USSR/Russia Archives - John Riddell https://johnriddell.com/category/history/ussrrussia/ MARXIST ESSAYS AND COMMENTARY Wed, 20 Oct 2021 23:05:44 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.1.10 https://i0.wp.com/johnriddell.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/cropped-John-Riddell-Icon-Final-1.png?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 USSR/Russia Archives - John Riddell https://johnriddell.com/category/history/ussrrussia/ 32 32 22825446 Trotsky, Krupskaya, and the Bolshevik Tradition https://johnriddell.com/2021/08/29/trotsky-krupskaya-and-the-bolshevik-tradition/ https://johnriddell.com/2021/08/29/trotsky-krupskaya-and-the-bolshevik-tradition/#respond Mon, 30 Aug 2021 01:34:47 +0000 https://johnriddell.com/?p=7291 By Paul Le Blanc:[1] This discussion of Trotsky’s relationship to Lenin’s Bolshevik organization will be based on reflections of Nadezhda Krupskaya, one of the founders and central figures of the Bolshevik tradition, for three decades a close comrade and companion of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, who led the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. The life and ideas […]

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]]> https://johnriddell.com/2021/08/29/trotsky-krupskaya-and-the-bolshevik-tradition/feed/ 0 7291 What Are the ‘Right Lessons’ for Socialists? https://johnriddell.com/2021/08/16/what-are-the-right-lessons-for-socialists/ https://johnriddell.com/2021/08/16/what-are-the-right-lessons-for-socialists/#comments Mon, 16 Aug 2021 12:48:53 +0000 https://johnriddell.com/?p=7263 A Reply to Eric Blanc By Mike Taber: Eric Blanc is a serious and dedicated socialist historian and activist who doesn’t hesitate to jump into the fray and take positions he knows are controversial. Such an attitude is commendable, even if I disagree with his conclusions. His latest article, “Socialists Should Take the Right Lessons […]

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]]> https://johnriddell.com/2021/08/16/what-are-the-right-lessons-for-socialists/feed/ 8 7263 A Bold New Dimension of Socialist History https://johnriddell.com/2021/06/28/rev-soc-dem-1/ https://johnriddell.com/2021/06/28/rev-soc-dem-1/#comments Mon, 28 Jun 2021 14:40:37 +0000 https://johnriddell.com/?p=7074 ‘Revolutionary Social Democracy: Working-Class Politics Across the Russian Empire (1882-1917)’, by Eric Blanc Eric Blanc’s new book, Revolutionary Social Democracy: Working-Class Politics Across the Russian Empire (1882-1917) re-examines the development of revolutionary politics in Russia from an empire-wide perspective. By expanding our geographic scope to include the imperial borderlands, the Eric’s book challenges long-held assumptions about […]

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]]> https://johnriddell.com/2021/06/28/rev-soc-dem-1/feed/ 1 7074 How Pioneer Communists Assessed the Russian Soviet Republic https://johnriddell.com/2021/01/29/how-pioneer-communists-assessed-the-russian-soviet-republic/ https://johnriddell.com/2021/01/29/how-pioneer-communists-assessed-the-russian-soviet-republic/#respond Fri, 29 Jan 2021 15:01:21 +0000 https://johnriddell.com/?p=6620 The following text is the second-last of a series of posts analyzing the early Communist International, which are listed at ‘Lenin’s Comintern Revisited.’ Contents Resisting Imperialist Intervention Correcting Colonialist Abuses of Soviet Power Weighing the New Economic Policy Providing Material Aid to Soviet Republic Parrying a Social-Democratic Intrusion Debating the New Economic Policy By John […]

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]]> https://johnriddell.com/2021/01/29/how-pioneer-communists-assessed-the-russian-soviet-republic/feed/ 0 6620 Lenin’s Verdict on Kautsky in State and Revolution https://johnriddell.com/2019/08/05/lenins-verdict-on-kautsky-in-state-and-revolution/ https://johnriddell.com/2019/08/05/lenins-verdict-on-kautsky-in-state-and-revolution/#comments Tue, 06 Aug 2019 01:03:28 +0000 http://johnriddell.com/?p=5445 It’s Time for a Closer Look By Lars T. Lih, Summer 2019: After 1914, Lenin and Karl Kautsky became bitter political enemies. No person was denounced by Lenin with so much obsessive fervor as was Kautsky—a reflection of the central role Kautsky had formerly played in the outlook of the Russian Bolsheviks. Nevertheless, despite his […]

