Russia & the former Soviet Union
The strange death of Boris Berezovsky
By Joseph Santolan, 26 March 2013
Berezovsky was the personification of the plutocrats whose wealth was acquired through the looting of the Russian economy after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Australia: Keen interest in socialist perspective at Tsar to Lenin screenings
By our correspondents, 17 December 2012
There was intense interest in socialism, the history of the revolutionary movement and the life and writings of Leon Trotsky.
Workers and youth speak about the relevance of the Russian Revolution today
By our correspondents, 17 December 2012
Audience members in Melbourne and Sydney spoke with the WSWS about the Russian Revolution and its contemporary significance.
The definitive film record of the 1917 Russian Revolution
Mehring Books announces release of Tsar to Lenin in DVD format
5 July 2012
Tsar to Lenin, first released in 1937, ranks among the twentieth century’s greatest film documentaries. It presents an extraordinary cinematic account of the Russian Revolution—from the mass uprising which overthrew the centuries-old Tsarist regime in February 1917, to the Bolshevik-led insurrection eight months later that established the first socialist workers’ state, to the final victory in 1921 of the new Soviet regime over counter-revolutionary forces after a three-year-long civil war.
Preface to Yakhot’s history of early Soviet philosophy
By Frederick Choate, 25 June 2012
Yehoshua Yakhot’s The Suppression of Philosophy in the USSR (The 1920s & 1930s) is essential reading for an understanding of the devastating impact of Stalinism on philosophy in the Soviet Union. The translator’s preface being published today provides an introduction to this new English translation.
Leipzig Book Fair 2012
Mehring Publishers presents new German edition of Alexander Rabinowitch’s The Bolsheviks Come to Power
By Wolfgang Weber, 21 March 2012
The new German edition of Alexander Rabinowitch’s book on the October Revolution is an achievement of archival scholarship that exposes the pseudo-intellectualism and reactionary politics of the post-modernist camp.
Twenty years since the dissolution of the USSR
The capitalist crisis and the radicalization of the working class in 2012
By David North, 30 January 2012
This report was given by David North to a series of regional aggregate meetings of the Socialist Equality Party (US) held during the month of January.
A blow against the Post-Soviet School of Historical Falsification
By Wolfgang Weber, 31 December 2011
The letter of 14 historians to the Suhrkamp publishing house in Germany calling on it to abandon publication of Robert Service’s biography of Leon Trotsky has opened the door for an honest and thorough examination of the role of Trotsky and the rise and fall of Soviet power.
Historian Alexander Rabinowitch speaks in Vienna on the Russian Revolution
By our correspondents, 15 June 2011
Professor Rabinowitch’s lecture on his recent research into the Russian Revolution was enthusiastically received by a large audience at the University of Vienna.
“The October Revolution was the most important event of the 20th century”
Interview with Alexander Rabinowitch
By Wolfgang Weber, 1 June 2011
Russian historian Alexander Rabinowitch will be giving a lecture in Vienna on June 6. The WSWS spoke to the professor on his book, The Bolsheviks in Power, and the main themes of his research.
The Bolsheviks in Power―The First Year of Soviet Rule in Petrograd: Guest lecture by Prof. Alexander Rabinowitch in Vienna
28 April 2011
The American historian Alexander Rabinowitch will present his book The Bolsheviks in Power―The First Year of Soviet Rule in Petrograd in Vienna on 6 June.
Reflections on the Bolsheviks, the October Revolution, and early Soviet state building in Petrograd
By Alexander Rabinowitch, 2 December 2010
This report was presented by Professor Alexander Rabinowitch of Indiana University at a meeting in Berlin on October 14, introducing the new German translation of his book, The Bolsheviks in Power.
An interview with Richard Pare, photographer and expert on Soviet Modernist architecture
By Tim Tower, 13 November 2010
A version of the following interview with Richard Pare, conducted by Tim Tower of the WSWS, was originally posted in March 2008, Tower and Pare spoke again recently to update the piece to accompany a new exhibition, “Building the Revolution.”
Great interest in lecture by Professor Rabinowitch in Berlin
By our correspondent, 16 October 2010
The American historian Alexander Rabinowitch introduced his new book The Bolsheviks in Power: The First Year of Bolshevik Rule in Petrograd at a meeting Thursday evening at Humboldt University in Berlin.
Marxism and the Holocaust
By Nick Beams, 15 May 2010
The following is an addendum to the lecture “Imperialism and the political economy of the Holocaust,” delivered by Nick Beams at San Diego State University on April 29.
Imperialism and the political economy of the Holocaust
By Nick Beams, 12 May 2010
This lecture was delivered at San Diego State University on April 29. It was the eighth in a series entitled "Killing for a higher cause: Political violence in a world in crisis" sponsored by the Institute on World Affairs within the Political Science Department of the San Diego State University.
