The Bolshevik Party in the Period of
Preparation and Realization
of the October Socialist Revolution
Lenin's Return from Forced Exile
The following is
excerpted from Chapter 7, "The Bolshevik Party in
the Period of Preparation and Realization of the October Socialist
Revolution," in The History of the Communist Party of the
Soviet Union
(Bolsheviks): Short Course,
1939.
***
While still in Switzerland, Lenin, upon receiving the
first
news of the (February) revolution, had written his "Letters From
Afar" to the Party and to the working class of Russia, in which
he said:
"Workers, you have displayed
marvels of proletarian
heroism,
the heroism of the people, in the civil war against tsardom. You
must now display marvels of organization, organization of the
proletariat and of the whole people, in order to prepare the way
for your victory in the second stage of the revolution."
Lenin arrived in Petrograd on the night of April 3.
Thousands
of workers, soldiers and sailors assembled at the Finland Railway
Station and in the station square to welcome him. Their
enthusiasm as Lenin alighted from the train was indescribable.
They lifted their leader shoulder high and carried him to the
main waiting room of the station. There the Mensheviks Chkheidze
and Skobelev launched into speeches of "welcome" on behalf of the
Petrograd Soviet, in which they "expressed the hope" that they
and Lenin would find a "common language." But Lenin did not stop
to listen; sweeping past them, he went out to the masses of
workers and soldiers. Mounting an armoured car, he delivered his
famous speech in which he called upon the masses to fight for the
victory of the Socialist revolution. "Long live the Socialist
revolution!" were the words with which Lenin concluded this first
speech after long years of exile.
Back in Russia, Lenin flung himself vigorously into
revolutionary work. On the morrow of his arrival he delivered a
report on the subject of the war and the revolution at a meeting
of Bolsheviks, and then repeated the theses of this report at a
meeting attended by Mensheviks as well as Bolsheviks.
These were Lenin's famous April Theses, which
provided the Party and the proletariat with a clear revolutionary
line for the transition from the bourgeois to the Socialist
revolution.[1]
Lenin's theses were of immense significance to the
revolution
and to the subsequent work of the Party. The revolution was a
momentous turn in the life of the country. In the new conditions
of the struggle that followed the overthrow of tsardom, the Party
needed a new orientation to advance boldly and confidently along
the new road. Lenin's theses gave the Party this orientation.
Lenin's April Theses laid down for the Party a
brilliant plan of struggle for the transition from the
bourgeois-democratic to the Socialist revolution, from the first
stage of the revolution to the second stage -- the stage of the
Socialist revolution. The whole history of the Party had prepared
it for this great task. As far back as 1905, Lenin had said in
his pamphlet, Two Tactics of Social-Democracy in the
Democratic Revolution, that after the overthrow of tsardom
the proletariat would proceed to bring about the Socialist
revolution. The new thing in the theses was that they gave a
concrete, theoretically grounded plan for the initial stage of
the transition to the Socialist revolution.
The transitional steps in the economic field were:
nationalization of all the land and confiscation of the landed
estates, amalgamation of all the banks into one national bank to
be under the control of the Soviet of Workers' Deputies, and
establishment of control over the social production and
distribution of products.
In the political field, Lenin proposed the transition
from a
parliamentary republic to a republic of Soviets.[...] Lenin
proposed to replace the parliamentary republic by a Soviet
republic as the most suitable form of political organization of
society in the period of transition from capitalism to
Socialism.
"The specific feature of the
present situation in
Russia,"
the theses stated, "is that it represents a transition
from the first stage of the revolution -- which, owing to the
insufficient class-consciousness and organization of the
proletariat, placed the power in the hands of the bourgeoisie -- to the second stage,
which must place the power in the hands of
the proletariat and the poorest strata of the peasantry."
"Not a parliamentary
republic -- to return to a
parliamentary
republic from the Soviets of Workers' Deputies would be a
retrograde step -- but a republic of Soviets of Workers',
Agricultural Labourers' and Peasants' Deputies throughout the
country, from top to bottom."
Under the new [liberal bourgeois] government [replacing
the
Tsarist regime], the Provisional Government, the war continued to
be a predatory imperialist war, Lenin said. It was the task of
the Party to explain this to the masses and to show them that
unless the bourgeoisie were overthrown, it would be impossible to
end the war by a truly democratic peace and not a rapacious
peace.
As regards the Provisional Government, the slogan Lenin
put
forward was: "No support for the Provisional Government!"
