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and welcome to revolutions

2:39

two hundred

2:42

history average ten

2:46

point one hundred i'm

2:48

just laughing at absurdity of all

2:51

this we are a long ways

2:53

from wherever i started this podcast back and twenty

2:55

thirteen twelve to fifteen

2:57

episodes series i said it'll be simple said

3:00

i really want switch gears and not do anything

3:02

as insane lee largest history of room

3:04

i said the even after

3:06

i left the genie of the bottle in the french revolution

3:08

ran for fifty five episodes it

3:10

did not even remotely occur to me that i

3:12

would approach that many episodes ever again

3:14

let alone blow past it so long

3:16

ago i can't even see it in the rearview

3:19

mirror

3:20

we have been doing the russian revolution series for three

3:22

years now three calendar years which

3:24

is just about as long as expected the entire

3:26

podcast run all series combined

3:29

when i first launch the show almost a decade

3:31

ago this is truly

3:33

insane thanks very much for sticking

3:35

around but let's start bringing

3:37

this mother and for landing shall we what

3:41

did great lessons i hope you've taken away from

3:43

this series the whole of revolutions

3:45

and the whole of the history of rome if you listen to that

3:48

the history just keeps happening things

3:50

just keep happening one after the other been

3:52

an unbroken continuum crises

3:55

conflicts accomplishments setbacks old

3:57

people retire and i knew people are born

4:00

replace them any random

4:02

historical year could appear in one biography

4:04

in final pages covering their final

4:06

days and death in another biography

4:09

in the first pages covering birth in

4:11

early childhood

4:12

historical causes produce historical

4:14

facts that then become historical causes

4:17

of the next historical effects

4:19

the world war one originated in the franco prussian

4:21

war which came from eighteen forty eight which

4:23

came from the napoleonic wars which came

4:25

from the french revolution drawing

4:28

invisible line to divide up years

4:30

and periods in ages there's an

4:32

absolutely artificial exercise as

4:34

one day simply follows from the next in a seamless

4:37

transformation from one day to the next

4:40

history passes one day at time one

4:42

hour a time one minute at time

4:44

when moment at it there's

4:47

never break there's never a pause

4:49

that's just the relentless passing of time the

4:52

the beginning time though

4:54

because history's always happening there

4:57

is always something happening that

4:59

thing to deal with something exploding

5:02

something imploding something

5:04

beginning something ending but

5:07

there's always always always

5:09

something that comes along and derails carefully

5:11

laid plans and forces people into that

5:13

place that humans eternally live

5:16

but are eternally trying to escape that

5:19

place where we must scramble an improvised

5:21

responses to unexpected events ever

5:24

since october nineteen seventeen for example

5:27

lennon and his comrades had been aiming

5:29

for this thing they called the breathing

5:31

spell the moment

5:33

of relative peace tranquility and

5:35

regularity where they would be able to

5:37

implement their program free of mortal

5:39

threat to the soviet regime this

5:42

was the logic behind the tree abruptly task

5:45

make peace at enormous cost because

5:48

we need a breeding spell this

5:51

was the great price to be worn during the civil war

5:53

if we defeat all our enemies we

5:55

shall be able to finally work in peace

5:59

that this breed spell they yearned for

6:01

was a mirage and it's always

6:03

mirage we all know

6:05

from our own daily lives that fabled

6:07

next week or next month or next

6:09

year when we will finally

6:11

be able to do all the things we have to put

6:13

off today because we're too busy to

6:15

harried and dealing with too many other

6:17

emergencies big small that

6:20

deadlines that forces to drop everything unexpected

6:22

events that just opened our lives except

6:26

when we get to that next week and next month

6:28

next year we find the same set

6:30

of unexpected emergencies often

6:32

the same type and category that snuck is throughout

6:34

our lives and we are forced back into

6:36

our natural state of scrambling a reaction

6:38

in improvising a response

6:40

and despite this never quite being able

6:42

to give up the fantasy that next week next

6:45

month or next year it will be different

6:47

that will finally get that breeding spell

6:50

the there's never gonna be breathing spell that's

6:52

not how life works that's not how history

6:54

works if

6:57

historical breathing spells existed

6:59

by all rights the russian communist party should have been

7:01

long into one in summer nineteen twenty three

7:04

nineteen twenty one

7:06

they had survived the end of world war one the

7:08

civil war and every other uprising

7:11

invasion and crisis that had threatened their

7:13

new regime

7:15

but instead bit just continued to be

7:17

one damn thing after another there

7:19

was catastrophic famine and economic crisis

7:22

conflict within between nationalities

7:24

classes and political factions the

7:27

now here nineteen twenty three was just more the same

7:29

always always more in the same

7:32

stop me if you've heard this before but in nineteen

7:34

twenty three the conditions endured

7:36

by the industrial working classes of russia

7:38

in their factories and minds and railroads becoming

7:41

intolerable on threatening violent upheaval

7:44

there was a broader economic crisis

7:46

sweeping central europe they might open

7:48

the door for the long hope for worldwide communist

7:50

revolution along with

7:52

this they're still poison real possibility

7:55

that russia was about to dragged back into war

7:57

between the great powers the war that

7:59

should have been on thinkable as they are all

8:01

just five years removed from the great war which

8:03

was somehow a very light possibility

8:06

by the fall of nineteen twenty three though

8:10

there's no breeding spell there's never

8:12

going to be breathing spell there was

8:14

only history over and over and over