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]]> https://johnriddell.com/2019/08/05/lenins-verdict-on-kautsky-in-state-and-revolution/feed/ 11 5445 Lenin-Kautsky Post-1914 Database https://johnriddell.com/2019/08/05/lenin-kautsky-post-1914-database/ https://johnriddell.com/2019/08/05/lenin-kautsky-post-1914-database/#respond Tue, 06 Aug 2019 00:56:33 +0000 http://johnriddell.com/?p=5457 What follows is the first online publication of a research tool created by Lars Lih in February 2008 and updated February 2011. — JR By Lars T. Lih: The Kautsky-as-Marxist database is a collection that I have compiled of all comments by Lenin in his final decade, 1914-1924, that bear on the issue on his attitude […]

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]]> https://johnriddell.com/2019/08/05/lenin-kautsky-post-1914-database/feed/ 0 5457 On the Democratic Character of Socialist Revolution https://johnriddell.com/2019/07/09/on-the-democratic-character-of-socialist-revolution/ https://johnriddell.com/2019/07/09/on-the-democratic-character-of-socialist-revolution/#comments Tue, 09 Jul 2019 22:27:06 +0000 http://johnriddell.com/?p=5429 Related Articles on the Road to Socialism Why Kautsky Was Right and Why You Should Care, by Eric Blanc, April 2, 1919 Kautsky, Lenin, and the Transition to Socialism: A Reply to Eric Blanc by Mike Taber, April 6, 2019 The Democratic Road to Socialism: A Reply to Mike Taber, by Eric Blanc, April 11, 2019 Revolutionary […]

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]]> https://johnriddell.com/2019/07/09/on-the-democratic-character-of-socialist-revolution/feed/ 1 5429 Karl Kautsky as Architect of the October Revolution: Part 2 https://johnriddell.com/2019/07/05/karl-kautsky-as-architect-of-the-october-revolution-part-2/ https://johnriddell.com/2019/07/05/karl-kautsky-as-architect-of-the-october-revolution-part-2/#comments Fri, 05 Jul 2019 13:37:23 +0000 http://johnriddell.com/?p=5415 1917: The Bolsheviks Apply Kautsky’s Tactics Lenin remained true to the tactical ideas of Karl Kautsky after the latter had abandoned them. By Lars T. Lih As we have seen, the Bolsheviks came into 1917 with two pieces of Kautsky advice firmly under their belts: enlist the peasantry as a revolutionary ally, and do not […]

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]]> https://johnriddell.com/2019/07/05/karl-kautsky-as-architect-of-the-october-revolution-part-2/feed/ 1 5415 Karl Kautsky as Architect of the October Revolution: Part 1 https://johnriddell.com/2019/07/04/karl-kautsky-as-architect-of-the-october-revolution-part-1/ https://johnriddell.com/2019/07/04/karl-kautsky-as-architect-of-the-october-revolution-part-1/#comments Thu, 04 Jul 2019 15:03:23 +0000 http://johnriddell.com/?p=5410 Before the War: The Bolsheviks Applaud Kautsky’s Tactics Lenin remained true to the tactical ideas of Karl Kautsky after the latter had abandoned them. By Lars T. Lih In recent months, Jacobin has seen an exchange of views on the theme of Kautsky vs Lenin. Many good points were made, but on the subject of […]

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]]> https://johnriddell.com/2019/07/04/karl-kautsky-as-architect-of-the-october-revolution-part-1/feed/ 4 5410 Paul Le Blanc’s ‘October Song’: Criticism and response https://johnriddell.com/2019/01/08/paul-le-blancs-october-song-criticism-and-response/ https://johnriddell.com/2019/01/08/paul-le-blancs-october-song-criticism-and-response/#comments Wed, 09 Jan 2019 01:33:43 +0000 https://johnriddell.com/?p=5206 Paul Le Blanc’s October Song: Bolshevik Triumph, Communist Tragedy, an innovative appraisal of Russia’s 1917 revolution and its results, has provoked both praise and controversy. My review on this website was answered in an extensive comment by Pittsburgh-based socialist Marty Boyers. Paul Le Blanc, in turn, contributed a response to Marty’s criticisms. Both Marty and […]

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