Felix Kreisel
Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Participants welcome at individual sessions
Prereq: Read the WSWS.ORG
2017 marks the 100th anniversary of the Russian revolution. We shall examine the context of this revolution and its impact on the world. What were the roots of the revolution, both in Russia, and the rest of the world? How did the world receive this event? What were its consequences, both immediate and long-term?
We suggest these readings: wsws.org, the Marxist daily newspaper; Leon Trotsky's books: "History of the Russian revolution" and "Revolution Betrayed".
Contact: Felix Kreisel, NW21-109, 617 497-1783, FJK@MIT.EDU
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Jan/09 | Tue | 02:00PM-04:00PM | 8-119 |
We shall examine the prehistory of 1917 and the contending social forces in the Russian Revolution. Was it a coup by the secretive Bolsheviks or a mighty popular movement driven by the war and the bankruptcy of the regime?
Suggested reading: Leon Trotsky's "The Russian Revolution".
Felix Kreisel
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Jan/16 | Tue | 02:00PM-04:00PM | 8-119 |
We shall introduce and view a documentary film "From Tsar to Lenin", with original footage from the Russian Revolution. The preview can be seen here: http://tsartolenin.com/ The film will be followed by discussion. Suggested reading: Trotsky's "History of the Russian Revolution".
Felix Kreisel
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Jan/23 | Tue | 02:00PM-04:00PM | 8-119 |
Bolsheviks took power in a country devastated by World war and Civil war. Early achievements and problems of backwardness and isolation. Why did Stalin win?
Suggested reading: Leon Trotsky, The Revolution Betrayed.
Felix Kreisel
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Jan/30 | Tue | 02:00PM-04:00PM | 8-119 |
A socialist regime in imperialist encirclement; World War II and the emergence of a "socialist" superpower. The Cold War and the zigzags of de-stalinization. The rich and the poor in a "socialist" society. The Soviet bureaucracy and how it collapsed the Soviet Union and restored capitalism.
Vladimir Volkov