Russia
The Kronstadt commune 1921 - The Red Menace
The Red Menace's analysis of the Kronstadt rebellion.
‘The Workers’ and Peasants’ Government has decreed that Kronstadt and the rebelling ships must immediately submit to the authority of the Soviet Republic. I therefore order all who have raised their hands against the socialist fatherland to lay down their arms at once. Recalcitrants are to be disarmed and turned over to the Soviet authorities.
Akashev, Konstantin Vasielievitch, 1888-1931
A short biography of the anarchist who defected to the Bolsheviks and became the first commander of the Soviet air force and was later executed.
1. From anarchist to first commander of the Soviet Air Force
Abrams, Jacob aka Jack Abrams, 1883-1953
A short biography of Jack Abrams, active in the USA, Russia and Mexico and famous for the Abrams case which led an assault on US anarchism
He was an excellent organiser, learning languages readily, and spoke beautiful Russian, English and Spanish. He was a fine man, knowledgeable and kind. When he formed an opinion you couldn’t budge him, but when something had to be done, he did it!”. Ida Radosh in Avrich, P. Anarchist Voices.
The Ukraine: An Unfinished Revolution
The 4th anniversary of the Orange Revolution has been marked by yet another clash within the camp of its victors, and presents a good opportunity to debate the merits of this event. Its main merit is the dismal confinement to bourgeois character in a time of degenerating capitalism, when a bourgeois revolution has no capacity to solve any social problems.
Effectively, all modern bourgeois regimes claim to be democratic. Yet for socialist revolutionaries it is an obvious fact that bourgeois democracy is no more than a political form of the rule of capital. However, it is help to study the specifics that distinguish it from other forms.
The Role of the Soviets in Russia's Bourgeois Revolution - The Point of View of Julius Martov
Questions the assumption that the form of working class organisation to overthrow capitalism and establish socialism has been found in the workers' "soviets" or councils such as those that appeared during the Russian revolution. Looks at Martov's work "The State and the Socialist Revolution".
This article originally appeared in the French political journal, <i>Economies et societes, cahiers de l'ISMEA</i>, (Paris, serie S, Number 18, April-May 1976)
The basic principle defended by Marx throughout his forty years of socialist activity can be summed up in the clause of the General Rules of the First International that "the emancipation of the working class must be conquered by the working classes themselves".
A requiem for nationalisation
The current world crisis of capitalism is provoking a wave of proletarian protests, and will inevitably provoke them in the future. In the CIS (ex-USSR), the first serious sign of things to come was the workers’ revolt at the Kherson machine-building factory this February. By now it is clear that the reactionary Party of Regions has subdued the workers’ struggle, and it is time to analyse the reasons behind this defeat. We have to learn from mistakes, and in order to save the approaching future struggles in the CIS and the world from a similar fate, we must pick out the key factors in the defeat.
A Requiem for Nationalisation
Democratic Russia has little cause for optimism
In this interview originally published in Freedom in 2008, Rob Ray talks to Vadim, a Russian anarchist, about the state of the country in that year.
Rob Ray: What is the economic situation in Russia at the moment?
Migrant workers die in illegal 'housing'
Seven Tadzhik construction workers were killed yesterday in Moscow when a fire broke out in an underground parking garage where they were being illegally housed.
At least 20 other workers were caught in the blaze but were rescued.
Construction firms most often provide migrant workers with makeshift housing (such as containers or garages) in flagrant violate of health and safety regulations.
Tajik construction workers strike in Russia
Wildcat strike of immigrant workers in Yekaterinburg.
The Russian government tries to repress news of a strike by Tajik construction workers in the city of Yekaterinburg. The head of the Federal Migration Service has called news of the strike "nonsense" and other representatives of the state are trying to repress the news, which may be inspiring to the thousands of other immigrant workers in Russia who are facing the same situation.
Russian Revolution 1917 - further reading guide
Libcom's guide to further reading around the subject of the Russian revolution and counter-revolution of 1917 to 1921.
The Russian Revolution and Civil War, 1917-21 (WARNING: No work takes a more ideological and manufactured quality than histories of the Russian Revolution.
