The Sickle and the Hammer: A Socialist History of the Soviet Union

To fight or not to fight… that is the question!Please consider supporting me on Patreon: patreon.com/sovietpodSources:Rabinowitch, Alexander. The Bolsheviks In Power: The First Year of Soviet Rule in Petrograd. Indiana University Press, 2007.Gluckstein, Donny. The Tragedy of Bukharin. Pluto Press, 1994.Cliff, Tony. Revolution Besieged: Lenin 1917-1924. Republished by Haymarket Books, 2012.Veller, M. and Burovskii, A. Grazhdanskaya Istoria Bezumnoi Voiny. Izdatelstvo ACT Moskva, 2007.

Source: https://uaio.ru/vil/35.htm

It’s that episode on the international aspects of the Russian Revolution you’ve been waiting for!Please consider supporting me on Patreon! patreon.com/sovietpodSource:Rabinowitch, Alexander. The Bolsheviks In Power: The First Year of Soviet Rule in Petrograd. Indiana University Press, 2007.

Source: https://www.hist.msu.ru/ER/Etext/DEKRET/declarat.htm

This one is in the title, folks.Please consider supporting me on Patreon! patreon.com/sovietpodSources:Rabinowitch, Alexander. The Bolsheviks In Power: The First Year of Soviet Rule in Petrograd. Indiana University Press, 2007.Znamensky, O. N. Vserossiiskoe Uchrezhditelnoe Sobranie: Istoria Sozyva i Krushenia. Nauka Publshers, 1976.Cliff, Tony. Revolution Besieged: Lenin 1917-1923. Haymarket Books, 2012.Carr, E. H. The Bolshevik Revolution: 1917-1923, vol. I. Pelican Books, 1966.

Source: https://leninism.su/works/74-tom-35/1583-tezisy-ob-uchretitelnom-sobranii.html

The Cheka: vehicle of Communist oppression, or shield and sword of the revolution?Consider supporting me on Patreon: Patreon.com/sovietpodSources:Rabinowitch, Alexander. The Bolsheviks In Power: The First Year of Soviet Rule in Petrograd. Indiana University Press, 2007.Golinkov, D. L. Krushenie antisovietsogo podpolya v SSSR, 1917-1925 gg. Izdatelstvo politicheskoi literatury, Moskva, 1975

Our show turns 1 year old today!

What do you get when you mix 18 years of theory with two separate Congresses of Peasants’ Deputies? Why, one unified Soviet government of, by, and for the masses, of course!Consider supporting me on Patreon! patreon.com/sovietpodSources:The Development of Capitalism in Russia (1899)The Workers’ Party and the Peasantry (1901)The Agrarian Program of Russian Social-Democracy (1902)The Proletariat and the Peasantry (1905)On Our Agrarian Program - A Letter to the Third Congress (1905)The Question on Land and the Struggle for Freedom (1906)The Peasantry and the Working Class (1913)Speech on the Agrarian Question (22 May [4 June] 1917)10 Days That Shook The World. Reed, John.Chresvychayny Vse-Rossiiskii Cyezd Sovietov Krestyanskikh Deputatov. Bolshaya Sovietskaya Ensiklopedia.Vse-Rossiiskii Cyezd Sovietov Krestyanskikh Deputatov.Rozhdenia Sovietskogo Gosudarstva - Chresvychayny i II Vse-Rossiiskii Cyezdy Sovietov Krestyanskikh Deputatov. Soglashenia bolshevikov s levymi eseramy.Evolutskia vzglyadov V. I. Lenina na krestyanstvo i postroenie sotsialisma v krestyanskoi strane. Vakhitov, Rustem Rinatovich.

Source: https://www.hist.msu.ru/ER/Etext/DEKRET/rab_ctrl.htm

Source: https://www.hist.msu.ru/ER/Etext/DEKRET/o_zemle.htm

Source: https://www.hist.msu.ru/ER/Etext/DEKRET/o_mire.htm

Never forget, kids: the support of the masses is the key to victory.Sources:Cliff, Tony. Revolution Besieged: Lenin 1917-1923. Haymarket Books, 2012.Rabinowitch, Alexander. The Bolsheviks in Power: The First Year of Soviet Rule in Petrograd. Indiana University Press, 2007.

Source: https://ru.wikisource.org/wiki/Декрет_о_печати

We’re back! But so is the bourgeoisie.Sources:Cliff, Tony. Revolution Besieged: Lenin 1917-1923. Haymarket Books 2012.Rabinowitch, Alexander. The Bolsheviks in Power: The First Year of Soviet Rule in Petrograd. Indiana University Press, 2007.Reed, John. 10 Days That Shook The World. Public domain, available on marxists.org. Originally published 1919.Russian Wikipedia article, Oktyabrskoe vooruzhenoe Vosstanie v Moskve (1917). Last accessed 20 Oct 2025.

Wherein we find out what the point of all this was, and close the book on the revolutionary period.

This is the first of a two-episode retrospective on the Russian Revolution. In this episode, we discuss some of the finer details that we passed over, in order to provide a more complete understanding of the revolutionary period.

