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Most people who know me – even in passing – know of my profound interest in Soviet and Russian history. Back in June of this year, my years of interest and study culminated in the completion of my self-published book project, Red Youth: Young Heroes of the Great Patriotic War. The book chronicles the life and martyrdom of Zoya Kosmodemyanska, one of the best-known and most loved heroines of the Soviet Union’s war against fascist Germany. Regular readers to this site know that I had a lot of help on this project and a lot of support for my efforts as well.
In the months that have followed since the initial release of the book, I have received kind words and encouragement from many different places in the world and I have shipped copies all over the United States and as far away as the Middle East and Australia. I also shipped a copy to Peyman Piran, one of the Iranian students to whom the book is dedicated. Last month, I filled a wholesale order for Red Emma’s Bookstore and Coffeehouse in Baltimore and they are now selling copies online and in their store.
I am, of course, very happy to sell copies of the book to anyone with an interest in Zoya’s story. But one of the greatest honors thus far just happened this week. My friend Nina Lebed lives in Russia and she was kind enough to take a copy to the Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya Museum in Moscow. On Tuesday November 24, 2009 she presented a copy of the book to Museum Director Natalia Valentinovna who will place the book into the collection of materials at the museum.
To have this book placed upon so many important documents and exhibits related to Zoya and her brother Shura is one of the most tremendous accomplishments of my life and I am grateful to Nina and everyone else who helped to bring about this honor.
Museum Director Natalia Valentinovna holding the Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya Museum’s newly acquired copy of Red Youth.
The book will be added to this case which contains works about Zoya from around the world.
Red Youth sits atop Zoya’s primary school desk.
Closeup of Red Youth on Zoya’s desk.
Red Youth: Young Heroes of the Great Patriotic War is available for purchase through Erythrós Press and Media.
You don’t have to be a Marxist to appreciate the fact that few people have ever been so skilled at building polemic arguments as V.I. Lenin. Consider this passage from his 1915 work New Data on the Laws Governing the Development of Capitalism in Agriculture in which Lenin set out to refute the assertions of a prominent Russian economist of the day:
All these assertions are monstrously untrue. They are in direct contradiction to reality. They are a sheer mockery of the truth. Their incorrectness ought to be explained in detail for a very good reason…
The argument that follows this introduction is as painstakingly detailed and spot-on as required, which is a necessity given the subject matter at hand. From the caustic polemic follows a methodical deconstruction that is then buttressed by a wealth of relevant statistical data. The balance of the piece is a resounding quod erat demonstrandum.
Such an introduction to a complex and multifaceted debate immediately compels the reader to accept the infallibility of the forthcoming counterpoint(s). It’s a methodical attack, meant to undermine the fallacious claims of an opponent while simultaneously and explicitly asserting the validity of the immediate arguments.
This method is among the more useful and effective tactics in both the most simple and complex of political debates.
Marxists Internet Archive Publications has published the first three volumes of CLASSICS IN ACTIVITY THEORY, reprints of English translations first published by Progress Publishers in the 1970s, of the second generation of Soviet followers of Lev Vygotsky. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, while remaining in the public domain, these works have become unavailable, in most cases even on the secondhand market. And yet there remains a vast research community across the world that builds on Vygotsky and Activity Theory.
Each of the three books beginning the series is a collection of the English translations from one of the three authors: Alexei LEONTYEV, Alexander MESHCHERYAKOV and Evald ILYENKOV, plus a short preface by Prof. Mike Cole of the University of California, San Diego. Every university or education faculty library should have this series. Titles included are, from Leontyev, The Development of Mind: The Problem of the Origin of Sensation, The Biological and Social in Man’s Psyche, An Outline of the Evolution of the Psyche, The Historical Approach to Study of the Human Psyche, The Development of Higher Forms of Memory, The Psychological Principles of Preschool Play, The Theory of the Development of the Child’s Psyche, Child Development and the Problem of Mental Deficiency, Activity and Consciousness; from Ilyenkov, The Ideal in Human Activity: Dialectical Logic, Activity and Knowledge, The Universal, The Concept of the Ideal, Reflections on “Materialism and Empirio-Criticism” and Meshcheryakov, Awakening To Life: Deaf-blind Children, Problems of Deaf-blindness, Forming Behaviour and Developing Their Minds, Learning Programmes for the Deaf-blind.
