Labour And The Gulag

Labour And The Gulag PDF Author: Giles Udy
Publisher: Biteback Publishing
ISBN: 1785902652
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 530

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Book Description
The Labour Party welcomed the Russian Revolution in 1917: it paved the way for the birth of a socialist superpower and ushered in a new era in Soviet governance. Labour excused the Bolshevik excesses and prepared for its own revolution in Britain. In 1929, Stalin deported hundreds of thousands of men, women and children to work in labour camps. Subjected to appalling treatment, thousands died. When news of the camps leaked out in Britain, there were protests demanding the government ban imports of timber cut by slave labourers. The Labour government of the day dismissed mistreatment claims as Tory propaganda and blocked appeals for an inquiry. Despite the Cabinet privately acknowledging the harsh realities of the work camps, Soviet denials were publicly repeated as fact. One Labour minister even defended them as part of 'a remarkable economic experiment'. Labour and the Gulag explains how Britain's Labour Party was seduced by the promise of a socialist utopia and enamoured of a Russian Communist system it sought to emulate. It reveals the moral compromises Labour made, and how it turned its back on the people in order to further its own political agenda.

Labour And The Gulag

Labour And The Gulag PDF Author: Giles Udy
Publisher: Biteback Publishing
ISBN: 1785902652
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 530

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Book Description
The Labour Party welcomed the Russian Revolution in 1917: it paved the way for the birth of a socialist superpower and ushered in a new era in Soviet governance. Labour excused the Bolshevik excesses and prepared for its own revolution in Britain. In 1929, Stalin deported hundreds of thousands of men, women and children to work in labour camps. Subjected to appalling treatment, thousands died. When news of the camps leaked out in Britain, there were protests demanding the government ban imports of timber cut by slave labourers. The Labour government of the day dismissed mistreatment claims as Tory propaganda and blocked appeals for an inquiry. Despite the Cabinet privately acknowledging the harsh realities of the work camps, Soviet denials were publicly repeated as fact. One Labour minister even defended them as part of 'a remarkable economic experiment'. Labour and the Gulag explains how Britain's Labour Party was seduced by the promise of a socialist utopia and enamoured of a Russian Communist system it sought to emulate. It reveals the moral compromises Labour made, and how it turned its back on the people in order to further its own political agenda.

Russia and the British Left

Russia and the British Left PDF Author: David Burke
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1786723247
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 336

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Book Description
The study of Marxism in Britain throws light on what many historians have referred to as `the enemy within'. In this book, David Burke looks at the activities of Russian political emigres in Britain, and in particular the role of one family: the Rothsteins. He looks at the contributions of Theodore and Andrew Rothstein to British Marxism and the response of the intelligence services to what they regarded as a serious threat to security. With access to recently released documents, this book analyses the activities of early-twentieth century British Marxists and brings to life the story of a remarkable family.

Bolshevism and the British Left: The Webbs and Soviet communism

Bolshevism and the British Left: The Webbs and Soviet communism PDF Author: Kevin Morgan
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 276

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Book Description
This is the second book in Kevin Morgan's series Bolshevism and the British Left. It explores how the veteran Fabian socialists Beatrice and Sidney Webb came to regard Stalin's Russia as a 'new civilisation' and the hope of the world. Through a meticulous reconstruction of the Webbs' thinking, Morgan offers a challenging reassessment of accepted stereotypes. Drawing on their diaries, papers and published writings, he assesses the couple's complex political evolution over some four decades, and shows how much more significant were their individual responses than the cliche of 'two typewriters beating as one' would suggest. While Sidney upheld the statist and technocratic perspectives synonymous with 'Webbism', Beatrice also contributed concerns with associationism and the search for a higher social morality. Their love affair with Soviet communism, which seemed to represent both synthesis and transcendence of these different strands of their thought, was far less idiosyncratic than is sometimes thought. Here it is discussed in a broader context, and the paradox that emerges is that across the European left it was often precisely those who had previously been most suspicious of state socialism who subsequently proved most susceptible to its Soviet apotheosis. Kevin Morgan is Professor of Politics and Contemporary History at the University of Manchester. He is the author of Harry Pollitt (Manchester University Press, 1993) and co-author of Communists in British Society 1920-1991 (Rivers Oram Press, 2005) The Webbs and Soviet Communism is the Part 2 in a three-volume series, Bolshevism and the British Left, which examines attitudes to Soviet Russia as a way of opening up broader questions about the character of the British left between the 1890s and the 1940s. Part 1 is Labour Legends Russian Gold, Part 3 is due to be published in 2012"

