The Russian Revolution in Retreat, 1920–24: Soviet Workers and the New Communist Elite

by Simon Pirani

The Russian revolution of 1917 was a defining event of the twentieth century, and its achievements and failures remain controversial in the twenty-first. This book focuses on the retreat from the revolution’s aims in 1920–24, after the civil war and at the start of the New Economic Policy – and specifically, on the turbulent relationship between the working class and the Communist Party in those years. It is based on extensive original research of the actions and reactions of the party leadership and ranks, of dissidents and members of other parties, and of trade union activists and ordinary factory workers. It discusses working-class collective action before, during and after the crisis of 1921, when the Bolsheviks were confronted by the revolt at the Kronshtadt naval base and other protest movements. This book argues that the working class was politically expropriated by the Bolshevik party, as democratic bodies such as soviets and factory committees were deprived of decision-making power; it examines how the new Soviet ruling class began to take shape. It shows how some worker activists concluded that the principles of 1917 had been betrayed, while others accepted a social contract, under which workers were assured of improvements in living standards in exchange for increased labour discipline and productivity, and a surrender of political power to the party.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Soviet Union, Politics, Russia

308 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Nathan Levin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cool!

[Sami Eerola · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book about the erosion of the Soviets and the transformation of Bolshevik Russia into the totalitarian state that we know.

This book goes step by step how a anti-authoritarian and decentralized factory soviet system was destroyed with the intra-Communist and workerist opposition by the Bolsheviks. Also the book shows that the Russian working class was not authoritarian, in the opposite, it wanted more freedom and democracy, but the Russian Civil War created conditions for the Bolsheviks to centralize power.

Also once again, it is shown that Lenin is to blame for the Stalinist terror. He did not believed that the workers could control the state by themselves. He believed in a new elite that would work in behalf of the workers, creating the conditions for a totalitarian state.