Volumes are available from Erythrós Press and Media for US$25 + postage per volume but purchasers of all 3 books -- or 4 books with the purchase of Hegel’s Logic -- pay a reduced price of $20 per book with reduced shipping costs.
During World War II, filmmaker Frank Capra directed a series of films commissioned by the U.S. Government. The series was called Why We Fightand the films proved to be an effective tool to combat the far-reaching propaganda machine of Nazi Germany. I have to admit that I still enjoy watching a couple of the episodes from Why We Fight every once in a while. I am particularly fond of The Battle of Russia with its detailed assessment of the Soviets’ defense of the USSR including some decent segments regarding the battles at Leningrad and Stalingrad. The Battle of China is very interesting as well and it even includes some brief yet rare film footage of Dr. Sun Yat-sen.
Some recent news about new events in Afghanistan and Iraq have led me to reflect a little on what it might look like if someone set out to compile an updated edition of the Why We Fight films. I think it would be a very different and a very sobering experience given what I have read as of late.
Here’s a bit on the “improving” situation in Afghanistan:
A controversial law condoning marital rape and reintroducing Taleban-era rules for Afghan women has been shelved after an outcry in the West.
The Afghan Foreign Ministry said that the law had not been enacted, while Justice Ministry officials said that its contents might be reconsidered. The legislation was put on hold pending a review.
“The Justice Ministry is reviewing the law to make sure it is in line with the Afghan Government’s commitment to human rights and women rights conventions,” Sultan Ahmad Baheen, a spokesman for the ministry in Kabul, said.
The British Government expressed alarm at the law, which applies to the 15 per cent of the Afghan population that is Shia Muslim. President Obama called the law “abhorrent” at the Nato summit in Strasbourg last week.
[...]
One of the most controversial articles stipulates that the wife “is bound to preen for her husband as and when he desires”.
Later the law explicitly sanctions marital rape. “As long as the husband is not travelling, he has the right to have sexual intercourse with his wife every fourth night,” Article 132 says. “Unless the wife is ill or has any kind of illness that intercourse could aggravate, the wife is bound to give a positive response to the sexual desires of her husband.”
Article 133 reintroduces the Taleban restrictions on women’s movements outside their homes, stating: “A wife cannot leave the house without the permission of the husband” unless in a medical or other emergency.
Article 27 endorses child marriage with girls legally able to marry once they begin to menstruate.
The law also withholds from the woman the right to inherit her husband’s wealth. (full article)
It is, of course, good news that the government of Afghanistan is now "reviewing" their newest incarnation of Sharia law after facing an unprecedented criticism from virtually every corner of the globe. But some things are not so easily undone with a simple campaign or a review. Consider the recent tragic events in the “new” Iraq:
Six gay men were shot dead by members of their tribe in two separate incidents in the past 10 days, an official with Iraq's Interior ministry said.
In the most recent attack, two men were killed Thursday in Sadr City area of Baghdad after they were disowned by relatives, the official said.
The shootings came after a tribal meeting was held and the members decided to go after the victims.
On March 26, four additional men were fatally shot in the same city, the official said, adding that the victims had also been disowned by their relatives.
The official declined to be identified because he is not authorized to speak to the media.
Witnesses told CNN that a Sadr City cafe, which was a popular gathering spot for gays, was also set on fire. (full article)
Are the above developments acceptable examples of what it means to be “liberated” in the 21st century? Ask the oppressed men, women and children of Iraq and Afghanistan why we fight. They’ll tell you the truth…but you might not like the answer.
