Stephen Gowans has a very interesting blog piece entitled "Seven Myths about the USSR." It is a pretty succinct answer to seven of the more widespread myths about the USSR and the perceptions of the Soviet experience held by most citizens in the post-Soviet nations.
http://gowans.wordpress.com/2013/12/23/ ... -the-ussr/ Any thoughts, comrades?
Soviet cogitations: 260
Defected to the U.S.S.R.: 16 Dec 2011, 00:54 Ideology: Marxism-Leninism Komsomol
I enjoyed reading this.
Good to know others are still contesting the Propaganda excreted here in the West. It's a tiring and frustrating experience doing so repeatedly but this article provides a succint grab bag of subjects that help shed light on the issues usually trotted out. Should make future labours of clarity provision a little less dispiriting even if we are still using a pippette to bail out the Toxic Water cast by the bucket load from the apparratus in play against us. "A shiny bauble from Capitalism is worthless when the cost is Children & the Elderly going hungry, The Infirm & Sick dying because of Greed & Education reduced to a token few to placate the masses with Illusions of freedom."
Great article; I've been learning lately about the many intelligent, erudite bloggers with a Leftist slant, in large part thanks to SE members posting these kinds of articles. Thanks Piccolo. This article is great, in large part because it's short and neat, summarizing and explaining very well the reasons why Russians have a positive view of socialism.
There is one point worth mentioning, which only adds to the credibility of the article. The 'Name of Russia' contest, where Stalin allegedly came in third, is accepted by most to have been thoroughly rigged. In the first weeks of voting, Stalin received so many votes that the organizers nervously decided to adjust the figures, claiming that internet Stalinists were finding ways to vote multiple times. Last edited by soviet78 on 10 Jan 2014, 20:14, edited 1 time in total.
"The thing about capitalism is that it sounds awful on paper and is horrendous in practice. Communism sounds wonderful on paper and when it was put into practice it was done pretty well for what they had to work with." -MiG
Great article, except for the part the author explains why Trotskyists 'revile' the USSR (it probably has something to do with that river of blood more than envy). He also apparently isn't aware of the wealth of other communists opposed to the Stalinist USSR, such as left communists.
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When left communists accomplish anything people will start respecting them.
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Spain?
Also Trotskyists don't "revile" the USSR. We revile the stalinist political regime that was the sad consequence of backwardness and isolation. "Don't know why i'm still surprised with this shit anyway." - Loz
Soviet cogitations: 6211
Defected to the U.S.S.R.: 04 Aug 2004, 20:49 Ideology: Democratic Socialism Embalmed
I would hardly call the Spanish Civil War even a tiny victory for anybody involved. Unless you were a reactionary monarchist.
It is a sad fact that the USSR was technically isolated for so long and tended towards an involution of its political, social and economic mechanisms, but their achievements were something worth defending and worth shouting from the rooftops despite these circumstances. I have yet to meet a Trot IRL who would say that the achievements were pretty astonishing, and would defend it even at a push. ![]() "Phil Spector is haunting Europe" -Dr. Karl H. Marx
That's because we never met when you lived in Germany.
But there's others like me, closer to your home. Here's some Ted Grant quotes, which are among the most rational characterizations of the USSR ever, which everybody from soviet78 to Conscript should be able to agree on: Quote: Quote: And these ones could just as well have been written by a stalinist: Quote: Quote: So as usual, your accusations against Trotskyism are quite baseless. Also let me say that "not praising the USSR enough" is hardly a serious accusation. "Don't know why i'm still surprised with this shit anyway." - Loz
Thanks to everybody for the kind words, I am glad this article was well received. Even if one is critical of certain aspects of the USSR, I think it is important for socialists to trumpet the successes of the Soviet system in order to defeat the “there is no alternative” or TINA argument that is one of the core foundations of neoliberalism. We must show that other systems have had historical success and are still popular not just because of nostalgia but because of concrete material factors.