Lenin further pointed out in the theses that our Party
was
still in the minority in the Soviets, that the Soviets were
dominated by a bloc of Mensheviks and Socialist-Revolutionaries,
which was an instrument of bourgeois influence on the
proletariat. Hence, the Party's task consisted in the
following:
"It must be explained to the
masses that the Soviets of
Workers' Deputies are the only possible form of
revolutionary government, and that therefore our task is, as long
as this government yields to the influence of the
bourgeoisie, to present a patient, systematic, and persistent explanation
of the errors of their tactics, an
explanation
especially adapted to the practical needs of the masses. As long
as we are in the minority we carry on the work of criticizing and
exposing errors and at the same time we preach the necessity of
transferring the entire power of state to the Soviets of Workers'
Deputies...."
This meant that Lenin was not calling for a revolt
against
the Provisional Government, which at that moment enjoyed the
confidence of the Soviets, that he was not demanding its
overthrow, but that he wanted, by means of explanatory and
recruiting work, to win a majority in the Soviets, to change the
policy of the Soviets [...]
This was a line envisaging a peaceful development of
the
revolution.
Lenin further demanded that the "soiled shirt" be
discarded,
that is, that the Party no longer call itself a Social-Democratic
Party. The parties of the Second International and the Russian
Mensheviks called themselves Social-Democrats. This name had been
tarnished and disgraced by the opportunists, the betrayers of
Socialism. Lenin proposed that the Party of the Bolsheviks should
be called the Communist Party, which was the name given
by Marx and Engels to their party. [...]
Lastly, Lenin in his theses demanded the creation of a
new
International, the Third, Communist International, which would be
free of opportunism and social-chauvinism. [...]
On April 14, a Petrograd City Conference of Bolsheviks
was
held. The conference approved Lenin's theses and made them the
basis of its work.
Within a short while the local organizations of the
Party had
also approved Lenin's theses.
The whole Party,
with
the
exception
of
a few
individuals ... received Lenin's theses with profound
satisfaction.
The following is
the Brief Summary which appears at the end of Chapter 7, "The Bolshevik
Party in the Period of
Preparation and Realization of the October Socialist Revolution," in The
History
of
the
Communist
Party of the Soviet Union
(Bolsheviks): Short Course, 1939.
***
During the eight months, February to October 1917, the
Bolshevik Party accomplished the very difficult task of winning
over the majority of the working class and the majority in the
Soviets, and enlisting the support of millions of peasants for
the Socialist revolution. It wrested these masses from the
influence of the petty-bourgeois parties (Socialist
Revolutionaries, Mensheviks and Anarchists), by exposing the
policy of these parties step by step and showing that it ran
counter to the interests of the working people. The Bolshevik
Party carried on extensive political work at the front and in the
rear, preparing the masses for the October Socialist
Revolution.
The events of decisive importance in the history of the
Party
at this period were Lenin's arrival from exile abroad, his April
Theses, the April Party Conference and the Sixth Party Congress.
The Party decisions were a source of strength to the working
class and inspired it with confidence in victory; in them the
workers found solutions to the important problems of the
revolution. The April Conference directed the efforts of the
Party to the struggle for the transition from the
bourgeois-democratic revolution to the Socialist revolution. The
Sixth Congress headed the Party for an armed uprising against the
bourgeoisie and its Provisional Government.
The compromising Socialist-Revolutionary and Menshevik
parties, the Anarchists, and the other non-Communist parties
completed the cycle of their development: they all became
bourgeois parties even before the October Revolution and fought
for the preservation and integrity of the capitalist system. The
Bolshevik Party was the only party which led the struggle of the
masses for the overthrow of the bourgeoisie and the establishment
of the power of the Soviets.
At the same time, the Bolsheviks defeated the attempts
of the
capitulators within the Party -- Zinoviev, Kamenev, Rykov,
Bukharin, Trotsky and Pyatakov -- to deflect the Party from the
path of Socialist revolution.
Headed by the Bolshevik Party, the working class, in
alliance
with the poor peasants, and with the support of the soldiers and
sailors, overthrew the power of the bourgeoisie, established the
power of the Soviets, set up a new type of state -- a Socialist
Soviet state -- abolished the landlords' ownership of land,
turned over the land to the peasants for their use, nationalized
all the land in the country, expropriated the capitalists,
achieved the withdrawal of Russia from the war and obtained
peace, that is, obtained a much-needed respite, and thus created
the conditions for the development of Socialist construction.
