The great October Revolution of 1917 is by far the most progressive event in human history.
It ushered in the era of the downfall of imperialism and the victory of proletarian revolution. Despite all reverses, this is the era we continue to live in; and with capitalist economic crisis again raging, there has never been a better time to revisit the lessons of October.
The history of almost the entire 20th century was shaped by the tremors set in motion by this gigantic earthquake in erstwhile tsarist Russia.
Defying all predictions, and in the teeth of bitter hostility on the part of the overthrown exploiting classes as well as of international imperialism, the Soviet proletariat went on to build a powerful socialist state and a powerful socialist economy, in which planned production to satisfy the constantly rising needs of the working masses replaced the anarchy of capitalist production, whose sole motive force is the production of ever increasing amounts of surplus value to satisfy the insatiable greed of a handful of exploiters.
By 1935, the USSR was the only country that had got rid of the scourge of unemployment, while the capitalist world saw the devastating waste of capitalist crisis; unemployment rates in US (and elsewhere) hit 25 per cent, and the only ‘way out’ for the imperialist nations (Britain, US, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, etc) was to drive the entire world to war, at the phenomenal cost of more than 60 million lives (in WW2 alone).
Such was the vitality and strength of the social system of the USSR that she made the single most important contribution to the defeat of the allegedly invincible Nazi war machine. The courage and heroism with which the Soviet soldier and civilian alike fought against fascism shall ever remain an eloquent tribute to the socialist system engendered by the October Revolution, as well as a source of pride to proletarians throughout the world.
By its earthshaking achievements in the field of socialist construction, the Soviet proletariat, for the first time, provided living proof of the assertion that the working class everywhere is not only capable of destroying the old but also of building the new.
The once mighty USSR finally collapsed in 1991 for reasons which cannot be gone into in a small leaflet. At the time of its collapse, the imperialist bourgeoisie triumphantly pronounced the end of communism, declaring that capitalism was the final stage in the long march of humanity. Soviet workers were duped into believing that the restoration of capitalism in the Soviet Union would usher in an era of unlimited prosperity for them.
But starvation disease, unemployment, wage arrears, homelessness and destitution have become the lot of the ordinary Russians and Soviet industry and wealth has been stolen by a handful of Russian Mafiosi and their imperialist backers. Capitalism has nothing to offer the Russian masses.
Whatever the zigzags of history, the final victory of communism is inevitable, as is the demise of capitalist imperialism.
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