Kronstadt

by Vladimir Lenin, John G. Wright (Contribution by), Pierre Frank (Introduction)

A Pathfinder upgraded edition Political and economic lessons from the 1921 mutiny at Kronstadt naval base, hailed by Washington, London, and Paris, and the deadly threat it posed to the young Soviet Republic. Photos, glossary, index. Now with enlarged type.

Genres: History, Politics, Nonfiction

208 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1979

About the author

Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, leader of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (Bolsheviks), statesman and political theorist. After the October Revolution he served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until his death in 1924 and of the Soviet Union from 1922 until his death in 1924.

Reviews

[Sasha Boucher · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's basically a collection of articles, resolutions, and exchanges on the history and context of the kronstadt uprising with extracts from Lenin, Trotsky, and others directly involved in the event. It's a very effective demonstration of why having a dialectical approach is essential to understanding social forces at play in historical events.

[Olivier Turbide · Rating 4 out of 5]

Très instructif comme livre, ça remet les événements en perspective. L’introduction de Pierre Frank vaut vraiment le coût!

La leçon que j’en retire principalement, c’est qu’en étudiant l’histoire des révolutions passées, on ne peut pas adopter une attitude moraliste ou empiriste, qui cherche à isoler les actions de la révolution de leur contexte général et de les juger par rapport à des règles morales abstraites.

Pour arriver à tirer de vraies leçons des événements, qui nous seront utiles dans les luttes à venir, il faut observer les grandes tendances, les forces sociales à l’œuvre, bref le processus dans son ensemble. C’est ce que Trotsky fait si bien, contrairement à Victor Serge et à ses autres critiques.

[James Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kronstadt by V. I. Lenin and Leon Trotsky explain why the Soviet Government put down the Kronstadt revolt in 1921 explaining why the Mensheviks were wrong in their argument that the Bolsheviks were historically premature in establishing a socialist/communist government before Russia even had a legitamate capitalist period.

[Marc Lichtman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nobody thinks this was one of the finest moments of the Russian Revolution. Trotsky expressed the opinion that if his proposal for the New Economic Policy had been adopted earlier that it might not have been needed. But it was necessary before the ice formed and Kronstadt was separated from the surrounding territory. The introduction by long-time French Trotskyist leader Pierre Frank provides evidence that a French naval vessel was headed there.

Everyone repeats over and over again that these were the same sailors who had played such an important role in the Russian Revolution. But it wasn't true. Most of those sailors had fought in the Civil War and were no longer at Kronstadt. The ones who were left mostly had a different social composition and different political views from the revolutionary fighters of earlier.

This book contains the main political speeches and writings by both Lenin and Trotsky on the events. There is, in addition, a piece written by Socialist Workers Party leader John G. Wright (Joseph Vanzler), probably written at the behest of Trotsky. A shorter version of it had previously appeared in 'New International,' and was responded to by Victor Serge and Anton Ciliga. Their comments and replies to them are also in the book.

See also Revolution and the Road to Peace in Colombia: Lessons from the Cuban Revolution and Their Morals and Ours: The Class Foundations of Moral. Practice.

[Hein Htet · Rating 1 out of 5]

I lost a lot of my respect for Leon Trotsky after reading his writings on Kronstadt. Even though he is persecuted, he still refused to sympathise the revolutionary comrades he once acknowledge as the best reds.