8:16

again forever so

8:19

yeah unrest in the industrial sector

8:22

it's been a constant companion of our series going

8:24

back to david vitter boom in the eighty nineties

8:27

they mentioned few times over the past several episodes

8:30

since the beginning of world war one the

8:32

russian working classes have been absolutely

8:36

when the war came the ranks of the proletariat

8:38

practically doubled overnight as every

8:40

factory russia turn to cranking

8:42

out coats and boots and trains

8:45

equipment and munitions one

8:47

person from october cities to fill jobs

8:49

the urban population grew exponentially through

8:52

nineteen fourteen and can fifteen and eighteen

8:54

sixteen then

8:56

it all came crashing down the

8:58

dawn of nanking seventeen scarcity and inflation

9:01

produced rolling social crisis that smash

9:03

through the industrial economy and then

9:05

smash right through the summer no

9:08

fuel and no resources meant factory shut

9:10

down and workers were later inflation

9:12

meant their wages were worthless failures

9:15

the destruction of the railroad meant there no food to

9:17

buy anyway the

9:19

the explosive growth the proletariat since the

9:21

eighty nineties and then especially after

9:23

nineteen fourteen up like

9:25

bubble and when it popped

9:28

the factories when idol the workers fled

9:30

back to their villages the populating the

9:32

cities and leaving behind only the demoralized

9:34

and shell shock remnants of the industrial

9:36

working class the families

9:39

who simply had nowhere else to go now

9:42

i'm not saying there is a causal relationship

9:44

here that one cannot help but notice

9:47

the ironic demographic correlation

9:49

the great communist revolution of october nineteen

9:52

seventeen as outlined

9:54

by marxists revolution was meant to driven

9:56

by the inexorable transformation agricultural

9:58

peasants into industrial workers since

10:01

october nineteen seventeen the opposite

10:03

has occurred workers turning

10:06

back into peasants

10:09

what was left the russian working class was so demoralized

10:12

and exhausted that they're angry convulsions

10:14

in spring nineteen twenty one convulsions

10:16

i had sparked crunched out rebellion

10:19

tribally dissipated in matter of days

10:21

they were no longer able to sustain the kind of

10:23

energy the had driven ninety five and nineteen

10:26

seventeen afraid

10:28

of this briefest of flickers the

10:30

communist party leadership and set work making

10:32

sure it never happened again leadership

10:35

jobs and all the labor unions went to loyal members

10:38

at the party those were among the key

10:40

patronage positions now doled out by general

10:42

secretary the

10:44

job of the union bosses were to keep the workers

10:46

working not press their claims for abuse

10:49

mistreatment and exploitation meanwhile

10:52

the ban on factions issued by the tent party congress

10:54

had been specifically aimed at the so called

10:57

workers opposition that

10:59

nascent faction inside party that wanted to advance

11:01

and defend the working classes against

11:03

the policies of a central committee that

11:05

seem totally divorced now from the proletariat

11:07

a claim to represent as

11:10

if to drive home the point that the communist party

11:12

was no longer in any sense the party of labor

11:15

the signature economic reform initiated

11:18

to grapple with the great economic dislocation

11:20

caused by attacking of war and conflict the

11:22

any p was specifically

11:24

designed to favor peasants over the workers

11:27

it was meant to favor the bosses over the workers

11:30

bourgeoisie over the proletariat the

11:33

turn to market economics led the soviet

11:35

regime to expand their policy of leasing

11:37

state owned factories minds railroads

11:39

to private operators the

11:41

idea was that these operators were

11:43

the ones with the technical knowledge and experience

11:45

to run the factories minds and railroads

11:47

efficiently and productively in

11:50

practice it meant they were inviting

11:52

back same set engineers and managers

11:54

who had run everything before the revolution though

11:57

much though the by spring of nineteen twenty three the

11:59

rebels the top appeared to be a cruel joke

12:02

the nineteen seventeen the revolution had promised control

12:05

the factories would be handed to the worker soviets

12:08

this was the very essence of workers owning

12:10

and controlling means of production this

12:13

promise had been forgotten ages ago the

12:16

reality was they were abused exploited

12:18

in controlled by the same old bosses now

12:20

working and profitable partnership with grandy

12:22

sitcom his party the

12:24

factory floor in their canteens

12:26

and in their be populated and dilapidated

12:28

working class neighborhood the

12:30

urban labor force of soviet russia

12:33

bitterly referred to the any p has

12:35

been new exploitation of the proletariat

12:39

the two years after the unrest

12:41

of nineteen twenty one griping

12:44

of the workers in moscow petra grad

12:46

another city once again gave

12:48

way to active agitation oppose

12:51

by the communist party and the union leaders

12:53

the party appointed working class

12:55

dissidents took matters into their own hands in

12:58

many cases these leaders were themselves longstanding

13:01

party members they weren't reflexively

13:03

anticommunist outsiders a

13:05

few of them had joined bolshevik faction way back

13:07

in nineteen oh five their membership

13:10

card older than all but few of lennon's close

13:12

as followers but

13:14

they did not come from the intelligentsia set who

13:16

ran the party and they filmed the

13:18

hard turn away from representing worker

13:20

interests this was meant to be

13:22

revolution by and for the proletariat

13:25

workers the world unite our power to

13:27

the soviets does anyone even remember the

13:29

slogans the senior

13:31

leaders could do is for the deeply

13:33

unsatisfying assertion that because communist

13:35

party was the party of the workers they

13:38

must be the party of

13:40

the workers

13:43

as know be of wrote in an article in eighteen twenty

13:45

three party can be a workers'