The October Socialist Revolution smashed capitalism,
deprived
the bourgeoisie of the means of production and converted the
mills, factories, land, railways and banks into the property of
the whole people, into public property.
It established the dictatorship of the proletariat and
turned
over the government of the vast country to the working class,
thus making it the ruling class.
The October Socialist Revolution thereby ushered in a
new era
in the history of mankind -- the era of proletarian
revolutions.
Photo Review
On the occasion of the 100th Anniversary of the Great
October Socialist Revolution, TML
Weekly is publishing a selection of
photos, paintings and images that capture the spirit of the times in
which
the historic Revolution was brought into being by the Russian working
class and peasantry under the leadership of V.I. Lenin and the
Bolshevik
Party. Dates given are based on the Julian calendar, in effect in
Russia at that time.
February Revolution: February
23-March 3, 1917. Women marching for International Women's Day on
February 23
under the slogan "Peace and Bread" are joined by striking workers and
revolutionaries, with as many as 500,000 people protesting in Petrograd
(shown here is the action at the Putilov factory). The
demands highlight the people's rejection of Russia's participation in
the imperialist carnage of World War I and the food rationing by
the Tsarist government which has caused ongoing food shortages.
Despite most of the Bolshevik leadership being imprisoned or exiled,
the collective action of the women and workers provides the spark for
a mass uprising that topples the Tsar, while the events of the 1905
Revolution are still fresh in the people's minds. In January 1917, more
than 140,000 workers go on strike to commemorate the 12th anniversary
of Bloody Sunday, the start of the 1905 Revolution, when troops and
police opened fire on a peaceful demonstration against the Tsar at the
Winter Palace, killing and injuring some 1,000 people. A month later,
on International Women's Day, some 100,000 workers are still on strike.
(Painting: "Working People Arise," artist unknown.)
Demonstration
in
Znamenskaya
Square, Petrograd.Fifty demonstrators are
killed here on February 26. By February 27, troops refuse to fire on
protestors and many desert.
Also on February 27, a Temporary Committee of the State Duma and
Petrograd is established. The Duma Executive Committee forms a
provisional committee, composed primarily of Constitutional Democrats,
and announces it will take control of the country. Meanwhile in the
same location,
Mensheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries form the Petrograd Soviet of
Workers' and Soldiers
Deputies, thus bringing into being the birth of "the dual power"
described by Lenin.
On March 2, Tsar Nicholas abdicates in favour of his brother Grand Duke
Michael. The Duma Committee
announces the formation of
the Provisional Government, to rule until a Constituent Assembly is
convened
with
Prince Georgy Lvov
becoming the leader. The death penalty is abolished.
As the February Revolution breaks out, Lenin is in exile in
Switzerland. When news of its success reaches him, he begins to write
his "Letters from Afar." The first letter, shown here as printed in Pravda, discloses the bourgeois
character of the Provisional Government and calls on the Russian
proletariat to march forward to the Socialist revolution. Lenin writes:
"Workers, you have displayed marvels of proletarian heroism, the
heroism of the people, in the civil war against tsardom. You must now
display marvels of organization, organization of the proletariat and of
the whole people, in order to prepare the way for your victory in the
second stage of the revolution."
Bolshevik leader Joseph Stalin returns to Petrograd from exile on
March 12. In an article written the day after his return and
published in Pravda, March
14, entitled "The Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies," he
exhorts, "Workers, peasants and soldiers, unite everywhere to form
Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies, organs of the alliance and
power of the revolutionary forces of Russia! Therein lies the guarantee
of complete victory over the dark forces of old Russia."
Lenin arrives at Finland Station in Petrograd on the evening of April
3, after long years in exile. His return is of tremendous importance to
the Bolshevik Party and the revolution. Thousands of workers, soldiers
and sailors assemble at the train station and in its square to welcome
him.
Their enthusiasm as Lenin alights from the train is captured in this
painting by M. Sokolov.
In the square at Finland Station, Lenin mounts the roof of an armoured
car and addresses the people, calling on them to fight for the victory
of the Socialist revolution, concluding "Long live the Socialist
revolution!" Stalin, who has met Lenin at the Byelo-Ostrov
Station, is shown to the
left of him in this painting by V. Serov of
Lenin's first speech on returning to Russia.
The night of his return to Petrograd, Lenin begins to write the famous April Theses,
shown here
as published in Pravda April
7 under the title "The Tasks of the
Proleteriat in the Present Revolution." The April Theses provide the
Party and the proleteriat with a clear revolutionary
line for the transition from the bourgeois to the socialist revolution.
