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Russian Revolution

The Communist International 100 years on

Posted on 17th October 2019 by Richard Donnelly

This year marks the hundredth anniversary of the birth of the Third International—the Communist International (or Comintern), the organisation of revolutionary socialist parties around the world. The Comintern represented the hope of millions that the example of the Bolshevik Revolution… Continue Reading →

Article Communist Party, Russian Revolution

Music, class and party in 1920s Russia

Posted on 17th October 2019 by Richard Donnelly

The recent centenary of the Russian Revolution produced a renewed flurry of interest in the events of 1917 and reminded us of their huge impact. The focus of those discussions for revolutionary socialists was quite rightly the significance of the… Continue Reading →

Article Music, Russian Revolution

“The axe without an edge”: social democracy and the Finnish Revolution of 1918

Posted on 2nd July 2018 by Camilla

The failure of the October Revolution to spread throughout Europe, and beyond, in the years after 1917 is one of the great tragedies of the 20th century. Indeed, many of the catastrophes that subsequently beset humanity including both Stalinism and… Continue Reading →

Article Finland, Russian Revolution

Marxism, class and revolution in Africa: the legacy of the 1917 Russian Revolution

Posted on 9th January 2018 by Camilla

In the first ten years of independence in Africa, even leaders of states that were not explicitly Marxist expressed an allegiance to socialism and an admiration for the Soviet Union. This included many famous leaders of independent Africa: Gamal Abdel… Continue Reading →

Article Africa, Russian Revolution

The unfinished revolution

Posted on 13th October 2017 by Camilla

A review of China Miéville, October: The Story of the Russian Revolution (Verso, 2017), £18.99. There is a long-held narrative among liberal and not-so-liberal commentators that contrasts a justified libertarian revolution in Russia in February 1917 with an authoritarian Bolshevik… Continue Reading →

Book reviews Russian Revolution

How far was the Russian Revolution made by the Bolsheviks?

Posted on 13th October 2017 by Camilla

A review of Dave Sherry, Russia 1917: Workers’ Revolution and the Festival of the Oppressed (Bookmarks, 2017), £12.99. At a time when it looks as if capitalism can’t—and shouldn’t—survive through the 21st century, it’s timely to remind a new generation… Continue Reading →

Book reviews Russian Revolution

The Bolsheviks and sexual liberation

Posted on 13th October 2017 by Camilla

The previous issue of International Socialism included a positive review of Tariq Ali’s book The Dilemmas of Lenin.1 The review is right that in general the book offers an accurate telling of the Russian Revolution. But in one aspect Ali… Continue Reading →

Feedback LGBT+ liberation, Russian Revolution

The Russian Revolution and the British working class

Posted on 13th October 2017 by Camilla

The two Russian Revolutions of 1917 inspired socialists and trade unionists across the world. The February Revolution raised the prospect of the overthrow of dictatorship, October the possibility of workers’ revolution and socialism.1 October ripped up the blueprint for socialism… Continue Reading →

Article Labour Party, Russian Revolution, Working class

Maxim Gorky and the fellow travellers

Posted on 13th October 2017 by Camilla

Maxim Gorky rose from poverty to become one of the most celebrated writers of the 20th century, the father of Soviet literature and the heir to Tolstoy. Like Tolstoy, he wrote of the cruelty and insanity of Tsarism, and his… Continue Reading →

Article Maxim Gorky, Russian Revolution

The orphaned revolution: the meaning of October 1917

Posted on 13th October 2017 by Camilla

Many of the great revolutions of modern times continue to be celebrated. This is true, for example, of the American and French Revolutions, which have their national days (4 and 14 July, respectively), of the Irish Easter Rising, whose centenary… Continue Reading →

Article Russian Revolution

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New Resources

For more click on the ‘Resources’ tab above
Tony Phillips’s “What can we learn from Kautsky today?” translated into German
Judy Cox’s “How Marx and Engels fought for women’s liberation” translated into German – thanks to Rosemarie Nünning
Joseph Choonara’s “Socialism in a time of pandemics” translated into German – thanks to David Albrich
Now online: Yuri Prasad and Esme Choonara’s article “What’s wrong with privilege theory?” translated into German – thanks to Rosemarie Nünning
Now online: John Molyneux’s article “In Defence of Party Building” translated into German – thanks to Rosemarie Nünning
Now online: Sheila McGregor’s article on social reproduction theory has now been translated into German – thanks to Rosemarie Nünning
Now online: Brazil: how big a defeat? Interview with Valério Arcary
Now online: Rosemarie Nünning on the history of abortion law in Germany – Between “birth strike” and “race treason”: The history of Paragraph 219a of the German Criminal Code
New to our translations page: Lise Vogel und die Politik der Frauenbefreiung (Nicola Ginsburgh on Lise Vogel and the politics of women’s liberation in German)
Now online: Syrian revolutionary socialist Ghayath Naisse interviewed on the brutalisation of Syria, the goals of those intervening and the prospects for socialists in the region.
Online only “How to stop the tanks” by Ron Margulies on the attempted coup in Turkey
Egyptian Revolution timeline
International Socialism has covered events in Egypt from the strike waves that led up to the revolution, the events of 2011 themselves and the situation since: here is a timeline of key articles
Now online, Ellen Meiksins Wood (1942-2016) writing in International Socialism in 1987
Black history, police racism, Islamophobia and contemporary debates on oppression- Articles and book reviews for black history month
Videos of the International Socialism conference on Marxism and nature featuring Ted Benton and Ian Angus
Videos and transcript of the International Socialism debate on Syriza and Socialist Strategy with Stathis Kouvelakis and Alex Callinicos
Online only: Vincent Sung analyses the roots of Hong Kong’s umbrella movement protests here
Online only: Bob Light remembers the 1974-5 Portuguese revolution
Videos from the International Socialism event on ‘Work, Class and Resistance’ with Jane Hardy, Kevin Doogan, Lucia Pradella and Jim Wolfreys
Videos from the International Socialism event on ‘Marxism and Revolution Today’ with Alex Callinicos, Claire Ceruti, Neil Davidson and others
Video: International Socialism seminar on “Egypt, Tunisia and revolution in the 21st century” with Gilbert Achcar and Anne Alexander
“The sex work debate: a response to Jess Edwards” by Thierry Schaffauser
Audio: Alex Callinicos on the International Socialist tradition in political economy
Audio: full recordings from the recent International Socialism conference Marxism and Political Economy
Audio: Harman, Brenner and Itoh discuss the world economy today at Historical Materialism’s annual conference

From our archives

The roots of gay oppression (Norah Carlin 1989)
The ‘workers’ government (Chris Harman 1977)
A critique of Nicos Poulantzas (Colin Barker 1979)
Theories of Patriarchy (Lindsey German 1981)
Mike Kidron on Marxist political economy (1974)
The State and Capital (Chris Harman 1991)
Gramsci versus Eurocommunism (Chris Harman 1977)
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