Russia and the British Left

Russia and the British Left PDF Author: David Burke (Historian of intelligence and international relations)
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781350987852
Category : Communism
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
The study of native 'Marxisms' in Britain throws light on what many historians have referred to as 'the enemy within'. In this book, David Burke looks at the activities of the Russian political emigre community in Britain, and in particular the role of one Russian-Jewish political family: the Rothsteins. Theodore Rothstein and his son Andrew, along with his sister-in-law Zelda Kahan and her husband, W.P. Coates, together played an important part in the formative years of the Communist Party of Great Britain and were closely monitored by the British secret service. This led to claims that British communism was effectively a Russian creation with Theodore Rothstein acting as the eminence grise; the hidden hand of Moscow controlling the British left-wing movement. In 1920 Theodore Rothstein's activities on the left of the British labour movement assisted the formation of a Communist party in Britain affiliated to the Comintern. Theodore was, soon after, effectively debarred from Britain following a visit to Russia, at which point his clandestine political activities passed to his son, Andrew. This book encompasses two periods. The first looks at the contribution of Theodore Rothstein to British Marxism and the response of the British intelligence services, Special Branch and MI5, to what they regarded as a serious threat to British security. The second part probes Andrew Rothstein's subsequent career, and considers four main events: the formation of the Anglo-Russian Committee in 1924, the Zinoviev Letter, the General Strike of 1926 and the ARCOS Raid of 1927, and concluding with Andrew Rothstein joining his father in Moscow in 1930. With access to recently released documents from MI5, this book sheds new light on the activities of British Marxists against the backdrop of the early twentieth century and brings to life the story of a remarkable family. --

The Russia Complex

The Russia Complex PDF Author: Bill Jones
Publisher: Manchester University Press
ISBN: 9780719006968
Category : Public opinion
Languages : en
Pages : 248

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Book Description


Labour Legends and Russian Gold

Labour Legends and Russian Gold PDF Author: Kevin Morgan
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781909831827
Category : Communism
Languages : en
Pages : 315

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Book Description
Investigating the relationship between various sects of the British Left and Bolshevism in the first half of the 20th century, this study provides insights into the history of political funding. With an examination of the attitudes towards Soviet Russia, broader questions about the character of the British Left between the 1890s and the 1940s are presented. From Lenin and the fierce internal conflicts and controversies in Communist Russia to George Lansbury and the rise of the Labour Party's newspaper, the Daily Herald, this resource provides compelling new arguments about the relationships between political parties and their funding.

Romancing the Revolution

Romancing the Revolution PDF Author: Ian Bullock
Publisher: Athabasca University Press
ISBN: 192683612X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 439

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Book Description
Publisher description.

Bolshevism and the British Left: Labour legends and Russian gold

Bolshevism and the British Left: Labour legends and Russian gold PDF Author: Kevin Morgan
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 326

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Book Description
Morgan goes far beyond the question of Russian gold, to dig beneath a host of myths and misconceptions. He shows that Labour's parliamentary advance was itself inconceivable solely on the basis of the workers' and trade union 'pennies' with which it is usually identified. In addition to the virtual market that developed in Labour's parliamentary nominations, there was almost always a need to cultivate private benefactors - not excluding Russian ones. Thus, as Morgan shows, George Lansbury drew on a wide variety of financial sponsors to create the space both for his own political career and for Labour's daily newspaper, the Daily Herald. As for the communist party itself, Russian subsidies often gave rise to fierce internal conflict and controversy: it was certainly regarded as mixed blessing by many. Kevin Morgan has uncovered some fascinating new material on this period of left history, and through his insightful analysis a much more complex picture than hitherto emerges, both of Labour-communist relations and those between the CPGB and the Comintern.

The United Kingdom's Relations With Russia Since 1917

The United Kingdom's Relations With Russia Since 1917 PDF Author: Willow Holak
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 148

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Book Description
This history book analyses the relationship between the USSR and various parts of the British left. The book shows how enthusiasm for the USSR was high during the 20s and 30s, with prominent leftists from Britain's Labour Party and trade unions given VIP tours of the glorious new workers' paradise. These tours of course only showed the side the Soviets wanted them to see; smiling, well-fed 'workers' in Potemkin villages, whilst millions slaved and starved in the gulags. These delegations often returned with glowing reports of the USSR. This pamphlet is not an attempt to tell the story of the global impact of the Russian revolution. It is focused specifically on Britain. It is not an academic monograph, and it is not primarily a history of the Communist Party of Great Britain. It is a popular overview, BBC History-style, an attempt to tell the big story of the relationship of the whole British left to the Soviet Union since 1917, dealing as much with the non-communist left and critics of the Soviet Union as with the CPGB or the fellow-travelers.

The British Connection

The British Connection PDF Author: Richard Deacon
Publisher: Hamish Hamilton
ISBN:
Category : Secret service
Languages : en
Pages : 318

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Book Description