13:47

party and it's composition and yet not

13:49

be proletarian and organization program

13:52

and policy ha

13:54

and how's that again so

13:57

despite the ban on factions clandestine group

14:00

erm to oppress the interest of forgotten proletariat

14:03

on called the workers group any other called yorkers

14:05

trying in july and august

14:07

nineteen twenty three they organize wildcat strikes

14:10

labour shut down to posting condemned by

14:12

official union leadership this

14:14

was an incredibly vexing for the leaders

14:17

the communist party because at that same moment

14:19

they were watching similar rise and worker

14:21

unrest over in germany and concluding

14:23

it meant that revolution was in the air and

14:26

if such conditions meant that revolution loomed

14:28

over germany did

14:30

it mean for reason this

14:33

is where here what's hop over to germany

14:36

because nineteen twenty three was a year of major

14:39

crisis for the young weimar republic even

14:41

more so than the young soviet regime reparations

14:44

payments to diversify treaty compounded

14:46

the devastation wrought by world war one leaving

14:49

the german economy in shambles as

14:52

we've seen british tried ease the punitive burdens

14:54

in the intercept general peace and stability

14:57

the interests of the british economy but

15:00

the french government adamantly opposed

15:02

any changes their economy

15:04

was also a devastated shambles and

15:06

it required german money and capital and

15:08

manufactured goods to review was

15:12

there was the unspoken belief

15:14

that these reparations payments were simply

15:16

repayment plus interest the

15:19

reparations germany had imposed on france

15:21

after the franco prussian and

15:24

you'll recall was amount calculated by bismarck

15:26

to be identical to amount napoleon

15:28

had imposed on prussia in eighteen oh seven

15:30

because this is all just one unbroken

15:33

continuity of history

15:35

causes becoming fax becoming causes

15:37

becoming effects anyway

15:40

by the end of nineteen twenty two the germans fell behind

15:42

schedule navigation the official reparations

15:45

commission created by the side treaty declared

15:47

germany and default leading the french

15:49

and belgian armies to move in and occupied

15:51

or or valley in january nineteen twenty

15:53

three as punishment and

15:56

as guarantee for future payment as

15:59

the road the valley contain something like three

16:01

quarters of german iron steel and coal

16:03

production the occupation triggered

16:06

collapse of the german economy a crisis

16:08

political legitimacy for the german government

16:10

and an international diplomatic crisis

16:13

that might turn into the guns of august

16:15

all over again it was

16:17

among the suit my triggers for the infamous

16:19

run of hyper inflation that

16:21

rock the very similar foundation to the weimar

16:23

republic and my

16:26

hyperinflation we mean hyper

16:28

inflation german marks

16:30

weren't hit my five ten or twenty percent

16:32

inflation not even one hundred percent

16:34

that's nothing talking about

16:36

thousands of percent millions of

16:38

percent infinity of percent

16:41

the and nineteen twenty three it took literally

16:43

billions of german marks to

16:45

get back one single us this

16:49

was an economic apocalypse that triggered massive

16:51

social and political crisis and

16:53

revolutionaries on both sides right and

16:55

left lick their lips hungrily

16:58

the on the same summer nineteen twenty three when

17:00

workers in moscow and patrick grad we're launching

17:02

small scale wildcat strikes a

17:04

massive strike way broke across germany

17:07

including somewhere between three and three and half

17:09

million people that horse the

17:11

government to resign the european

17:13

leaders to fret about total systemic collapse

17:16

and lead radical groups across the political spectrum

17:18

to arm and mobilize including

17:21

for example a small quake of cartoonishly

17:23

second rate reactionary clowns down in

17:25

bavaria for

17:28

the self proclaimed leaders of the international

17:30

communist revolution in moscow event

17:33

in germany seem like a golden opportunity

17:35

to finally harpoon they're great white

17:37

whale ever since

17:39

marx and engels had written the communist manifesto

17:42

back eighteen forty eight industrial

17:44

germany had been considered the epicenter

17:47

of the proletarian revolution

17:49

as we've discussed at length all

17:51

the russian marxists going back play han

17:53

off axelrod and sassou it assumed

17:56

any hypothetical russian revolution would

17:59

be a precursor who or and and celery

18:01

project of the main event

18:03

in germany nearly

18:05

all european socialists not like that as

18:08

german spd took the lead in the second international

18:11

it was practically axiomatic the the proletarian

18:13

revolution would be german speaking

18:15

revolution the failure

18:18

of the german revolution to materialize during

18:20

and after world war one add

18:22