Mabool wrote:Nearly every leftist and rightist ideology existed in Spain, but not left-communism. As an aside, I always found the Trots extolling the economic achievements of USSR a bit dishonest, at least when it came to Trotsky himself declaring the Soviet economy "in danger" in the early 30s and calling for a revival of the kulaks among other things, only to turn around and extol the economic progress in The Revolution Betrayed. Then again Trots have a weird model wherein they can blame anything "bad" on a government on the existence of the "Stalinist bureaucracy," and anything "good" on "the gains of October" or it otherwise being a "degenerated" or "deformed workers' state."
Pretty boring article, i feel like i've already read it all before. It'd be better if the focus was on some aspects of everyday life in the USSR or something.
And i don't care what Russians think about Stalin and what not, that's just not relevant. Also Ismail, where did Trotsky call for the revival of kulaks?
The article is boring to you because you've been a leftist for years; it's not boring to someone who's looking to learn more about Russia's communist past, or why, for example, Stalin remains so popular there today. Also, what Russians think about Stalin is very relevant, in that it paints a picture of contemporary Russian society worlds apart from anything a Russian liberal or some Western academic might say about it.
"The thing about capitalism is that it sounds awful on paper and is horrendous in practice. Communism sounds wonderful on paper and when it was put into practice it was done pretty well for what they had to work with." -MiG
Soviet cogitations: 12389
Defected to the U.S.S.R.: 18 Apr 2010, 04:44 Ideology: None Philosophized
What is endlessly worrying and depressing is that no middle ground ever seems to find favor in the old country. As much as I would gladly welcome a restoration of socialism in Russia, I'd like to think that it would come with some modern innovations (specifically less rigidly conservative in purely private affairs). Rehabilitating the Stalin years is one thing; reliving them note for note is quite another. On the other hand, I certainly don't think the majority of Russians are ready for a replay of the Wild West Yeltsin years, which is what these crazy Femen-camp "Westernizers" seem to have in mind.
Is compromise ever a possibility in Russia? Truly democratic Socialism with none of the old bourgeois conservatism? Miss Strangelove: "You feed giants laxatives so goblins can mine their poop before the gnomes get to it."
Quote: I think liberalism is less reactionary than contemporary Russian "Stalinism" which is mostly hard-core nationalism and nostalgia for "the glorious past" of the miserable and bitter old-people crowd that has nothing to do with communism. Quote: Russia is still a neoliberal dictatorship ruled by mobsters. Femen are fighting for freedom and human rights which isn't bad at all in my book. Quote: Well judging by most Russian communists i'd say not yet. Loz wrote:http://www.marxists.org/archive/trotsky/1932/10/sovecon.htm It was among the policies Trotsky claimed he'd implement if he was in charge: "The policy of mechanically 'liquidating the kulak' is now in effect discarded. A cross should be placed over it officially. And simultaneously it is necessary to establish the policy of severely restricting the exploiting tendencies of the kulak. With this goal in mind, the lowest strata of the villages must be welded together into a union of the peasant poor."
Soviet cogitations: 2
Defected to the U.S.S.R.: 13 Jan 2015, 02:50 Ideology: Left Communism New Comrade (Say hi & be nice to me!)
Interesting read, I agree that the fall of the USSR was damaging to Russia. Although the points about Stalin being popular in contemporary Russia may have been influenced by the mass propaganda surrounding him throughout his time as leader.
great lenin + 7 wrote:I don't think so, it's simply that nowadays Stalin has turned into a "national" icon, separate from ideology. He turned the USSR into a strong country and defeated Nazism.
It must be said that Stalin is loved by Russians because he was a great war leader; the purges and industrialization process are widely criticized by the media. The Russian communists refer to him as a great war leader who built the country, but admit to great mistakes. If Stalin had not led the USSR through the war its safe to say he would have been detested. Opinion polls don't make sense if you don't explain the data behind it.
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