Those of you who are regular visitors to greeklish.org have probably noticed that these days I don’t post articles as frequently as I have in years past. This is certainly not for lack of interest or because things are boring at our end. In fact, things have been pretty busy here, as we have been hard at work launching our new endeavor, Erythrós Press and Media.
Erythrós Press and Media offers publishing, web design and media distribution services to individuals and groups. We specialize in serving nonprofit organizations and politically progressive groups and causes.
In commemoration of 'Οχι Day, we present the text of the October 31, 1940 "Open Letter of the General Secretary of the KKE" by Nikos Zachariadis. The English and Greek editions of this text were transcribed by my pal Panos Fidis. We worked together on the footnotes to create these documents for marxists.org. Μου λείπεις, my friend!
Open Letter of the General Secretary of the KKE [A],[B] to the People of Greece
Nikos
Zachariadis
Mussolini's fascism backstabbed Greece in a murderous and immoral way in order to occupy and enslave Greece. Today all the Greeks are fighting for our freedom. our honor, our national independence. The struggle will be very hard and very tough. But a nation that desires to survive must fight defying the dangers and the sacrifices. The people of Greece are fighting a national liberation war against Mussolini's fascism. Alongside with the main front, EVERY ROCK, EVERY HILLSIDE, EVERY CITY, HOUSE BY HOUSE MUST BECOME A FORTRESS OF THE NATIONAL LIBERATION STRUGGLE. Every agent of fascism must be exterminated mercilessly. In this war which is led by the government of Metaxas, all of us must offer all their efforts without doubts. The reward for the working people and the capstone of today's struggle will be a new Greece of work and freedom liberated from any foreign imperialist dependence with a true popular culture. Everyone to the struggle, each one to his position, and the victory will be a victory of Greece and the Greek people. The workers of all the world are on our side.
Athens, 31 of October 1940. Nikos Zachariadis Secretary of the Central Comitee of KKE
B. The KKE had been banned in 1936 by the Metaxas regime. As such, much of the KKE leadership had been imprisoned by the onset of Italian aggression toward Greece. Zachariadis wrote this letter from jail, urging unity with the Metaxas government the effort to defeat the common enemy of the Greek people.
Ανοιχτό γράμμα του Γενικού Γραμματέα του ΚΚΕ Προς το λαό της Ελλάδας
Ο φασισμός του Μουσολίνι χτύπησε την Ελλάδα πισώπλατα, δολοφονικά και ξετσίπωτα με σκοπό να την υποδουλώσει και εξανδραποδίσει. Σήμερα όλοι οι Έλληνες παλεύουμε για τη λευτεριά, την τιμή, την εθνική μας ανεξαρτησία. Η πάλη θα είναι πολύ δύσκολη και πολύ σκληρή. Μα ένα έθνος που θέλει να ζήσει πρέπει να παλεύει, αψηφώντας τους κινδύνους και τις θυσίες. 0 λαός τής Ελλάδας διεξάγει σήμερα έναν πόλεμο εθνικοαπελευθερωτικό, ενάντια στο φασισμό του Μουσολίνι. Δίπλα στο κύριο μέτωπο και Ο ΚΑΘΕ ΒΡΑΧΟΣ, Η ΚΑΘΕ ΡΕΜΑΤΙΑ, ΤΟ ΚΑΘΕ ΧΩΡΙΟ, ΚΑΛΥΒΑ ΜΕ ΚΑΛΥΒΑ, Η ΚΑΘΕ ΠΟΛΗ, ΣΠΙΤΙ ΜΕ ΣΠΙΤΙ, ΠΡΕΠΕΙ ΝΑ ΓΙΝΕΙ ΦΡΟΥΡΙΟ ΤΟΥ ΕΘΝΙΚΟΑΠΕΛΕΥΘΕΡΩΤΙΚΟΥ ΑΓΩΝΑ. Κάθε πράκτορας του φασισμού πρέπει να εξοντωθεί αλύπητα. Στον πόλεμο αυτό πού τον διευθύνει ή κυβέρνηση Μεταξά, όλοι μας πρέπει να δώσουμε όλες μας τις δυνάμεις, δίχως επιφύλαξη. Έπαθλο για τον εργαζόμενο λαό και επιστέγασμα για το σημερινό του αγώνα, πρέπει να είναι και θα είναι, μια καινούργια 'Ελλάδα τής δουλειάς, τής λευτεριάς, λυτρωμένη από κάθε ξενική ιμπεριαλιστική εξάρτηση, μ'εναν πραγματικά παλλαϊκό πολιτισμό. Όλοι στον αγώνα, ο καθένας στη θέση του και ή νίκη θα 'ναι νίκη τής Ελλάδας και τού λαού της. Οι εργαζόμενοι όλου του κόσμου στέκουν στο πλευρό μας.
