As an unrepentant working class, self-taught Marxist-Leninist, and a staunch follower of the anti-revisionist line of Marx-Engels-Lenin-Stalin, I find myself in profound disagreement with Trotsky’s ‘theories’ and his contemporary adherents. Despite having previously delved into M. J. Olgin’s 1935 book, ‘Trotskyism: Counter-Revolution in Disguise, I felt compelled to revisit it, seeking a deeper understanding ofContinueContinue reading “Review: “Trotskyism: Counter-Revolution in Disguise” – M. J. Olgin”
Tag Archives: Russia
Review: “The Right to Self-Determination Under International Law: ‘Selfistans,’ Secession, and the Rule of the Great Powers” – Milena Sterio
International law is routinely examined by legal scholars as if international law exists separately from economics, politics, and, most importantly, the class struggle. When discussing international law, scholars hesitate to ask difficult questions, such as why some secessionist-seeking movements succeed while others fail. An example is Heiko Krüger’s analysis of Nagorno-Karabakh, where Krüger refuses toContinueContinue reading “Review: “The Right to Self-Determination Under International Law: ‘Selfistans,’ Secession, and the Rule of the Great Powers” – Milena Sterio”
Review: “Kosovo: War and Revenge” – Tim Judah
Kosovo is a subject that interests me. NATO’s bombing campaign against Serbia on behalf of an armed secessionist movement that many Western countries—NATO members included—considered a terrorist organization and the subsequent recognition of Kosovo by most Western states have significant politico-legal implications for conflicts far beyond the Balkans. This is a subject I address extensivelyContinueContinue reading “Review: “Kosovo: War and Revenge” – Tim Judah”
Review: “Merchant of Death: Money, Guns, Planes, and the Man who makes War Possible” – Stephen Braun and Douglas Farah
“Merchant of Death” by Stephen Braun and Douglas Farah is the story of Viktor Bout, the Tajik-born Russian arms dealer who was the inspiration behind the 2005 film Lord of War starring Nicholas Cage. According to Braun and Farah, Bout’s arms smuggling operation was gargantuan. Bout owned a fleet of massive Soviet cargo planes, suchContinueContinue reading “Review: “Merchant of Death: Money, Guns, Planes, and the Man who makes War Possible” – Stephen Braun and Douglas Farah”
Review: “Soviets in Central Asia” – W. P. and Zelda Coates
“Soviets in Central Asia” by W. P. and Zelda Coates confirmed my expectation of a broad, Marxist overview of the socialist transformation of Russian Turkestan and the emirates of Bukhara and Khiva. I enjoy the Coates’ work on the USSR, although most people would criticize them for being too ‘Stalinist.’ While there is an elementContinueContinue reading “Review: “Soviets in Central Asia” – W. P. and Zelda Coates”
Review: “Soviet-Polish Relations, 1917-1921” – Piotr S. Wandycz
Piotr S. Wandycz examines Soviet-Polish relations in the period between the October Revolution of 1917 to the conclusion of the Soviet-Polish war with the signing of the Treaty of Riga in 1921. For a book published by Harvard University Press, Wandycz is surprisingly and refreshingly detailed and objective as he examines the diplomatic and militaryContinueContinue reading “Review: “Soviet-Polish Relations, 1917-1921” – Piotr S. Wandycz”
Review: “To Kill a Nation: The Attack on Yugoslavia” – Michael Parenti
“To Kill a Nation: The Attack on Yugoslavia” by Michael Parenti is the best book on the Balkan wars I have ever read. Parenti is my two favourite authors (the other being Victor Perlo), and this is probably my favourite book by him. Anyone interested in the Balkans and NATO’s aggressive expansion since the overthrowContinueContinue reading “Review: “To Kill a Nation: The Attack on Yugoslavia” – Michael Parenti”
Review: “A History of the Tajiks: Iranians of the East” – Richard Foltz
Tajikistan is a country I am very interested in; I own and have read many books about Tajikistan. If I can save enough money, I plan to drive the Pamir Highway from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, to Dushanbe, Tajikistan, in a year or two, subject to COVID restrictions. I didn’t have very high expectations when I beganContinueContinue reading “Review: “A History of the Tajiks: Iranians of the East” – Richard Foltz”
