“No matter what one thinks of Bolshevism, it is undeniable that the Russian Revolution is one of the greatest events in human history, and the rule of the Bolsheviki a phenomenon of worldwide importance.”
--John Reed in Ten Days that Shook the World

There are moments in world history which represent decisive turning-points. We are living at just such a juncture. Around the world, the working masses are rising up against the chains of capitalist oppression. But in order to understand the present and prepare for the struggles of the future, we must study the past, the collective experience of the world working class. Whether you are in favor or against the October Revolution, there can be no doubt whatsoever that this single event changed the course of world history in an unprecedented way. The entire twentieth century was dominated by its consequences. This fact is recognized even by the most conservative pundits and those hostile to the October Revolution. So just what did happen in the USSR? What went wrong? What went right?

What happened in the Soviet Union can only be explained by using the Marxist method of analysis. Only the Marxists were capable of explaining the processes that were unfolding in Russia, both the good, the bad, and the ugly, not after the fact, but decades in advance. The collapse of Stalinism and the restoration of capitalism in Russia and Eastern Europe was a transformation of no lesser significance. What is the balance-sheet of these great events? What conclusions should be drawn from them? What implications do they have for the future of humanity?

This booklet, based on the book Russia: From Revolution to Counter-revolution by Ted Grant, provides a marvelous introduction to the Russian Revolution.

By Ted Grant.

55 pages.