Source: https://marxists.architexturez.net/russkij/trotsky/works/trotl336.html

Kerensky gets pushed right off the board, and the revolutionary masses emerge victorious.Please consider supporting me on Patreon at patreon.com/sovietpod.Sources:Rabinowitch, Alexander. The Bolsheviks Come to Power: The Revolution of 1917 in Petrograd. 1976

Source: https://www.hist.msu.ru/ER/Etext/DEKRET/IIsiezd.htm

Source for text: https://ru.wikisource.org/wiki/Заседание_Центрального_Комитета_РСДРП(б)_10_(23)_октября_1917_г._(Ленин)

Who knew preparing to overthrow a government would be this much work?!Please consider supporting me on Patreon at patreon.com/sovietpod.Sources:Trotsky, L. D. Istoriya Russkoi Revoliutsii. 1930Cliff, Tony. All Power to the Soviets: Lenin 1914-1917. 1976, republished by Haymarket Books, 2004.Rabinowitch, Alexander. The Bolsheviks Come to Power: The Revolution of 1917 in Petrograd. 1976

Natalya Ivanovna Morozova was born in village Yagodnoe in the Volga region. This is her story.A fictional biography of a peasant woman living through the events discussed in our series so far, as written by me.Please consider supporting me on Patreon at patreon.com/sovietpod.

Russian society is being torn apart by its class contradictions not just in the cities, you know. Fun times.Please consider supporting me on Patreon at patreon.com/sovietpod.Sources:Trotsky, L. D. Istoriya Russkoi Revoliutsii. 1930

I recently did two guest spots on two other fantastic shows. Check out their Patreon pages!Patreon.com/thedeprogramPatreon.com/movies_vs_capitalismPatreon.com/sovietpod

The Patreon page for this show has been updated in significant ways. Head on over to patreon.com/sovietpod to check it out for yourself!

It’s the home stretch of the revolution, folks.Please consider supporting me on Patreon at patreon.com/sovietpod.Sources:Trotsky, L. D. Istoriya Russkoi Revoliutsii. 1930Cliff, Tony. All Power to the Soviets: Lenin 1914-1917. 1976, republished by Haymarket Books, 2004.Rabinowitch, Alexander. The Bolsheviks Come to Power: The Revolution of 1917 in Petrograd. 1976

Everyone loves an underdog story.Please consider supporting me on Patreon at patreon.com/sovietpod.Sources:Trotsky, L. D. Istoriya Russkoi Revoliutsii. 1930Cliff, Tony. All Power to the Soviets: Lenin 1914-1917. 1976, republished by Haymarket Books, 2004.Rabinowitch, Alexander. The Bolsheviks Come to Power: The Revolution of 1917 in Petrograd. 1976

The government puts on a show in Moscow. Too bad there’s no popcorn.Please consider supporting me on Patreon at patreon.com/sovietpod.Sources:Trotsky, L. D. Istoriya Russkoi Revoliutsii. 1930Cliff, Tony. All Power to the Soviets: Lenin 1914-1917. 1976, republished by Haymarket Books, 2004.Rabinowitch, Alexander. The Bolsheviks Come to Power: The Revolution of 1917 in Petrograd. 1976

Sometimes the bark is worse than the bite.Please consider supporting me on Patreon at patreon.com/sovietpod.Sources:Trotsky, L. D. Istoriya Russkoi Revoliutsii. 1930Cliff, Tony. All Power to the Soviets: Lenin 1914-1917. 1976, republished by Haymarket Books, 2004.Rabinowitch, Alexander. The Bolsheviks Come to Power: The Revolution of 1917 in Petrograd. 1976

Whatever you do, don’t try to prematurely overthrow the government… No, I said DON’T do that!Please consider supporting me on Patreon at patreon.com/sovietpod.Sources:Trotsky, L. D. Istoriya Russkoi Revoliutsii. 1930Cliff, Tony. All Power to the Soviets: Lenin 1914-1917. 1976, republished by Haymarket Books, 2004.Rabinowitch, Alexander. The Bolsheviks Come to Power: The Revolution of 1917 in Petrograd. 1976

The fusion of the party with the people doesn’t just happen overnight, folks.Please consider supporting me on Patreon at patreon.com/sovietpod.Sources:Trotsky, L. D. Istoriya Russkoi Revoliutsii. 1930Cliff, Tony. All Power to the Soviets: Lenin 1914-1917. 1976, republished by Haymarket Books, 2004.

Source for text: http://museumreforms.ru/node/13711Please consider supporting me on Patreon at patreon.com/sovietpod

Source for text: http://www.obraforum.ru/lib/book2/2.htm

Source for text: https://www.hrono.ru/libris/lib_l/lenin_apr.phpPlease consider supporting me on Patreon at patreon.com/sovietpod.

Unforced errors: the scourge of sports teams and revolutions alike.Please consider supporting me on Patreon at patreon.com/sovietpod.Sources:Trotsky, L. D. Istoriya Russkoi Revoliutsii. 1930Cliff, Tony. All Power to the Soviets: Lenin 1914-1917. 1976, republished by Haymarket Books, 2004.

Source for text: http://www.spbiiran.nw.ru/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/токарев-ВИД-4.pdf

”The history of revolution is, for us, first and foremost the history of the forceful intrusion of the masses into the sphere of control over their own fates.”Buckle up.Please consider supporting me on Patreon at patreon.com/sovietpod.Sources:Trotsky, L. D. Istoriya Russkoi Revoliutsii. 1930Cliff, Tony. All Power to the Soviets: Lenin 1914-1917. 1976, republished by Haymarket Books, 2004.

Yes, history is an endless cycle of cause and effect…. But you have to start somewhere!Please consider supporting me at patreon.com/sovietpod.

There are no small roles. Only small actors.Please consider supporting the show at patreon.com/sovietpod!

Have you ever wonder what a Russian revolutionary who’s been dead for over 100 years had to say about organizing the working class and the role of the state in capitalist society? What am I saying, of course you have!Please consider supporting me on Patreon: patreon.com/sovietpod

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step… and a whole lot of political economic theory from Karl Marx!

Learn a little bit about me, and a lot about what to expect from this podcast!Please consider supporting me on Patreon: patreon.com/sovietpod.