Russia, NATO, and the “Kosovoization” of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022 Russia invaded Ukraine, marking a dramatic escalation in the Russo-Ukrainian Conflict that began in 2014. While the world denounces the Russian invasion of Ukraine — as it rightly should — efforts by the West to depict Ukraine as an innocent victim and Russia as evil reincarnate fail to tell the wholeContinueContinue reading “Russia, NATO, and the “Kosovoization” of Ukraine”
Review: “Rosa Luxemburg: Her Life and Work” – Paul Frölich
I have a lot of mixed feelings about Paul Frölich’s famous biography of Rosa Luxemburg. A lot of what is written in the book strikes me as ultra-left, maybe even Trotskyist; and since I am not expert on Luxemburg’s life and her theories, I find it difficult to determine how much of the ultra-leftism, encompassingContinueContinue reading “Review: “Rosa Luxemburg: Her Life and Work” – Paul Frölich”
Review: “Poles, Jews, and the Politics of Nationality: The Bund and the Polish Socialist Party in Late Tsarist Russia, 1892-1914” – Joshua D. Zimmerman
Joshua D. Zimmerman’s “Poles, Jews, and the Politics of Nationality: The Bund and the Polish Socialist Party in Late Tsarist Russia, 1892-1914” is an excellent, well researched, highly informative, and widely accessible analysis of Polish-Jewish relations and the national question within the late tsarist empire. Zimmerman begins the book by describing the origins of theContinueContinue reading “Review: “Poles, Jews, and the Politics of Nationality: The Bund and the Polish Socialist Party in Late Tsarist Russia, 1892-1914” – Joshua D. Zimmerman”
Review: “Socialist Revolutions in Asia: The Social History of Mongolia in the Twentieth Century” – Irina Y. Morozova
Irina Y. Morozova’s “Socialist Revolutions in Asia: The Social History of Mongolia in the Twentieth Century” was not what I had expected — and not in a good way! When I first ordered this book from Routledge, I had hoped for a more balanced history of socialist development in Mongolia than B. Shirendyb’s heavily pro-SovietContinueContinue reading “Review: “Socialist Revolutions in Asia: The Social History of Mongolia in the Twentieth Century” – Irina Y. Morozova”
Review: “The Anatomy of the Nuremberg Trials: A Personal Memoir” – Telford Taylor
Telford Taylor’s “The Anatomy of the Nuremberg Trials: A Personal Memoir” is both a memoir/autobiography and a scholarly legal analysis of the International Military Tribunal. The book begins with some details about Taylor and international law as it existed at the time of WWII. Taylor had served in the American Army intelligence in Europe duringContinueContinue reading “Review: “The Anatomy of the Nuremberg Trials: A Personal Memoir” – Telford Taylor”
Review: “Discordant Neighbours: A Reassessment of the Georgian-Abkhazian and Georgian-South Ossetian Conflicts” – B. George Hewitt
George Hewitt’s “Discordant Neighbours: A Reassessment of the Georgian-Abkhazian and Georgian-South Ossetian Conflicts” is the most authoritative account of the conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, especially since the ‘Five-Day War’ in August 2008. In this book Hewitt takes aim at many of the myths propagated by Georgia and its Western allies that Abkhazia andContinueContinue reading “Review: “Discordant Neighbours: A Reassessment of the Georgian-Abkhazian and Georgian-South Ossetian Conflicts” – B. George Hewitt”
Review: “The Politics of Ethnic Separatism in Russia and Georgia” – Julie A. George
Julie George’s “The Politics of Ethnic Separatism in Russia and Georgia” examines the factors that contributed to the decision of ethnic and regional leaders in both countries to pursue violent or non-violent strategies to achieve their political, economic, and personal goals.On the one hand, Georgie examines the factors that contributed to the strategies pursued byContinueContinue reading “Review: “The Politics of Ethnic Separatism in Russia and Georgia” – Julie A. George”
Review: “The Establishment of National Republics in Soviet Central Asia” – Arne Haugen
“The Establishment of National Republics in Soviet Central Asia” by Arne Haugen is the Das Kapital of Soviet nationalities policies, especially in Central Asia. Haugen, a Norwegian scholar, methodically and scientifically examines Soviet national territorial delimitation in Central Asia. In this book Haugen examines many of the issues raised in Western scholarly works on SovietContinueContinue reading “Review: “The Establishment of National Republics in Soviet Central Asia” – Arne Haugen”
T. J. Petrowski 