Mehring Books featured title
Fundamental Problems of Marxism by Georgi Plekhanov
28 April 2010
This week’s featured title by Mehring Books provides an outline of historical materialism in the context of the development of Marxist philosophy.
David North to speak on May 5 at the University of Oxford
Political Biography and the Historical Lie: An Examination of Robert Service’s Trotsky
1 April 2010
The Socialist Equality Party (Britain) and the International Students for Social Equality are hosting a lecture by David North, international editorial board chairperson of the World Socialist Web Site, at the University of Oxford.
Trotsky the subject of cultural events in Russia
By Vladimir Volkov, 24 March 2010
In recent months Leon Trotsky has been the subject of two cultural events in Russia – an exhibition at the State Museum of Political History in Saint Petersburg and a documentary film aired on television. While both provide a more objective evaluation of his historical role than what typically found in Russia, they each had significant limitations.
Bolshevism and the avant-garde artists (1993)
By David Walsh, 17 February 2010
The Great Utopia: The Russian and Soviet Avant-Garde, 1915–1932 at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City, in 1992-1993, was a major event. David Walsh wrote a series of articles in the Bulletin, a predecessor of the WSWS, which we began republishing February 13 in three parts. Here is the entire piece.
Bolshevism and the avant-garde artists (1993)—Part 3
By David Walsh, 16 February 2010
The Great Utopia: The Russian and Soviet Avant-Garde, 1915–1932 at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City, in 1992-1993, was a major event. David Walsh wrote a series of articles in the Bulletin, a predecessor of the WSWS, which we began republishing February 13.
Bolshevism and the avant-garde artists (1993)—Part 2
By David Walsh, 15 February 2010
The Great Utopia: The Russian and Soviet Avant-Garde, 1915–1932 at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City, in 1992-1993, was a major event. David Walsh wrote a series of articles in the Bulletin, a predecessor of the WSWS, which we began republishing February 13.
Bolshevism and the avant-garde artists (1993)—Part 1
By David Walsh, 13 February 2010
The Great Utopia: The Russian and Soviet Avant-Garde, 1915–1932 at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City, in 1992-1993, was a major event. David Walsh wrote a series of articles in the Bulletin, a predecessor of the WSWS, which we begin republishing today.
Successful launch of In Defence of Leon Trotsky at Sydney’s Gleebooks
By our correspondent, 4 February 2010
An appreciative audience of 150 filled the upstairs auditorium of Sydney’s Gleebooks bookstore last night to hear David North launch his In Defence of Leon Trotsky: A Reply to the Falsifications of Robert Service.
In Defence of Leon Trotsky: David North to speak at Sydney’s Gleebooks
20 January 2010
German Socialist Equality Party holds meeting on 20 years since fall of Berlin Wall
By our correspondent, 10 December 2009
On November 29, the German Socialist Equality Party (Partei für Soziale Gleichheit—PSG) held a well-attended meeting in Leipzig entitled “20 Years Since the Fall of the Wall: From Stalinism to Capitalism.”
Twenty years since the fall of the Berlin Wall
By Peter Schwarz, 10 December 2009
The following lecture was delivered by Peter Schwarz, secretary of the International Committee of the Fourth International, at a meeting of the Socialist Equality Party of Germany held November 29, 2009 in Leipzig.
Red Star Over Russia
A Visual History of the Soviet Union from 1917 to the Death of Stalin
15 September 2009
Mehring Books is pleased to make available to readers of the World Socialist Web Site the new book by British photojournalist David King, Red Star Over Russia.
70 years since the Hitler-Stalin Pact
By Alex Lantier, 24 August 2009
Seventy years ago, Nazi foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop and Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov met in Moscow to sign a hastily-negotiated Non-Aggression Pact between Hitlerite Germany and the USSR.
Lecture 2
“Socialism in One Country” and the Soviet economic debates of the 1920s—Part 2
By Nick Beams, 7 May 2009
This is the second of two lectures delivered at an SEP summer school in August 2007 that deal with some of the crucial conflicts over economic policy in the Soviet Union during the 1920s.
“Socialism in One Country” and the Soviet economic debates of the 1920s—Part 2
By Nick Beams, 5 May 2009
This is the first of two lectures, delivered at an SEP summer school in August 2007, dealing with some of the crucial conflicts over economic policy in the Soviet Union during the 1920s.
After the slaughter: political lessons of the Balkan War
By David North, 30 March 2009
March 24 marked the 10th anniversary of the beginning of the 11-week US-NATO bombardment of Serbia and Kosovo. This statement by David North, chairman of the international editorial board of the World Socialist Web Site and national chairman of the Socialist Equality Party, was originally published on June 14, 1999.
The Bolsheviks in Power
The First Year of Soviet Rule in Petrograd
22 January 2009
Mehring books is proud to offer The Bolheviks in Power by Alexander Rabinowitch.
