Quickgists

Oppose the censorship of the ‘anti-hate speech’ Bolsheviks Christopher Drape draws lessons for today's activists from the tragic history of the Russian Revolution The  Peace News  commemoration of the Russian Revolution (PN 2612–2613) accurately identified the role of nonviolent direct action in creating that inspiring event but offered no explanation of why it all ended in tears. Most historians accept that the revolution degenerated into authoritarian terror but activists disagree on the causes. Leninists blame the ensuing civil war, Trotskyists blame Stalin, anarchists blame Lenin while an old Communist Party friend of mine reckons it would have all worked out in the end if only ‘Stalin had killed more reactionaries’! “Anti-authoritarians who gave Lenin the benefit of the doubt were one after another eliminated” Before the revolution, Lenin outlined his Marxist ideas for Russia in numerous texts. By helping him into power, anti-authoritarians effectively...