forced bolsheviks to improvise new policies

18:25

but never led them to give up hope that

18:27

in the and they were just holding ground until

18:30

the real revolution broke out in germany with

18:33

the french occupation of the rare valley and

18:35

massive strikes exploding in summer nineteen

18:37

twenty three all the disheartening

18:40

setbacks and spartacus revolt and nineteen

18:42

nineteen seem to be on the verge

18:44

of a dramatic reverse as

18:47

the head of the common turn the

18:49

third international comrade

18:52

the know vf was all in on stating

18:54

what he referred to as a german october

18:57

they're not all his comrades were zegers he

19:00

was they were skeptical the suppose

19:02

it's strength of german communist party and

19:04

supposed weakness of their enemies but

19:07

you know the of push the party to send money

19:09

agents and all manner of support to stage

19:11

a revolution in germany for

19:14

you know vfl possible benefit of german

19:16

revolution were enormous as

19:18

when invaded towards death someone

19:20

was gonna wind up feeling his shoes

19:22

the know bf saw no reason why it should

19:24

not be sunovia if

19:27

the revolution truly widened beyond the borders

19:29

of russia the his role as chairman

19:31

of the common turn would make him

19:34

the preeminent russian communist far

19:36

more than possible rivals like trotsky

19:38

installing

19:40

last year sunovia daring lee and

19:42

forcefully pushed for successful revolution

19:44

in face of skepticism and down you

19:47

could at least partially shake the heavyweight

19:49

he had born since opposing the october revolution

19:51

back nineteen seventeen opposition

19:54

lennon had just reminded everyone in the politburo

19:57

about that is dictated testament

20:00

that they ever needed reminding and

20:02

so in summer of nineteen twenty three you know

20:04

bf pushed and pushed for german

20:06

october

20:09

while they were all discussing how to harness

20:11

angry worker enemy in germany the

20:13

waiters of communist party wanted to repress

20:16

it at home the

20:18

background the trial of the srs the

20:20

tracker had rebranded itself

20:22

as the state political director it and

20:25

was now known as the gp you but

20:28

they were still essentially the same operation

20:30

led by the same people on staff by the same

20:32

people there still passed with

20:34

internal political security and served

20:36

as a regime secret police now

20:39

order to root out the causes of the worker strike

20:42

the gp you first tried to prove links to the

20:44

mencia back to the as ours one

20:47

of consequences of so thoroughly purging

20:49

dementia vixen the srs that

20:51

no links can be found there's no links

20:53

existed the drawbacks

20:56

of crushing all your enemies is that

20:58

they are no longer around to blame

21:00

for all your problems though

21:02

agents of the gp you followed leads

21:05

into the workers group and workers truth

21:08

and found most of them as i said we're longstanding

21:10

members of the communist party the

21:14

gp you struggled to find anyone willing to

21:16

turn them in and found many party members

21:18

even in the middle rungs of leadership unwilling

21:21

to help the gp you read them out there

21:23

was anything to use a secret police

21:25

target monarchists and liberals and as

21:27

ours quite another to turn

21:30

them on our own people that

21:32

in september nineteen twenty three bgp you

21:34

finally pinpointed their culprits and

21:37

carried out police sweet to lock up the leadership

21:39

of both groups their ultimate

21:41

punishment however was miles mir

21:43

expulsion from the party the

21:46

logs and midnight executions not

21:48

yet come to the

21:51

amid the debates about

21:53

what to do about encouraging the workers

21:55

in germany to revolt while discouraging

21:58

the workers in russia from revolting the

22:00

leadership in economy is party found itself in novel

22:02

position the first

22:04

time they

22:06

had grapple with major political dilemmas

22:09

without lennon they

22:12

had always argued bickered disagreed

22:14

both among themselves and with lennon lennon

22:17

had always been there undisputed leader the

22:20

now when and is laying out the gorky estate

22:23

immobile non verbal he

22:25

could not lead them anymore they had

22:27

figure this out for themselves and

22:30

that met not just settling matters of policy

22:32

administration and governance but

22:34

also figuring out how to get along

22:36

with one another without lennon's

22:38

presence as mutual

22:40

resentment and conflicting ambitions random

22:43

headlong into one another lenin

22:45

was not there to be the ultimate authority

22:47

that they all acknowledged the arbitrator

22:49

of all debate the for

22:51

example trotsky listen to and respected

22:53

lana but he exhibited habitual

22:56

contempt for his other comrades in politburo

22:59

and the feeling was mutual karate

23:01

had never really been one of them lenin's

23:04

not unjustified insistence that trotsky

23:07

was irreplaceable had both been trump