Soviet Russia Today March, 1944 issue On the cover: Soviet guerilla heroine T. Galavenskaya
A couple of years ago, I discovered Steve Trussel’s great Howard Fast archive on his website EclectiCity. I was working on a new project at the time and Steve had some important material in his Fast archive which he generously shared with me for my project. I have always appreciated Steve’s efforts in building such a great archive and it was really kind of him to share his transcription of a relatively rare work.
I recently purchased a vintage issue of Soviet Russia Today (the March 1944 issue to be precise) from an eBay seller and as I was excited to find a short book review written by Howard Fast near the back of the magazine. The review was of the book Konstantin Simonov's Short Stories. Steve’s website was the first thing that came to mind and I quickly wrote to him to share news of my discovery. After we corresponded a bit, I sent him a transcription of the review along with the scan of the cover of the magazine. The full text of the review is now posted on online as a permanent addition to the Howard Fast section of the EclectiCity. Click here to view the text.
I had originally planned to post a "blockbuster 300th blog post blogtacular" a couple of weeks ago, but things kind of got out of control. For one thing, I got kind of carried away with my article on Emma Goldman and I didn't want to wait to post it. So "Notes on Emma Goldman" was really the 300th posting for greeklish.org and this was just fine, I guess. But then came Dayton's Hurricane Ike Blackout of 2008 and we ended up cleaning up storm damage and sitting in the dark without power for four days. It could have been worse, but it was no fun at all. Incidentally, the complete failure of all our aquarium filters and air pump resulted in the loss of all of our pet goldfish. Longtime readers wil recall our fish were the topic of much discussion a few years back. No worries, though...We have rebuilt the aquarium into a tropical tank now and we're hoping for another good run with the new batch of fish.
Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya From a set entitled "Heroes of the Soviet Union," dated 1973.
So, onward and upward with our 301st blog article spectacular! To celebrate this landmark event, we are launching several new pages and sections, including some big additions to our Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya archive. This particular section is visited regularly by people from all around the world who want to learn about the struggle and sacrifice of the legendary Soviet heroine. New to the section are two image galleries. The "Posters and Paintings" gallery features images and information regarding Soviet-era depictions of Zoya. Some of the images are items from my personal collection and one image is of a portrait owned by my good friend Randy Graham. Thanks Randy! We have also added a gallery called "Exhibits and Photographs" that features rare photographs and pictures of exhibits from the Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya Museum in Moscow. These pictures and captions were provided by Nina Lebed, our friend from Russia. Большое спасибо, once again, Nina! Finally, a we've added another rare picture postcard to our "Post Card Gallery." The post card is from a 1973 set entitled Heroes of the Soviet Union and in my opinion, the color portrait on this particular post card is one of the best depictions of Zoya I have ever seen.
Another of our new features is the "Recommended Reading" page, which will list some of my favorite works of all time. The page is still under construction, but to kick it off, I have created a list of some recommended works on the topics of Marx and Marxism. Since most of my reading and study over the past decade or so has involved Marxism and the radical left, I figured this was a good way to launch this particular page. The banner image at the top of the page is a photo taken by my friend Kave Heydari during a recent visit to the Marx Memorial Library in London. Thanks so much for the photo, Kave!
