In the span of a few short years, the Bolsheviks went from a party that had been decimated by reaction to a shining beacon to the revolutionary masses across the world. Despite the invasion of 21 foreign armies, they won a desperate battle for survival, whilst making huge strides for the working class, founding the first free health service, legalising divorce and abortion, decriminalising homosexuality and more. This talk will cover the early USSR, the period of the Civil War and the urgent tasks a successful revolution faces.
Reading list
Articles
1918: first year of the Russian Revolution – Derek Gunby
The Russian Civil War: an international struggle – Jules Legendre
Books
Year One of the Russian Revolution – Victor Serge
In Defence of Lenin – Alan Woods & Rob Sewell
My Life – Leon Trotsky
Women, Family and Russian Revolution – John Peter Roberts & Fred Weston
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