The Russian Revolution

Was there a parliamentary alternative to revolution?

Workers in revolt lost faith in the capitalist parliament—and looked towards a better system

Trotsky—the leader who armed the workers’ movement

Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky was at the forefront of the 1917 Revolution

Workers in revolt needed newspapers of their own

Workers’ councils and political parties set up newspapers to counter the lies of the rich—and to organise the struggle against them in the Russian Revolution of 1917

How the shockwaves of the Russian Revolution spread across the world

News of revolution in Russia inspired workers to take action against their own rulers—and showed them they could win

Up in arms—how workers in Russia united in action to beat a coup

At the beginning of September 1917 the commander of the Russian Army, general Lavr Kornilov, tried to crush the revolution.

The Russian Revolution saw workers transform society—and themselves

Ideas can change fast in a revolution, as ordinary people start to take control of their own lives and the world around them

Our terrified rulers spread lies to undermine revolution

11 August 2017
Fearing that they would also be toppled, ruling classes across the world organised to crush the Russian Revolution of 1917

Does the fight for workers’ power mean dictatorship?

08 August 2017
The ruling class won’t allow a socialist society to develop, so workers need their own instruments of class rule

Russian Revolution gave a glimpse of how we can uproot women’s oppression

08 August 2017
Russia’s revolution showed there can be no women’s liberation without socialism, and no socialism without women’s liberation

The scramble to save the treasure of the Tsars

28 July 2017
After revolution overthrew Russia’s ruling Tsars, a lucrative industry grew around relics of the old regime

‘Bread, peace and land’ connected peasants with workers in the Russian Revolution

17 July 2017
The question of how the revolutionary party relates to all groups in society remains relevant for the struggle today

The July Days - Russian Revolution in crisis and a critical test for the Bolshevik party

11 July 2017
In July 1917 frustration at the Provisional Government led to soldiers’ and workers’ protests that were violently put down

Workers’ revolution ushered in an era of sexual liberation

04 July 2017
For the rights of LGBT+ people and women, revolutionary Russia was decades ahead of its time—and shows what is possible when workers unite

Support for national rights strengthened the 1917 Russian Revolution

27 June 2017
The Bolsheviks backed national rights for oppressed groups as a way of overcoming ‘Greater Russian chauvinism’

The sailors of Kronstadt saw the best and the worst of the Russian revolution

30 May 2017
Working class sailors in the Baltic Fleet were the revolution’s powerhouse—and later the victims of its isolation and decline

Imagine Moscow: How Stalin debased the design of revolution and other exhibitions

23 May 2017
Imagine Moscow exhibition showing until 4 June at The Design Museum London, W8 6AG

Russia 1917—new book is a weapon against the right

02 May 2017
As the centenary of the Russian Revolution progresses, shelves in bookshops are beginning to groan under the weight of books about 1917.

May Day in Russia, 1917 - a beacon to workers across the world

25 April 2017
May Day 1917 saw massive celebrations in Russia—but tension was brewing against the provisional government

Stalin was the embodiment of a counter-revolution

18 April 2017
Joseph Stalin wrote to his Bolshevik party comrade Lev Kamenev in 1912, “I kiss you on the nose, Eskimo-fashion. Dammit! I miss you something awful. I miss you like hell, I swear. I have no one, not a soul to have a proper talk with, damn you.”