In total, anarchists should uphold the soviet experience, and disprove bourgeois framing of Stalin and the USSR. This weakens bourgeois cultural hegemony, strengthening both anarchist and Marxist movements. I know this was long, but I hope it was at least interesting to read!
I appreciate the interesting read! Just been a bit hectic irl. Personally, I’m sympathetic to the fact that the West has collectively demonized the USSR with propaganda ever since 1917. Objectively, yes, the USSR achieved a lot in a very hostile environment, both military and economic, and they also did a lot of stuff I don’t agree with, but that’s not confined to the Soviets, of course.
I guess I just don’t see the point in the exercise though. You’re never gonna get much traction trying to rehabilitate Stalin, because anti-Soviet propaganda is so deeply ingrained. Like why even fight that fight? You’re gonna hit a brick wall every time, because it’s a “toxic brand” of sorts. Arguing over Stalin’s legacy feels genuinely counterproductive to me, compared to just advocating for community groups, socialism and direct action. I guess we are just coming at the same task from different angles. Thanks for sharing your perspective.
No problem, things have been super hectic for me too IRL. Thanks for reading!
As for your question, why do Marxist-Leninists bother with trying to tackle the immense anti-USSR/Stalin propaganda? I tie them because, effectively in the mindset of westerners, they are tied. Success and failure of the USSR as a whole in the eyes of westerners is attributed to Stalin, even if that’s not how the USSR functioned in reality. Marxist-Leninists have found that there’s simply no getting around the stigma.
The USSR was the world’s first real foray into Marxist socialism, and when trying to win over more of the working class to Marxism-Leninism, to have them join ML orgs, etc, unavoidably the topic of Stalin is wielded like a club. Rather than denounce Stalin, agreeing with the bourgeois narrative on the USSR itself (as the two are conflated), we choose to take the direct and honest approach, meeting the question head-on and doing our best to de-mythologize Stalin, his successes, and his failures.
I’m a pretty big fan of Red Sails. They format theory in easily-readable manners for mobile devices, and write modern theory, bringing other modern authors in too. One of the more prominent authors is Nia Frome,, and her two articles Marketing Socialism and “Tankies” take 4 and 7 minutes to read respectively while being far more persuasive to this exact point than I could ever be, if you’re willing to give them a read.
TL;DR Stalin’s ghost haunts the west no matter what Marxists do, even if we focus on now (which is what we do, to be fair). We can agree that he was an evil butcher, smearing the progressive legacy of the USSR (as the two are conflated in the minds of westerners), or we can demythologize him honestly and win over new comrades in a far more sustainable way.
I appreciate the interesting read! Just been a bit hectic irl. Personally, I’m sympathetic to the fact that the West has collectively demonized the USSR with propaganda ever since 1917. Objectively, yes, the USSR achieved a lot in a very hostile environment, both military and economic, and they also did a lot of stuff I don’t agree with, but that’s not confined to the Soviets, of course.
I guess I just don’t see the point in the exercise though. You’re never gonna get much traction trying to rehabilitate Stalin, because anti-Soviet propaganda is so deeply ingrained. Like why even fight that fight? You’re gonna hit a brick wall every time, because it’s a “toxic brand” of sorts. Arguing over Stalin’s legacy feels genuinely counterproductive to me, compared to just advocating for community groups, socialism and direct action. I guess we are just coming at the same task from different angles. Thanks for sharing your perspective.
No problem, things have been super hectic for me too IRL. Thanks for reading!
As for your question, why do Marxist-Leninists bother with trying to tackle the immense anti-USSR/Stalin propaganda? I tie them because, effectively in the mindset of westerners, they are tied. Success and failure of the USSR as a whole in the eyes of westerners is attributed to Stalin, even if that’s not how the USSR functioned in reality. Marxist-Leninists have found that there’s simply no getting around the stigma.
The USSR was the world’s first real foray into Marxist socialism, and when trying to win over more of the working class to Marxism-Leninism, to have them join ML orgs, etc, unavoidably the topic of Stalin is wielded like a club. Rather than denounce Stalin, agreeing with the bourgeois narrative on the USSR itself (as the two are conflated), we choose to take the direct and honest approach, meeting the question head-on and doing our best to de-mythologize Stalin, his successes, and his failures.
I’m a pretty big fan of Red Sails. They format theory in easily-readable manners for mobile devices, and write modern theory, bringing other modern authors in too. One of the more prominent authors is Nia Frome,, and her two articles Marketing Socialism and “Tankies” take 4 and 7 minutes to read respectively while being far more persuasive to this exact point than I could ever be, if you’re willing to give them a read.
TL;DR Stalin’s ghost haunts the west no matter what Marxists do, even if we focus on now (which is what we do, to be fair). We can agree that he was an evil butcher, smearing the progressive legacy of the USSR (as the two are conflated in the minds of westerners), or we can demythologize him honestly and win over new comrades in a far more sustainable way.