THE PRESS is having a field day analysing the speech of Mikhail Gorbachev commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Russian Revolution. But seventy years on what balance sheet should socialists make of the revolution — and by that we mean not justthe historical revolution, the classical reality of the workers seizing power, but its actual result, the Soviet Union of today?
It is unnecessary to recount here the crimes committed in the names of that revolution since it occurred. Stalin wrote what is still, in its scope, the blackest pages in the history of the socialist movement — although Stalin was no different in nature, only in scale, from the social democrats who in 1918 in Germany combined with the fascists to crush the revolution, or the hallowed leaders of British Labour who were prepared to preside over the domain of the 'King Emperor'. Soviet repression in Eastern Europe continues and no one need have any sympathy with the regime which exists. We believe that Gorbachev is the most right wing leader the Soviet Union has ever had — prepared to do spectacular deals with imperialism over such issues such as Central America and South Africa. But some other home truths need to be said about the Soviet Union and its real history in regard to the world working class.
First the USSR was the force which crushed fascism. The 'war in the west', between Germany, Britain and the United States, was a pathetic affair — a sideshow. Nor was the West European working class capable of overthrowing fascism. It was the Soviet Union that smashed Nazi Germany -nobody else.
Second, without the existence of the Soviet Union, and its victory in World War II, the great wave of post-war colonial liberation would never have taken place. Without the existence of the Soviet Union the Chinese revolution would not have survived, the Vietnamese revolution could not have survived, the Cuban revolution could not have survived, and a country such as Nicaragua would have no chance of survival today. The fall out from these struggles, played a crucial part in dismantling the old colonial empires.
Thirdly the Soviet Union is today, almost the single greatest force in the world for peace — only the international working class as a whole exceeds it. Have no illusions, if it were not for fear of the Soviet Union, and the belief that a Third World War would lead to the overthrow of capitalism throughout the world, the inter-imperialist conflicts of today would be resolved by war. We would today see a nuclear arms race between the imperialist powers — a situation present threats of nuclear annihilation look like a haven of security.
These facts, decisive ones of twentieth century history, are why, half a century after it was made, it is still only Union which accounts for what has happened and remains the only balanced one.
crimes of Stalinism more bitterly or clearly than Trotsky — and gave his life for it. And no one has ever remained more firm that the Soviet Union had to be defended against anything that capitalism could throw against it.
said on its 70th anniversary that the Russian and the survival of the Soviet Union, made, and , continues to make, the lives of billions of people in the world infinitely better than they would have been if that revolution had not taken place and if the state that it created did not exist.
contribution of anyone to creating and defending.
that state, never let anyone forget it. And the fact that Mikhail Gorbachev went out of his way to attack Trotsky in his speech does not alter that reality one bit.
Human history opened. One which continues 1 dominate the world not just in ideas but in material reality. Even the crimes of Stalin could not erase that.
Trotsky's analysis of the Soviet No one has ever denounced or opposed the country. ANNE KANE and CAROL TURNER report. TWO HUNDRED AND fifty women attended the National Abortion Campaign's *Twentieth Anniverimpressive range others rallied to the conference in the light of the been spent fighting such unusual irony ference in the context of yet another assault. Neither, of course, given the fate of all the others, will it be unusual if we defeat this one.
Jo Richardson explained that although the tactical issue he has chosen to fight on is a variation on Alton's revious alack im is identical. Whether 1 is his preferred 18 even now being mooted as a so-called, COOL OHUSC Alton aims to win the first successful attack on the limiting reversing explained le position:
make it to earlier reductions.
Corsuine McAnea, of crucial role the unions had in defeating While antianother attack on the 1967 Abortion Act. Alton's legislation proposes to reduce the time limit for abortions from its current 28 weeks to 18. Antiabortionist organisations like Life and the Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child (SPUC) have already thrown their weight behind him. But FAB — the Fight Alton's Bill campaign — called into existence by pro-choice organisations like the National Abortion Campaign (NAC), the Abortion Law Reform Association (ALRA), Co-ord and others, has already held its first national action. Meanwhile FAB groups are springing up across the heroic struggle for contraception abortion the 1920s rights 30s.
SUES Hailed Emergency Whealt plained healt authorities like City and
----- pull-quotes -----
Revolution is not just an historical idea. Whatever the crimes, whatever Stalin and his successors made of it, the existence of the Russion revolution,
sary of the 1967 Act annual conference on 31 Oc- tober and 1 November, in the London Women's Centre. It was NAC's twelfth national conference, and though doubtless many were attracted by the
latest attack on the 1967 Act from David Alton. As Jo Richardson pointed out in opening Saturday's session, given that a disproportionate amount of her parliamentary time since the Act was passed has
NAC conference plans for the fight ahead