23:09

his greatest protection inside the party

23:11

and also major source of ongoing resentment

23:14

you know and he likes him even though he's

23:16

a stepchild hockey

23:19

for his bird remained ever aloof

23:21

did not dame to hang out with his politburo

23:23

conrad socially as

23:26

i'm sure you all know the if a bunch coworkers

23:28

get together to drink gossiping talk shit

23:31

which members the politburo routinely did

23:34

you're probably when they're gonna gossip and talk shit about if

23:36

you're not there

23:39

know if know even little bit about russian

23:41

politics the early nineteen twenties know

23:44

that what about to happen is that is innovia

23:46

stamina up and are

23:49

about to form a unified triumvirate

23:52

troika in russian parliament the

23:54

explicit and purposeful exclusion

23:57

in marginalization trotsky but

24:00

this troika was just one temporary alliance

24:02

organized within the long game that would

24:04

decide who among them would claim

24:06

lenin's mantle as the preeminent

24:09

leader of thirty during

24:11

this long game which got going in earnest

24:13

you're nineteen twenty three everyone

24:16

believed they were using everyone else alliances

24:19

would form dissipate and realign

24:21

as circumstances dictate it and

24:23

each played their own hands he

24:26

was not inevitable that first move would be against

24:28

trotsky in the summer of

24:30

nineteen twenty three it actually looks like stalin

24:32

would be first ago groups

24:35

gaia handed to know vf copy of

24:37

what they now referring to as elitist

24:39

letter about the secretary which

24:42

was tantamount to lennon using his dying

24:44

breed the same get rid of so the

24:47

letter circulated the other members of politburo

24:49

discussed doing just there

24:51

bunch a clandestine meetings and exchanges

24:53

are very passive aggressive correspondence that

24:56

seem to be moving against stalin

25:00

but probably because the know vf

25:03

ultimately disliked and feared trotsky

25:05

more than he disliked and feared stolen

25:08

instead of taking the poison dagger crips

25:10

gaia had given him and using it to slit

25:12

stones throw he instead

25:14

got together with stolen and cabin after former

25:16

working majority inside politburo specifically

25:19

atrocities expense in

25:23

september nineteen twenty three central committee the party

25:25

met for for session to discuss the german

25:27

question after being briefed

25:29

on the readiness the german communists and

25:31

state of russian national defenses the

25:34

allied powers might invade any event of

25:36

russian backed revolution in germany the

25:39

party approved plans to launch a communist

25:41

insurrection in germany on november

25:43

ninth the anniversary the german revolution

25:45

of nineteen eighteen small

25:48

group of senior party officials was dispatched to

25:50

germany to oversee preparations and coordinate

25:52

uprising but

25:54

after discussing this motion and

25:56

followed to revamp the military

25:58

revolutionary committee which

26:00

had been shared by trotsky since the october

26:02

revolution and which was understood by

26:05

everyone to be one of his basis of power

26:08

the motion would enlarge the council

26:10

and put stalin on the board

26:14

stalin took this as a direct an unexpected

26:17

attack on his dignity and authority he

26:20

dramatically responded by announcing his

26:22

resignation from all posts in both the party

26:24

and state and demanding the he

26:26

be allowed to decamp for germany to serve

26:28

as as he put it a soldier

26:30

of the revolution but

26:32

after discussing matter the politburo now

26:35

controlled by the troika of the know via

26:37

cabinet installing projected

26:39

both his resignation and his request to go

26:41

to germany trotsky

26:43

left his leadership post he might become

26:45

an uncontrollable loose cannon trotsky

26:48

greatest asset by far was his

26:50

popular appeal his oratory

26:53

soared above everyone and his powerful

26:55

biting words had made him great

26:57

champion the people both and nineteen o five

26:59

and nineteen seventeen sounds

27:02

unlikely trotsky would have tried to rally

27:04

the people against the soviet regime as

27:06

he had once rally damn again czar nicholas

27:08

and alexander kerenski no

27:11

it was better to keep him muzzled by party rules

27:13

prohibiting leaders from unauthorized speechmaking

27:16

the just letting him wander around free and

27:19

as for germany trotsky

27:21

went to germany and lead a second great

27:23

revolution it be no stopping

27:26

that is the troika

27:28

refused his resignations and refused

27:30

to allow him to go germany at

27:33

meeting the politburo shortly thereafter sunovia

27:35

crowed right to trotsky space that

27:38

you see you're in a ring the tricks no

27:40

longer work you're in minority you're

27:42

in the singular

27:46

trotsky could see that was being boxed in

27:48

and that his situation prevented him from launching

27:50

public broadside against party

27:53