At right, Lenin delivers the April
Theses on April 4.
"April Crisis" -- April 18-May 2: The bourgeois capitalist nature of
the Provisional Government
and its contradiction with the people's longstanding demand that Russia
withdraw from World
War I is confirmed by a secret telegram sent by Minister Pavel Miliukov
to Russia's allies. In it,
the Provisional Government promises Russia’s support until the war is
won and stakes claims on Constantinople and the Dardenelles as Russia's
portion of the spoils of war. This telegram is leaked and on April 20
people take to the streets with slogans such as "Down with the Ten
Capitalist Ministers." Support for the Bolsheviks grows. Miliukov
resigns and a cabinet shuffle establishes a new provisional government
on May 5.
Vyacheslav Molotov, Stalin and Lenin in the editorial office of Pravda, in this drawing by P.
Vasilyev. Pravda -- the
Russian
word for "truth" -- is the key link between the leadership of the
Bolshevik Party and the masses.
The First All-Russia Congress of Workers' and Soldiers' Soviets meets
June 3-24. Much of the discussion focuses on relations between the
Soviets and the Provisional Government, and Russia's participation in
World War I. This drawing by P. Vasilyev shows the moment when the
Menshevik leader Irakli Tsereteli asserts from the platform that no
political party in Russia will say, "Hand over the power to us" and
Lenin rises to his feet and loudly declares, "There is such a party! It
is the Bolshevik Party!"
The
Bolsheviks carry out extensive organizing in the army, both at the
fronts and in the rear. In June 1917, an All-Russian Conference of
Bolshevik Organizations in the Army is called. At the conference, two
reports are delivered by Lenin (shown here in a painting by B.
Vladimirsky) -- one on the current situation and the
organization of power, and the other on the agrarian question. Stalin
delivers a report on the national question.
The Bolshevik Party makes energetic preparations for a June 18 mass
demonstration in Petrograd. In Pravda
on June 17, Stalin calls on the workers and soldiers to participate
under the slogans of the Bolshevik Party, namely, "Down with the Ten
Capitalist Ministers;" "All Power to the Soviets of the Workers',
Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies;" "It is Time the War is Stopped! Let
the Soviet of Deputies Declare Just Terms of Peace;" "Neither a
Separate Peace with [Kaiser] Wilhelm, Nor any Secret Treaties with the
French and British Capitalists;" and "Peace, Bread, Freedom!"
Minister of War Alexander Kerensky launches the "June Offensive" on
June 18 against Austria-Hungary forces in Galicia. Although the
offensive is initially successful, the soldiers soon refuse to fight.
Soldiers' committees debate orders and encourage soldiers to disobey
officers. Many soldiers return home to take part in land
redistribution. The offensive collapses four days later and the
Austrians and Germans respond with a counteroffensive. The failure of
the June Offensive further weakens the Provisional Government. Shown
here are soldiers protesting in Petrograd on June 18, a mass
demonstration in which 400,000 take part with banners bearing Bolshevik
slogans.
On the basis of the decisions taken at the All-Russian Conference of
Bolsheviks held in April, the Bolshevik Party carries out
intensive activities in the Soviets, in the army, at workers' barracks,
in workers' tenements, and among the peasantry. This painting by I.
Brodsky shows Lenin addressing a meeting of workers in Petrograd. One
worker at the Putilov factory, recalling a speech made there by Lenin,
says, "His words stirred us, fired us. Fear vanished; fatigue passed
away. And it seemed as if this was not only the voice of Lenin, but of
all the 40,000 workers -- sitting, standing, clinging to the roof -- a
voice giving utterance to their innermost thoughts."
July 3-7, later known as the "July Days." Some half million people
participate in armed demonstrations of
industrial workers and
soldiers in Petrograd against the Provisional Government, including
20,000
sailors and a machine
gun regiment. Shown here, Lenin speaks from the balcony of the
Kshesinskaya Mansion (painting by A. Moravov).
Lvov resigns as leader of the Provisional Government and Alexander
Kerensky takes over, and suppresses the demonstrations using troops
loyal to the Provisional Government. On July 7, Kerensky becomes Prime
Minister, and brings the Constitutional Democrats back into the
Provisional Government.
The aborted July uprising results in the Soviets becoming an appendage
of the Provisional Government, signifying the end of the "dual power."
