RE: socialist societies

From: Eugene Matusov (ematusov@udel.edu)
Date: Sat Jun 17 2000 - 13:21:55 PDT


Hi Peter and everybody--

You seem to provide an old Soviet official perspective on the historic
events. Currently, there are many historical perspectives available
challenging the official Soviet position on "justified red terror" during
Civil war (and after). Red terror started long before Stalin came to power
was years between the Civil war and Stalin's consolidation of power. Both
Lenin and Trotsky justified the terror including organized and justified
mass starvation after Civil war (but before Stalin came to power) and did
nothing to stop or curve it (read about protests Gorky and other left-wing
writers many of whom immigrated from Soviet Russia in protest of the terror
during the Lenin-Trotsky reign). Of course, I not even talk about violations
and disregard of other civil rights like freedom of meetings, associations,
speech, or press. I think the French revolution is a nice parallel (within
its limits, of course). I recommend xmca-ers watching a recent Russian movie
"Chekist" (based on historical documents) about pre-Stalinist time in the
Soviet Russia (but after the Civil War) to get an idea, currently supported
by many historians in Russia and here, that Soviet "bureaucratic caste" was
in control long before Stalin. "Chekist" is available in many Blockbusters
and other video rental stores on the Eastern coast of USA. ("Cheka" or
"Urgent Committee" stands for the earliest version of "KGB" -- it is a very
gloomy movie as the time was -- emotional and parental discretion are
strongly advised!).

What do you think?

Eugene
  -----Original Message-----
  From: Peter Farruggio [mailto:pfarr@uclink4.berkeley.edu]
  Sent: Saturday, June 17, 2000 2:50 PM
  To: ematusov@UDel.Edu; xmca@weber.ucsd.edu
  Subject: RE: socialist societies

  Eugene,

  I believe that you (or rather Solzhenitzyn, and the anarchists) are
referring to the horrible years of imperialist encirclement immediately
after WWI, during which time the Bolsheviks had to resort to War Communism
in order to defend the nascent revolution. These extreme measures (which
included forcibly seizing grain stores from peasants in order to feed the
Red Army and the workers in the cities) were not an example of socialism,
nor were they proposed as such. On the part of the revolutionary leaders it
was a matter of basic survival of the first workers' revolution, in the hope
that perserverance would eventually lead to an opportunity to spread the
revolution to Germany and the rest of the industrialized West.

  Here's another illustrative quote:

  The vicissitudes of the Russian Revolution after the Bolsheviks came to
power reveal in abundant, sadistic detail the variety of weapons which
  world imperialism can bring to bear on an isolated revolutionary workers
state. From the invasion by troops of 14 different capitalist nations, to an
  embargo on travel, trade and investment, to the arming of the indigenous
forces of counterrevolution, the imperialist powers did their utmost to
  strangle isolated and economically devastated Soviet Russia. The world
bourgeoisies refused to coexist with a state that had ripped a huge area of
  investment and exploitation out of the world market. That the workers
state held out as a bastion of world revolution for five years in isolation
was
  a major historical accomplishment; that in degenerated form the state
issuing from October was maintained for almost 70 years is testimony to the
  incredible economic power of a planned and collectivized economy, despite
the mismanagement of the Stalinist bureaucratic caste which seized
  power from the working class in early 1924. The continued historical
reverberation of the Bolshevik Revolution was illustrated by the overthrow
  of capitalism and the creation of deformed workers states in the Stalinist
image in East Europe, China, North Korea, Vietnam and Cuba.

  At 09:13 AM 6/17/00, Eugene Matusov wrote:

    Hi Peter and Nate and everybody--

    I want to make two brief comments on Peter's reference to Trostky and
Nate's point.

    ---------Peter's quote begins----------
    I suggest you read Trotsky for an analysis of the social and material
nature of the stalinist societies, which have recently rejoined the ranks of
market capitalism. His most explicit writing on this was The Revolution
Betrayed in 1937 (?) in which he described the Soviet Union as a
"degenerated workers' state," which was not socialist.
    ---------Peter's quote ends------------

    Russian writer Solzheniztin made an interesting argument in his famous
book "Archipelago Gulag" about Trotsky. Solzheniztin argues that Stalin
implement Trotsky's ideas about socialism at time when Trotsky was in power.
Things like labor camps for re-education, or treating workers as mobilized
army were invented by Trotsky in early 20s, according to Solzheniztin. I did
not read Trotsky much to check it, but quotes that Solzheniztin provided
were convincing. My point is that Stalin did not deviate Soviet state from
socialism but was a part of it. Many left-wing Soviet intelligencia
criticized Lenin and Trotsky from the beginning of the communist coup using
similar arguments the Peter quotes in Trotsky.



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