so instead he sent a fiery

27:55

internal memo on october the eighth but

27:58

opened his new period as leader of any

28:00

more fuss and purposely ill defined

28:02

opposition to the troika hurting

28:05

sharply on his former defense of rigorous

28:07

discipline and takedown change command trotsky

28:10

now attack the increasingly bureaucratic

28:12

spirit of party the said

28:14

functionaries being appointed from on high

28:16

who just mindlessly carry out orders the

28:19

old spirit of open debate and collective

28:21

decision making giving way too rigidly

28:24

calcified apparatus that couldn't think for

28:26

itself and was thus losing it's spontaneity

28:29

creativity and adaptability one

28:32

need not struggle to hard to see talkies

28:34

tired from defender of labor armies

28:37

and one party dictatorship the more open

28:39

democratic decision making

28:41

oh inside with him being pushed off the

28:43

top most wrong at party

28:46

throughout his life trump's geese single

28:48

most consistent position was a he was

28:50

right and everyone else is wrong so

28:52

he had no problem switching procedural forms

28:55

to ensure that his voice was always heard loud

28:57

and clear because he was

28:59

right and everyone else was wrong

29:03

within days of trot his letter another

29:05

letter followed this

29:07

one was not technically signed by trotsky

29:09

but his fingerprints are all over it this

29:12

is so called declaration of

29:14

the forty six we signed by

29:17

you guessed forty six members

29:19

of the communist party critique

29:21

the politburo and central committee the

29:24

declaration opened with absolute broadside

29:26

saying

29:28

the economic and financial crisis beginning

29:30

the end of july this year

29:31

with all the political consequences flowing from

29:34

it including those within the party as

29:36

mercilessly revealed the inadequacy

29:38

at party leadership in the

29:40

economic realm and especially in the

29:42

area of inner party relations

29:45

they then proceeded to attack the politburo on

29:48

to france first picking

29:50

up the banner of the angry workers the

29:52

declaration attack the industrial policy the

29:54

any p saying it was insufficiently

29:57

committed to communists principles russia

29:59

needed was not market and bosses but more

30:01

rational planning hackett

30:04

echoing trot he's letter they attack

30:06

the central committee for allowing one small faction

30:09

to dominate offices appointments

30:11

and then declare themselves immune from criticism

30:13

in name a party unity they

30:16

said if the situation which has

30:18

developed not radically changed the

30:20

very near future the economic

30:22

crisis in soviet russia and crisis

30:24

of the fractional dictatorship within the party

30:27

the strike heavy blows to the workers dictatorship

30:29

and russia and to the russian communist party

30:32

such a burden on it shoulders the

30:34

dictatorship the proletariat in russia and

30:37

it's leader the russian communist party the

30:39

not enter the field of the impending new

30:41

international shocks and any other way

30:44

and with the perspective of failure along

30:46

with entire front a proletarian struggle

30:50

the authors of the declaration the forty six

30:53

cleverly tried turn the question factionalism

30:55

back around on the politburo saying

30:58

you are actually the one engaging in factionalism

31:01

not us but this

31:03

cleverness was no match for the stark reality

31:05

of the party rules they had all prove back and

31:07

ten congress the

31:09

central committee had total discretion to determine

31:12

what counted as on authorize factionalism

31:14

and what didn't the central

31:16

committee was controlled by the politburo which

31:18

was in turn now controlled by the trigger the

31:22

recession of the central committee at the end of october

31:24

which was packed by stalin with allies ski

31:27

and other forty six were all denounced for their

31:29

a radical factionalism the

31:32

ban on factions and rules

31:34

enforcing it would be unchanged and upheld

31:37

forever after this would be the method

31:39

of purging internal enemies of

31:41

whoever happened control the politburo the

31:45

troika was not yet a totally monolithic

31:47

force trotsky the

31:49

forty six and others who found themselves on

31:51

the wrong side of troika would continue

31:53

to tried to dislodge them we'll

31:56

talk more about this next week when we discuss

31:58

the rise and fall of the so called

32:00

that opposition there's

32:04

this was all playing out moscow

32:06

got heavy news from abroad the

32:09

agent sent to germany to organize and lead

32:11

the revolution reported that situation was

32:13

far worse than had been led to believe there

32:15

not nearly as many communist party members

32:17

or groups or weapons as had been supposed

32:21

those forces loyal to the government probably

32:23

outnumber them twenty two the

32:25

bolsheviks had one in october nineteen seventeen

32:28

because nobody was willing to fight for current his government

32:30

