lih is an acclaimed scholar living in Canada. Ben Lewis spoke to him about his book, Lenin rediscovered: ‘What is to be done?’ in context (2006) and some of the questions it raises for the left in understanding its own history and tradition One of the themes of Lenin rediscovered was Lenin’s closeness to ...