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Lenin
Lenin
Lenin on party and class - video
To wrap up Counterfire's series on Leninism in the 21st century, Michael Lavalette discusses Lenin's concept of a revolutionary organisation and its relation to the working class
Lenin on the state - video
Holly Rigby discusses Lenin's theory on the capitalist state and the need for revolutionary struggle against it
Lenin on imperialism - video
Shabbir Lakha discusses Lenin's theory on imperialism, its relation to capitalism and what that means for anti-imperialists today
Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism: a short introduction
Ahead of Counterfire's discussion on
Lenin on Imperialism
, we repost Morgan Daniels' introduction to Lenin's 1917 pamphlet,
Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism
Ukraine, imperialism and the national question
As crisis in Ukraine escalates, Chris Bambery examines the complex and bloody history of nationalism, revolution and imperial competition in the region
Echoes of October: why the Russian Revolution still matters - video
Introduced by Vladimir Unkovski-Korica at Counterfire's Revolution! Festival
Lenin 150 (Samizdat) - book review
Lenin 150 (Samizdat)
is a welcome collection of articles and pieces on Lenin by authors from around the world which asserts the importance of his political legacy, finds Chris Bambery
The Communist Movement at a Crossroads: Plenums of the Communist International’s Executive Committee, 1922-1923 - book review
The newly available records of the Comintern Executive Committee from 1922-23 show the importance of the organisation before its later Stalinisation, argues Chris Bambery
Imperialism under Biden - video
Shabbir Lakha explains what we can expect from Biden's foreign policy using a Marxist understanding of imperialism
The Spark That Lit the Revolution: Lenin in London and the Politics that Changed the World - book review
Robert Henderson’s book on Lenin’s time in London allows for a detailed focus on Lenin in the context of his political debates, organisation and research, finds Alex Snowdon
Why Labour can't deliver
We need to dig deep for the roots of Labour’s failures, argues Dragan Plavšić
Rosa Luxemburg: an interview with Dana Mills
Katherine Connelly interviews Dana Mills, author of a new biography on Rosa Luxemburg, on her crucial contribution to revolutionary thought
The Ballot or The Streets or Both? From Marx and Engels to Lenin and the October Revolution - book review
August Nimtz’s study of Lenin’s approach to elections reveals the continuities with Marx and their enduring relevance to revolutionary politics, argues Alex Snowdon
The history of May Day: an unfinished struggle
Out of the Chartist movement, the struggle against slavery and for international socialism, why the demands of May Day remain as vital as ever today
Did Lenin inevitably lead to Stalin?
There was nothing inevitable about the grotesque transformation of Russia’s fledgeling workers’ state into Stalin’s Soviet Union, explains John Westmoreland in the third of his three-part series
1917: Lenin and workers’ power
Lenin’s greatest contribution to history was his leading role in the Russian Revolution of 1917, when workers entered the stage of history, writes John Westmoreland in the second of his three-part series
Lenin and revolutionary organisation
On the 150th anniversary of Lenin's birth, John Westmoreland, in the first of a three-part series, takes on the myths and distortions to reveal the politics at the heart of the Bolshevik party up to 1917
The Dilemmas of Lenin
In the week of the 150th anniversary of Lenin's birth, we repost Lindsey German's review of Tariq Ali's The Dilemmas of Lenin
Lenin, state and revolution: an introduction
In the week of the 150th anniversary of Lenin's birth, we repost Dragan Plavšić's take on this classic text
Tony Cliff: Strategy and Tactics
We republish Chapter 14 from Tony Cliff's
Lenin 1: Building the Party
on the 20th anniversary of his death
Lessons from the Spanish flu of 1919: internationalism and people before profit
Internationalism and collective action of the working people is the way to resolve pandemics argues John Westmoreland
Trotsky on Lenin - book review
A welcome new edition of neglected writing by Trotsky makes accessible revealing insights into Lenin and Russian society, finds Dominic Alexander
We carried the Revolution on our shoulders - book extract
In this second book extract of
The Women's Revolution: Russia 1905-1917
, Judy Cox describes the involvement and militancy of women during the October Revolution and the Civil War.
