Class of november 11, 2004: Russian Revolution

Class of november 11, 2004
Lecture Russian Revolution

Mandelstam "Hope Against Hope"

apocalyptic view of russia in 20thC
self inflicted catastrophy, west in depression, USSR tearring itself appart: landscape of 17th C european wars

Stalin regime most homicidal ever
1931: modernization through collectivization, state demands in Ukraine drives it to famine
2 million deported, 5 million dies of famine... approx, nombers unsure
by stalin own account 10 million worked to death in 1930's (add this to losses in WWII)

total account around 50M people

early 1930: Ukraine a vast concentration camp, eating what they can (cannibalism commonplace)
robbing graves to rob jewelery

in 1941, ukraine gonna greet nazi in liberator

process as a quest for social justice, by intellectuals, workers peasants, mid-class radicals

Mandelstam: supporter that will feel guilt

how comes revolution ends in mass-murder?

we will use shortcut of individuals who played a role in this: Lenin and Stalin and idea that they "brained" the revolution

Lenin begins w bold experimment in political, social leadership that bears some fruit in early 20ies: a period of positive changes

Lenin master of prctical politics: b 1870, university, discovers Marx in 1890, moves to St-Petersburgh in 1893
writes 10 millions words, sentence to Siberia... pamplether... 1899 exiled to Switzerland, England... publishes, write...

what Lenin do with Marx

leninsm is marx applied to changed circumstance: he "politicise" Marx. Marx is typical mid-19th C thinker: believes in progress, he's satisfied to find and show lines of progres
Lenin is from different set: age of politic and struggle for power... parties and radical right on the rise, extreme nationalism, antisemitism
Lenin says only important question is "who whom?": who exploits whom?
only concerned about how get on right side of gun and stay there: not of great idea but practicalist
reads Marx in imperative voice
Marx seems caught in paradox of activism vs determinism (exercise agency to forge history or let history follow course)
Lenin choose radical Marx and activism
Act of creating revolution
politically engendered
"take tree of history and shake it" force fruit off tree: way to catastrophe
also believes any attempt to reform capitalism bound to fail: theory of colonialism
capitalis are capable of avoiding revolution through imperialism
changes Marx
revolution wont arrive from most advance nations
proletariat left to itself wont devellop nothing else than "trade-unions counciousness"
must implement propaganda, vanguard, leadership (not important to Marx)
history provides situation in which a leader arise, says lenin
party as vanguard that will lead, not spontaneous
"democratic centralism"
split in way to achieve revolution: bolsheviks and mensheviks. both wants Czar out, but mensheviks wants alliance with center, liberals.
national fixation, also antiethical to Marx.
Stalin will give up on idea of world revolution
Lenin believes it will spread from russia to overthrow capitalists regimes.
october revolution "universal significance": only a russian affair or universal?
a world desperately unprepared for a revolution
underdevelopped, poor backward agrarian (way behind stage of capitalist industrial breakdown)
a communist rev of underdeveloppement, a desperate attempt at industrialisation, modernisation, for a society nowhere near being ready for this: again, recipe for catastrophe: rush toward modernisation without checks
great failure: revolution won't happen in aftermaths in other, more developped nations

Czar: absolute monarch, no constitution

first "revolution" in 1905 following defeat of imperial russia against Japan, a first blow from an asian nation to an european power

creates Douma, constituency of elected, but without real power. this will hold until 1917 but with extreme violence: assassinations of gov officials, etc...

revolution happens during war, authoritarian, ripped by unrest, drained by war in Europe: catalyst of event

Lenin recognizes this as "his opportunity": 1914-1917: 14M deaths
Czar dominated by wife, who is dominated by Rasputin
collapse of regime in march of 1917
"leaderless revolution"
women's march... for bread (8 of march)
spirrals out of control, cavalery refuses to fire on crowd, government simply stops to exist.... Czar and family will end up being shot
in march, only few bolsheviks in stpetersburgh... government assumed by liberals and dominated by a socialist (Karensky)
then Lenin is smuggled back in Russia: radicalisation of debate, ignite people with manipulative speeches, militia, organises groups... in october: "palace coup" that happens in urban centers by small group
first move: draws russia out of war... then there is civil war: world powers sends troops.... ugly war.... 1921... bolsheviks emerges as victorious.

they crush opposition, style of rule different than what expected from a socialist gov: gas against opponents... killings of anarchists, one party state implementation
but at same time: because russia is so backwards, no other choice then re-instate some levels of capitalism: private property to some degree

mix-messages

revolution only looks as dictatorship being instated as far as seen politically.
experienced as time of individual liberations: people really felt they were building an idealistic society: aesthetic revolution: futurism; litterature (pasternak); filming (eisenstein)... not a period of intellectual stalinism!
seen as a "great experiment in education": free love.
Lenin's funeral as last flicker of liberty
plethora of voices before clampdown
death in 1924 as religious icon: discovery of mummy, momification of Lenin, mausoleum
mausoleum litterally becomes platform for Stalin

what is stalinism, Stalin?

shoemaker son, will eventually become a god
studied to become a priest
menshevik before becomming blosh
leader of "Pravda"
brought to Politburo 1922
Lenin afraid of Stalin: great control of nomination

genius in making believe that lenin support him as successor

by 1928, unquestionned successor to lenin

tendency, politics of stratum of bureaucracy
supreme bureaucrat
"dictatorship of secretariat", "red czar"
becomes synonym of totalitarianism
cannot be equated to hitlerism: more total, power unmatched
aim, in a sense, to create a new personality "homo-sovieticus"
under his leadership, life is constant propaganda
art literature, science is political
history re-written
Stalin lives in Kremlin "modestly"
numerous songs
"uncle Joe"
period of grace to US because "broke back of nazi regime"
admirers worldwide of regime, sympathy for character, vast disillusion against fascist and capitalism: people are thrown in hand of soviets
(HG Wells will meet him and say he's a great guy)
subway system, show of abundance... in country people are dying...
stalin brillinat at avoiding, disassociate himselffrom problems, above it

Stalin sees that revolution is gonna fail
what do you do if you want to modernize society at odds with other nations
modernisation: a struggle for survival in capitalist world: brutal vision of modernisation
"socialism in one country", 5-years plans, collective farms, food as state monopoly
problem with equipment, lack of proffesionals

shortage of food

ignoring human cost: huge success: within one decade, becomes industrialized.
soviet economy growing incredibly while west in depression
R&D immense
huge production techniques, experiments, mass production of "skilled labor" (90 days diplomas)

reintroduce nasty aspects of capitalism, work hours, wage differences....
permanent class warfare and terror as permanent institution of system:party everywhere and secret police, no social life of your own. Trotsky himself denounce as bougeois agent! who do you trust?
trying to destruct family structure, village structure: no private or personal sphere in life, only tool for manipulation
death penalty at 12yrs old
family responsible for crime of a member
science as tool of regime, laws continually reviewed

people killed at random or for ridiculous reasons

8M people in goulags: war against own society
absolute subjectivity of rules

population react by killing own livestock

purges, wipe-out of gulags
Stalin paranoia: security in kremlin, air test, conspiracy theories... intensification of purges "wholesale purges"
purges officers in red army in 1936... 4 yrs before war...
all member of politburo will be killed, SSR's presidents, ambassadors...
over and over again

end of the line: gulags, extensive system of prison, 1 million deaths served annually, working to death
mining, raiilroad building

Stalin dies 1953... gulags will survive a long time after
Mandelstam, publishes 1970, post-stalinism, outside of USSR

Krutschev will denounce Stalin's crimes... denounce actually active use of terror... a tiny little bit more of freedom