and so handful guys with machine guns could pull

32:32

it off that was not the case

32:35

in germany nineteen twenty three in

32:37

fact state of emergency had already been declared

32:40

local police had been forced give way to the army

32:43

which had no love it all for any kind of left

32:45

radicalism on

32:47

october twenty third the leaders

32:49

of groups and tend to lead the revolution

32:52

pull the plug on revolution they

32:54

sent backward to moscow saying whole thing has

32:56

to be post no

32:58

one small communist group in homburg did

33:00

wind up trying to move forward they

33:03

were quickly and easily crash there

33:06

would be no german october the turned

33:08

out to be just another miserable failure the

33:10

white whale swam away it

33:14

was only small comfort their

33:16

enemies the right fared know better in

33:18

that same november nineteen twenty three that small

33:21

clique of cartoonishly second rate reactionary

33:23

clowns and bavaria that together in

33:25

beer hall and tried copy mussolini's march

33:27

on rome they to failed miserably

33:30

were all arrested what turned out to a dismal

33:32

fiasco lost in jail

33:34

exposed as bunch of cartoonishly second

33:36

rate reactionary clowns they were

33:39

thankfully never heard from

33:41

again the

33:44

said before when it comes to history

33:46

the beginning of one biography often overlaps

33:49

with the end of another one person

33:51

start line is another person's finish line and

33:54

for vladimir elites lennon the

33:56

end was now at hand that

34:00

stroke in march nineteen twenty three had knocked

34:02

him completely out of commission there

34:04

were no more arguments about whether he was trying to

34:06

work too hard he wasn't able to

34:08

work at all he could

34:10

communicate now only by gesturing and

34:12

was confined to a wheelchair on days when he

34:14

felt able to get up and move around the

34:17

early victories were simply staying alert

34:19

and happy the eating and drinking well

34:22

listening group skier or his sister read

34:24

him books bad days

34:26

were full of vacant depression where he

34:28

seem more dead than alive the

34:30

only real hope left him and his family

34:33

we simply that he would recover enough to control

34:35

his own body and speakers on thought clearly

34:38

that as the weeks and months pass there were more

34:40

bad days and good the truth

34:43

was he was slipping away in

34:46

october nineteen twenty three his his comrades intrigued

34:48

against each other and he ever

34:50

elusive german revolution was pronounced

34:53

ever elusive

34:54

when and insisted on traveling the ten miles

34:56

up to moscow one last time the

34:59

didn't tell anyone who was coming had no

35:01

meetings with any of the bolsheviks the

35:03

just to where kremlin one last time and went back

35:05

to gorky exhausted but

35:07

satisfied

35:10

after new years his doctors tentatively

35:12

suggested he might actually be getting better kurds

35:15

guy was more attuned to him and more pessimistic

35:19

starting on thursday january seventeenth

35:21

she wrote i began to feel something

35:23

terrible was coming you were horribly

35:25

tired and tormented the was closing

35:28

his eyes frequently and went pale the

35:30

main thing was that somehow the expression on his

35:32

face change the gays became

35:35

somehow blind on

35:38

january twenty first nineteen twenty four the

35:40

current happen to a quirky visiting and

35:42

describe what he saw lennon

35:45

he said was propped up on

35:47

a pillow in a sleigh and watched well

35:49

group of workers on the estate when out hunting

35:51

the was in good spirits clearly enjoying

35:53

himself there are few things he enjoyed

35:56

more than one hunt when retriever

35:58

brought back a bird to one of the work the near the

36:00

sleigh lennon raised his good

36:02

hand and managed to say the

36:07

that night after returning his quarters drinking

36:09

some broth when it started slip

36:11

into unconsciousness the

36:13

sky wrote at first i held

36:15

his hot damn hand and then just watched

36:17

as the towel beneath him turned red with blood stamp

36:20

of have settled on his face the

36:23

had suffered fatal brain hemorrhage and

36:25

died just before seven o'clock on january

36:27

twenty first nineteen twenty four

36:31

was dead

36:33

more than any

36:35

of the other leaders have any of the other political

36:37

parties are factions that we have talk about in

36:39

series that includes czar

36:41

nicholas alexander current give your

36:44

turn off

36:45

have amelia cough sergei vitter

36:47

purest leap and these old mentor

36:49

planner

36:50

all of whom had enormous personalities

36:53

that filled every room they step foot in

36:55

none of them define their political

36:57

parties and factions the way lennon to find

36:59

his above and beyond

37:01

any defining ideology or policy

37:04

or worldview the bolsheviks the

37:06

bolsheviks where party of lenin so

37:09

much so that in the days after the infamous second

37:11

party congress and ninety no two

37:13