Kerensky issues warrants for the arrest of Lenin and other Bolshevik
leaders. The offices of Pravda
-- the headquarters of the Bolshevik Central Committee -- are raided
and many Bolshevik leaders arrested. The Bolshevik Party goes
underground and arranges for Lenin to go into hiding, and then into
exile in Finland. Shown here, Lenin and his false papers for his
passage into Finland.
July 25-August 3, the Sixth Bolshevik Party Congress is secretly
convoked
in Petrograd
with over 150
delegates. Lenin is being hunted by agents of the Provisional
Government and cannot attend, but guides the congress from hiding
through his
close comrades Stalin, Yakov Sverdlov, Molotov and Sergo Ordzhonikidze.
The chief
issues addressed are the political report of the Central Committee and
the political situation. Stalin delivers both reports on these
questions
(shown above in a painting by S.V. Semenovich).
The decisions of the Bolshevik Party's Sixth Congress are to prepare
the proletariat and the poorest peasantry for an armed uprising for the
socialist revolution. The congress' Manifesto calls on the workers,
peasants and soldiers to muster their forces for decisive battles with
the bourgeoisie. It concludes: "Prepare, then, for the
new battles, comrades-in-arms! Staunchly, bravely and calmly, without
yielding to provocation, muster your forces and form your fighting
columns! Rally under the banner of the Party, proletarians and
soldiers! Rally under our banner, downtrodden of the villages!"
In late August, a failed coup by Commander of the Russian Army General
Kornilov takes place, later known as the Kornilov Affair. Kornilov
orders troops towards Petrograd to attack the Bolsheviks. "We will
fight Kornilov," Lenin says, "Not
for
supporting
Kerensky,
but
for
exposing his weakness." Kerensky
accepts the alliance and releases several Bolshevik leaders from prison
while providing arms to the Bolshevik forces. The coup is defeated and
the workers and soldiers lose further confidence in the Provisional
Government. Shown here the sailors from
Kronstadt and
Vyoborg
arrive
in
Petrograd
to
fight
the Kornilov
uprising.
Kornilov's coup attempt is defeated, his forces disarm and a short time
later the second coalition government ends. The Kerensky government
declares Russia a republic under the Provisional Government. It lasts
less than six weeks before the Great October Socialist Revolution takes
place. In early September, delegates for the Second All-Russia
Congress of Soviets are elected. The Soviet Central Executive Committee
gains support across Russia. One hundred and twenty-six Soviets demand
power be turned over to the Petrograd Soviet, which passes a resolution
supporting the Bolsheviks, 279 to 115. On September 4, many Bolshevik
leaders are released from prison due to public pressure. Kerensky tries
to disband the Military Committee and create a new coalition
government. On September 8, sailors of the Baltic Fleet, through their
elected organs, declare that they will not recognize the authority of
the Provisional Government, nor will they execute any of its orders. On
September 11, the Central Committee of the Black Sea fleet demands:
"All power to the Soviets!" By the end of September, both the Petrograd
and Moscow Soviets have Bolshevik majorities. Kerensky forms a third
coalition government.
As the revolution unfolds, Lenin continuously sums up the experience of
the Bolsheviks and the people, to ensure that the revolutionary forces
are armed with the theory and outlook necessary
to take them to victory. Shown here is Lenin's fitting reply in
September to the bourgeois and petty-bourgeois parties who claim that
even if the Bolsheviks can take power, they will never be able to
retain it. He subjects the arguments of the enemies of Bolshevism to
annihilating
criticism: "More than at any other time, more than anywhere else, the
proletariat of Russia,
if it assumes power now, can be certain of victory, and of a lasting
victory."
Lenin returns to Petrograd in secret from exile in Finland on
October 7. A
critical moment in the revolutionary struggle has been reached and the
Bolshevik Central Committee meets on October 10 to authorize
proceeding to an armed uprising. Two members of the Central Committee,
Lev Kamanev and Grigory Zinoviev, speak and vote against the historic
decision. Leon Trotsky does not vote against the resolution but moves
an amendment
that
would reduce the chances of the uprising to nil and render it
stillborn. Nonetheless the Central Committee adopts the historic
resolution drawn up by Lenin, shown here in manuscript form.
On October 20, the Petrograd Soviet establishes its Military
Revolutionary Committee to prepare for the revolution on October 26. On
October 21, Commissars of the Military Revolutionary Committee are sent
with precise instructions to all revolutionary army
units, including those
on the warship Aurora, who are given a key role to play. Meeting of the
Petrograd Soviet,
shown here on October 22.
