revolutions
Articles about political and social revolutions.
1974-1975: The Portuguese Revolution
A short history of the revolution in Portugal in which an army rebellion overthrew the fascist dictatorship.
The real revolution was in the urban workers took control of their workplaces and farm workers took control of their farms and organised production themselves while the parties of the left merely jockeyed for positions of power, eventually killing the revolution.
1956: The Hungarian Revolution
The history of the Hungarian workers' revolution against the Communist dictatorship. A general strike was declared, and workers' councils sprung up across the country.
In cities the workers armed themselves and fraternised with the troops, but were eventually crushed by Soviet tanks.
It is not out of love for nostalgia that we are commemorating the 1956 Hungarian uprising: Hungary '56 was a prime example of the working class itself reaching for power. Doubly significant, it took place in one of the mythical 'workers' states'.
1936-1939: The Spanish Civil War and revolution
A short history of the Spanish Civil War and Revolution which broke out in response to the right-wing and fascist coup attempt of General Franco.
The war lasted for three years and ended with Franco's victory, aided by fascist Italy and Nazi Germany. The revolution saw huge swathes of Spanish industry and agriculture socialised and run collectively by the workers and peasants.
1918: The Hungarian Revolution
The history of the revolution which brought down the monarch and saw workers' and peasants' councils spring up across the country, only to be betrayed by its social democratic and Communist "leadership".
On May 1st, 1917 a massive strike wave and demonstration led to the fall of the reactionary government of Count Tisza, on the 23rd of May.
1905: The Russian Revolution
A short history of the first unsuccessful Russian Revolution of 1905. Following the 'Bloody Sunday' massacre, a general strike paralysed the country and workers' and peasants' councils were set up.
The revolt started on January 22 when a peaceful, mildly reformist, protest march in St. Petersburg was shoot at by troops with more than 1,000 killed or injured. This day became known as "Bloody Sunday." Rather than squelch the protests, the repression fanned the flames of rebellion.
Russia 1917 - 'N', Wildcat [UK],1985
Originally a contribution to the conference held by UK Wildcat on the Russian revolution and its implications today [i.e. 1985].
The Paris Commune, 1871 - A short account by the WSM
A short history of the Paris Commune, weak on details of the revolution and working class organisation but with good information about the makeup of the elected Communards and details of the fighting and repression at the end of the Commune
Collectives in the Spanish Revolution - Gaston Leval
Detailed account of worker-controlled agriculture in revolutionary Spain during the civil war.
COLLECTIVES IN THE SPANISH REVOLUTION
by Gaston Leval
Published by Freedom Press, London, 1975
Text from anarchosyndicalism.net
"The Barricades Must Be Torn Down": Moscow-Fascism in Spain - Paul Mattick
Mattick ponders the then-recent events of May 1937 - when the counter-revolutionary consequences of the CNT and POUM's compromises with bourgeois democracy and Stalinism became deadly reality.
The Paris Commune of 1871 - Undercurrent
The Paris Commune of 1871
undercurrent #6
Recently, the Sussex University library dedicated part of its space for a small exhibition on the Paris Commune. At first this came with some surprise: how was it that, in the midst of the boredom of academic life and the total lack of interest in any issues of importance, the library was willing to commemorate one of the most crucial proletarian revolutions of the nineteenth century? Yet, our surprise quickly vanished when we gave this exhibition a closer look. Not only is the exhibition of a purely academic nature (looking at historical events as spectacles and thus a-historically), but it is also taking the Commune out of context, describing it by using some of the most common illusions found in the bourgeois world. This article comes as a response to the exhibition.
