The rise of Stalinism is often blamed on socialism itself—but Marxists argue it represented a profound counter-revolution. This session explains how isolation, civil war, and economic backwardness created conditions for the bureaucracy’s takeover.
The Bolsheviks understood that for socialism to be built in Russia, revolutions needed to succeed elsewhere. We’ll examine where this went wrong and why it led ultimately to the destruction of workers’ democracy, the rise of an authoritarian bureaucracy, and the reconsolidation of capitalism.
Understanding this counter-revolution is vital for defending the legacy of 1917 while rejecting the distortions of Stalinism. It also sharpens our vision of what a genuine socialist society must be: democratic, internationalist, and run from below.