History & Anniversaries

BBC radio four is broadcasting, starting 9 October ,10 programmes (over two weeks) a dramatised version of John Reed’s classic book about the Russian Revolution, ‘Ten Days That Shook The World’.

A wooden beam will appear quite solid and unchanged as termites chew away within it. But there comes a time when one step can bring down the whole rotten house. In May of 1968 the […]

New article on 1917revolution.org. 1917revolution.org – the website launched by the CWI to analyse and commemorate the centenary of the socialist Russian Revolution – has published the latest in its series of month-by-month articles which look at […]

23 February 1917 (8 March in today’s calendar) marked the beginning of the socialist revolution in Russia, which sparked a revolutionary wave that would travel around the world. In the Socialist (paper of the Socialist Party) […]

War, hunger, hated Tsarist regime: class tensions reach breaking point. The following article from the new site, 1917revolution.org is the first of a series of articles that analyse and explain, month by month, the stormy […]

1917revolution.org brings rich lessons of 100 years ago to wide audience. For Marxists, the October 1917 revolution in Russia was the greatest single event in human history, so far. Tsarist rule ended in February 1917, and capitalism and […]

Preparing for revolution. When the Russian revolution began in February 1917, leading revolutionaries, including Leon Trotsky and Vladimir Lenin, were in exile. Commentating from afar they sought to influence events, while planning their return. In the […]

Defending the legacy in a new era. The year 2017 marks the 100th anniversary of the Russian revolution. The 1917 revolution stands out as the greatest event in history – so far – though its significance […]