the difference between bolsheviks and mentioned x

37:15

can be described almost entirely by one's

37:18

own personal feelings about lennon those

37:20

who continued to support his leadership or bolsheviks

37:23

those who thought was far too dictatorial

37:26

bullying and close minded were mentioned ex

37:29

very little well separated them at time the

37:31

first rupture it was the

37:33

thing that ruptured damn lennon

37:36

stamp on his party meant that his party

37:38

resembled his own personality the

37:41

bolsheviks were hard disciplined sarcastic

37:43

blunt and dismissive they

37:46

also ever practical flexible and

37:48

adaptable but lenin's

37:50

domineering personality meant that the whole party

37:52

structure was designed to fit the leadership

37:55

of domineering personality those

37:58

we've seen lenin was not a straight up dick

38:00

it inside his party his

38:02

particular brand of megalomania was

38:04

of peculiar sort inside

38:06

the party he got his way through the force persuasion

38:09

strong arming people insisting very

38:11

occasionally wooing and coaxing and

38:14

if on occasion he lost votes to his comrades

38:16

in central committee on a matter policy the

38:18

gave way as for example

38:20

when they decided to boycott elections to the

38:22

duma when he thought they should run candidates

38:26

that as the years past those who disagreed

38:28

with lennon typically fill out favor and out of the

38:30

party mostly other was left

38:32

in the end those whose deference to

38:34

lenin was matter habit we

38:36

should note that any and the bolsheviks

38:39

did run candidate for the duma those

38:42

deference to strong leader was ingrained in

38:44

bolshevik party now the communist party

38:46

from the beginning as

38:49

was the way lennon built the party on basis

38:51

of congress's elections and committee and

38:53

yet always seeming to get his way

38:56

by manipulating those votes are packing

38:58

the committee's with people who voted way he wounded

39:01

brodsky noted this from the very beginning

39:04

just after the split ninety know to observed

39:06

of lenin methods in the

39:08

internal politics at the party these

39:10

methods lead to the party organization

39:12

substituting itself for the party the

39:15

central committee substituting itself for the party

39:17

organization and finally the dictator

39:19

substituting himself for the central committee the

39:23

wrote this way back nineteen o two that

39:25

describes was perfectly the trick is moved to

39:27

take over communist party now that lenin

39:29

was fading dying and

39:31

dead for good

39:33

or ill the bolshevik party

39:36

was lenin's party and even though

39:38

lenin was now gone the party

39:40

he had built remained ever

39:42

the same

39:42

the

39:45

russian revolution was not the work of single

39:47

man it

39:48

was obviously an impossibly convoluted

39:50

set of events that sprawled across decades

39:52

and swept up literally millions of people

39:54

great and small while contributed

39:57

how the revolution unfolding

39:59

well we can't fisher say this

40:02

more than any other single person the

40:04

russian revolution was defined by lennon

40:06

there are few moments in history

40:08

when he can really say i yeah that one

40:11

person caused this particular

40:13

massive historical events the

40:15

october revolution is that way the

40:18

october revolution is no happen without letting he

40:21

was absolutely going out of his mind

40:23

pushing his comrades to do it take

40:25

power even in face of heavy

40:27

doubt from those comrades and nervous

40:29

resistance from the rank and file of his party

40:32

now obviously even the october revolution is work

40:34

of tons of people the core

40:37

drive to do the engine that

40:39

produce the october revolution not the february

40:41

revolution mind but the october revolution came

40:44

from one and had he died

40:46

or been arrested or been detained coming

40:48

back from finland the october revolution

40:51

does not happen and

40:53

so love him or hate him revere

40:55

him or loathe him lennon singular

40:57

impact on world history can never

40:59

be doubted

41:00

but

41:03

now lennon is dead and gone and

41:05

next week communist party the

41:08

u s s r the international communist

41:10

revolution the have to move on

41:12

without they're indispensable man that

41:14

has now gone to that graveyard that is full

41:16

of indispensable man next

41:19

week will be the first of are three

41:21

final wrap up episodes and it

41:23

will revolve around the great duel between stalin

41:25

and trotsky for control the communist party

41:28

u s r any international

41:30

communist revolution because

41:32

even though we are ending their sand drawing

41:34

a line the sand says over there is revolution

41:37

and over there is early soviet history there

41:39

never is break in history there's never

41:41

a pause just keeps going one day

41:43

after the next and

41:45

so even though the revolution is ending and

41:48

revolutions is ending history

41:59

yeah

42:07

yeah