The Women's Revolution - book extract
In this first of two extracts of
The Women's Revolution: Russia 1905-1917
, Judy Cox describes how the unnamed, uncredited women of Russia were at the forefront of the February Revolution in 1917
The October Revolution: lessons and legacy
Historian and activist Paul Le Blanc reflects upon the Year One of international working class struggle
Storming the heavens: The Russian Revolution 100 years on - event
On the 100
th
anniversary of the October Revolution Counterfire is hosting an event to celebrate the defining political moment of the twentieth century
Rosa Luxemburg, reform and revolution - video
Rosa Luxemburg is one of the greatest Marxist activists and thinkers of all time. Elaine Graham-Leigh discusses her ideas on reform, revolution, and much else.
What is Marxism? A guide to revolutionary theory - organised by Counterfire
We need to organise against an establishment that will do anything to stop radical social change. Three forums on revolutionary theory will help us understand how
October 1917: Workers in Power
The collection of essays in
October 1917
show the Revolution as animated by ‘the irrepressible aspiration of humanity to freedom’, finds Judy Cox
Georg Lukacs and the actuality of revolution
Hungarian Marxist Georg Lukacs is under attack. We repost a talk given by Chris Nineham at the recent conference in Budapest to defend him
Why we need organisation: politics and structure
Are Lenin’s Bolsheviks still the template for radical socialists in the 21st century, asks Vladimir Unkovski-Korica
Revolution remembered
Event commemorating the Russian Revolution, linking it to today's struggles, was big success for revolutionary left, reports Vladimir Unkovski-Korica
The October Revolution: history and heritage
Historian and activist Paul Le Blanc reflects upon the Year One of international working class struggle from Counterfire’s recent 'Revolution: Russia 1917 – on hundred years on' event
5 things Orlando Figes got wrong about the Russian Revolution on BBC Newsnight
Orlando Figes was enlisted by the BBC to trash the history of the Russian Revolution. In the run-up to
Saturday's Revolution 1917 event
, Chris Nineham corrects some matters of fact
Lenin's State and Revolution
Lenin's
State and Revolution
offers crucial insights to those campaigning to change the world 100 years later, explains Paul Vernell
To the Masses: Proceedings of the Third Congress of the Communist International, 1921
The sharp and dramatic debates during the Third Congress of the Comintern contain lessons on strategy and tactics of crucial relevance today, argues Chris Bambery
Russia's road to revolution
The revolutionary events of 1905 profoundly affected the revolutionary parties themselves, argues Sean Ledwith
Must revolution always mean catastrophe?
Neither Cromwell, nor Robespierre, nor Lenin, could become an icon or avatar for the reactionary regimes they helped to overthrow, but Stalin was different argues Bill Bowring
1905: The 1917 Revolution's dress rehearsal
The Russian Revolution of 1917 was led by a working class who, in 1905, had already tasted their own power and experienced bitter defeat
'A marvellous adventure' - John Reed‘s Ten Days that Shook the World
John Reed’s remarkable eyewitness account of the Russian Revolution is introduced by Judy Cox
Classic texts 2: a summary of Lenin's 'Left-Wing' Communism - an infantile disorder
The question for Lenin was: do you stand on the side lines, or engage in joint activity, including electoral activity, in order to break the hold of those who were fudging the issue of reform and revolution?
The principles of liberation: how Lenin rescued Marx
Chris Nineham reviews '
Reconstructing Lenin. An intellectual biography
' by Tamas Krausz
Classic texts: a summary of Lenin’s State and Revolution
Can the state be taken over because it is a neutral space or does it have to be overthrown? Paul Vernell looks at Lenin's answer
Lenin and the Labour Party - lessons for today?
As Jeremy Corbyn's campaign for Labour leader gains seemingly unstoppable momentum, John Rees looks at some of the debates on the left at the time of the formation of the Labour Party
Global Imperialism and the Great Crisis: The Uncertain Future of Capitalism
Lenin’s understanding of imperialism and imperial rivalry still best describes the world we face, argues Dan Poulton, reviewing Ernesto Scepanti’s
Global Imperialism and the Great Crisis
Unfinished Leninism: The Rise and Return of a Revolutionary Doctrine
Leninism, so frequently misunderstood, is shown to be of vital relevance for contemporary politics in Paul Le Blanc,
Unfinished Leninism
, argues Alex Snowdon
Gramsci’s Leninism
Chris Walsh explores Antonio Gramsci as a Leninist, the originality of his thinking and the relevance of Gramsci today