The Smolny Institute, headquarters of the Petrograd Soviet and
Bolshevik Central Committee, becomes the headquarters for the October
Revolution. Top: Lenin in the Smolny Institute during the days of the
October Revolution (painting by M. Sokolov). Bottom: General Staff of
the October Revolution -- Lenin, Stalin, Sverdlov, Felix Dzerzhinsky
and Moisei Uritzky
(painting by V. Kuznetsov).
At
9:45
pm
on
October
25,
the
battleship
Aurora
trains its guns on the Winter Palace and fires the signal shot that
begins the assault on the Palace and the start of the October
Revolution
(top: unknown artist; bottom:
V. Kuznetsov).
The Military Revolutionary Committee directs armed
workers and soldiers to capture key
buildings in Petrograd. The General Post Office, train stations,
power stations, the State Bank,
the central telephone exchanges and
main government buildings are
all taken over (painting
by K.
Drozdov). The Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets opens.
The historic October 25 statement from the Military Revolutionary
Committee: "To the citizens of
Russia: the Provisional Government has been overthrown. State power has
passed into the hands of the organ of the Petrograd Soviet of Workers'
and Soldiers' Deputies, the Military Revolutionary Committee, which
stands at the head of the Petrograd proletariat and garrison. The cause
for which the people have fought -- the immediate proposal of a
democratic peace; the abolition of landlordism, workers' control over
production, the creation of a Soviet government -- is assured. Long
live the revolution of the workers, soldiers and peasants!"
On October 26, the Bolsheviks take control of the Winter Palace at 2:00
am, the last remaining holdout of the Provisional Government. Kerensky
flees Petrograd. Lenin declares Soviet power
at the historic meeting of the Second All-Russia Congress of Soviets at
the Smolny Institute that same day (painting by D. Nalbandyan).
First decrees issued by new government -- the Decree on Land (left)
abolishes private property
and redistributes land amongst the peasantry; the Decree on Peace calls
on belligerents to conclude an immediate armistice for at least three
months to allow for peace negotiations and calls for Russia's immediate
withdrawal from World War I. Subsequent workers' decrees outline
measures for an eight-hour working day, minimum wage and the running of
factories. The death penalty is abolished once again.
Lenin's important work The State and
Revolution reviews the key events
of 1917. In it, Lenin restores the revolutionary Marxist doctrine of
the state, which had been vulgarized and distorted by the opportunists.
He develops the theory of the dictatorship of the proletariat and shows
the Soviets to be the state form of the dictatorship of the
proletariat. Shown here, part of the rough manuscript concerning the
February Revolution, produced during Lenin's exile in
Switzerland, and the cover of the first edition published in 1918.
(Photos, text and images: Lenin (V.I.
Ulyanov), State Publishing House
of Political Literature, 1939; online sources in public domain.)
Historic Posters
Below is a selection from the many many posters produced
in Russia and the Soviet Union in the years following the Great October
Socialist Revolution. They celebrate anniversaries of this historic
event and capture the optimism and spirit of the people as they build
socialism under the
leadership of the Bolshevik Party.
Celebrating the Great October
Revolution
Left: One year of proletarian dictatorship, 1917-1918. Right: October
1917-1920.
Left: Ten years of October revolution. Right: Forward to October, 15
years of the
fight for socialism.
Left: Long live world socialist revolution. Right: Long live the 30th
anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution.
Defending the Great October Revolution
Left: Death to world imperialism. Right: Defend the Soviet Union, 1930.
Raise high the banner of Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin, 1933.
May Day -- International Day of Working Class Struggle
and Unity
May Day poster, "Long Live the Fifth Anniversary of the Great
Proletarian Revolution,"
celebrates the unity of workers around the world.
Women
Left: Liberated women build socialism. Right: 1920s poster
encouraging Tartar women to
join with proletarian Soviet women.
Left: In our collective there is no room for priests and kulaks. Right:
International Women's Day.
Left: Poster encourages peasant women to join literacy campaign and
consolidate unity of workers and peasants. Right: We will rebuild, 1946.
Developing Industry and Agriculture
Victory Over Fascism
Left: Motherland is calling. Right: No to fascism.
Left: The foe won't escape the people's
vengeance, 1941. Right: Fascism
is the worst enemy
of women. Everything to combat facism.
Left: Beat them hard my son. Right: Glory to the hero Partisans
weakening the fascist rear.
Left: Long live the Party of Lenin and Stalin, organizer of our great
victories, 1946;
Right: We will build a new world, 1942.