Stalin, Trotsky and the 1926 British general strike
By Chris Marsden, 27 December 2008
More than 80 years on, the May 1926 British General Strike remains a defining moment in the history of the workers’ movement. Its lessons are essential for the development of a revolutionary strategy, not just in Britain but the world over.
Uncovering the truth about Trotsky and the Russian Revolution “continues to run my life”
A conversation with the remarkable David King
By David Walsh, 4 December 2008
David King--artist, designer, editor, photohistorian and archivist--is about to publish a new book, Red Star Over Russia, a visual history of the Soviet Union. WSWS arts editor David Walsh recently spoke to King in London.
Leon Trotsky, Soviet Historiography, and the Fate of Classical Marxism
By David North, 1 December 2008
This paper was presented by David North at a panel on “The Intellectual and Political Legacy of Leon Trotsky” at the recent 2008 National Convention of the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies in Philadelphia.
A Marxist perspective on jurisprudence
By Kevin Kearney, 26 November 2008
Michael Head’s book, Evgeny Pashukanis, A Critical Reappraisal, shines the light of day on one of the most important legal theories to come out of “the boldest and most sweeping experiment of the 20th century”—the October 1917 Russian Revolution.
Declassified grand jury transcripts confirm frame-up of Ethel Rosenberg
The trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
By Tom Eley, 13 September 2008
The recent release of previously secret grand jury transcripts has revealed that crucial testimony was perjured in the conviction and 1953 execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg for conspiracy to commit espionage on behalf of the Soviet Union.
Trotskyism in postwar USSR: the record of an anti-Stalinist youth group in the early 1950s
By Vladimir Volkov, 5 June 2004
In the Soviet Union throughout the post-World War II era anti-Stalinist opposition groups continuously emerged that opposed the bureaucratic regime from the left—from the point of view of the necessity of reviving Soviet democracy and internationalism, as well as restoring the norms of party life that existed in the Bolshevik Party in the first years following the October Revolution of 1917.
Women in the Russian Revolution
The letters of Natalia Sedova to Leon Trotsky
By Vladimir Volkov, 1 July 2003
The 1917 Revolution in Russia not only raised millions of workers and peasants to historical life. It also advanced to the center stage of world events a whole layer of distinguished representatives of the socialist intelligentsia, bearers of the revolution’s political consciousness, who had imbibed the international traditions of European social democracy and the best heritage of European culture in general.
Intrepid thought: psychoanalysis in the Soviet Union—Part 2
By Frank Brenner, 12 June 1999
This is the second, and concluding, section of a two-part article. The first part was posted on Friday, June 11.
Intrepid thought: psychoanalysis in the Soviet Union
By Frank Brenner, 11 June 1999
The nature of man himself is hidden in the deepest and darkest recesses of the unconscious, the elemental and the submerged. Is it not self-evident that the greatest efforts of inquiring thought and of creative initiative will move in that direction?—Trotsky
An introduction to a groundbreaking new book and its author
1937: Stalin’s Year of Terror
By Vadim Rogovin
29 December 1998
Mehring Books is pleased to announce publication of 1937: Stalin's Year of Terror by Vadim Z. Rogovin (584 pages, ISBN 0-929087-77-1, $US 29.95 plus shipping - available online).
1937: Stalin’s Year of Terror By Vadim Z. Rogovin – Introduction
29 December 1998
Once upon a time, unintentionally, And probably hazarding a guess, Hegel called the historian a prophet Predicting in reverse. B. Pasternak
1937: Stalin’s Year of Terror By Vadim Z. Rogovin
Chapter 1: Preparations for the First Show Trial
29 December 1998
Stalin fell far short of achieving his goals with the trials that followed Kirov’s murder. The immediate organizers of the murder were declared to be a group of thirteen young "Zinovievists," shot in December 1934 during the case of the so-called "Leningrad Center."
Leon Trotsky and the Fate of Marxism in the USSR
29 December 1998
This lecture was delivered by Professor Vadim Rogovin at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia, on June 3, 1996
Stalin’s Great Terror: Origins and Consequences
By Vadim Rogovin, 29 December 1998
This lecture was delivered by Professor Vadim Rogovin at the University of Melbourne in Australia on May 28, 1996.
Vadim Rogovin: 1937-1998
Russian Marxist Historian Dies in Moscow
By David North, 18 September 1998
Vadim Zakharovich Rogovin, the Russian Marxist historian and sociologist, and author of a monumental six-volume study of the Trotskyist opposition to the rise of the Stalinist regime within the USSR, died of cancer early Friday morning in Moscow. He was 61 years old.
Was there an alternative to Stalinism?
By David North, 25 October 1995
Below is a lecture delivered 25 October 1995 by David North at Glasgow University in Scotland. David North is the national secretary of the Socialist Equality Party in the US.
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