Finally, I have added a new list called "Favorite greeklish.org articles" to the left side of our main page. The list features links to some of my favorite articles from the last 3½ years. Some of these pieces were quite controversial, as you can well see by reviewing the "comments" sections for the respective posts. Some of the articles are quirky or silly and a few of them are just pieces that I simply enjoyed writing. If you missed any of these the first time around, you might want to check them out. Then again, if you've read them before, they could be worth yet another look.
We really enjoy sharing the material at greeklish.org with all of our friends and family as well as the thousands of visitors around the world who happen upon our site each and every month. Thanks to all our friends who have contributed photos, texts, and comments and thanks to all of our readers, from Russia, Greece, Iran, India, Pakistan and everywhere else all around the world!
“I do not believe in God, because I believe in man. Whatever his mistakes, man has for thousands of years past been working to undo the botched job your God has made.”
— Emma Goldman Living My Life
Emma Goldman
A couple of weekends ago, we were out and about on a Saturday and I asked Thomai and the girls if I could stop into Half Price Books for a second since we were in the neighborhood. They’re all well aware that it’s a “given” for me to do a quick run through to HPB any time that we’re in the general area, so there were no objections. Now, I was really looking for a couple of minutes worth of browsing and I wasn’t intending to pick anything up that day, but it’s pretty tough for me to leave any second-hand bookstore empty-handed. And, sure enough, after a couple of minutes I emerged from the store with some great finds. One of my acquisitions was a two-volume set of Ernst Mandel’s Marxist Economic Theory (the 1968 Merlin Press ed.), which is something you kind of don’t expect to find sitting on the shelves of a Dayton, Ohio book store. But I was even more excited to find a brand-new unread copy of Emma Goldman’s autobiography Living My Life(The Penguin Classics edition) for only $5. It was really a steal, because the retail price is $18. After checking out, I happily returned to the girls who were waiting patiently in the car, set my new books on my lap and told Thomai I was ready to go. She looked at the Goldman volume on the top of my stack and said, “Wow.” The woman knows me all to well and she knows how much I love Emma, so she was very happy for me. I am so lucky, for sure.
One of the first works by Goldman that I ever read was My Disillusionment Russia. It’s probably been about seven years now since I read it, but I remember being impressed with at her insight and detail, even though I didn’t necessarily agree with all of her conclusions. Emma wrote from an unmistakable perspective of one who was personally invested in the struggle of the oppressed without allowing her emotions to blunt or otherwise compromise her message. While she was not always committed to the attentat, she was relentless and uncompromising in her work and she was always certain to remind people that the oppressed must work to free themselves while learning from the inspirational examples and sacrifices of the vanguard.
Living My Life is a formidable tome and these days I don’t have as much down time to read as I would like. So it will be a while before I can get through all 56 chapters, but with only a few chapters under my belt right now, I can already tell what a great read this will be. The book opens in turn-of-the century New York, set against the backdrop of a political diversity that is unknown in today’s America. Emma’s vivid and detailed writing conveys every bit of the enthusiasm and passion that fueled her revolutionary work from her early days all the way through to her final years. Consider, for example, the following excerpt in which Emma reflects upon the day she learned of the eviction of striking steel workers and their families from the Homestead mill-towns:
Far away from the scene of the impending struggle, in our little ice-cream parlour in the city of Worcester, we eagerly followed developments. To us it sounded the awakening of the American worker, the long-awaited day of his resurrection. The native toiler had risen, he was beginning to feel his mighty strength, he was determined to break the chains that had held him in bondage so long, we thought. Our hearts were fired with admiration for the men of Homestead.
We continued our daily work, waiting on customers, frying pancakes, serving tea and ice-cream; but our thoughts were in Homestead, with the brave steel-workers. We became so absorbed in the news that we would not permit ourselves enough time even for sleep. At daybreak one of the boys would be off to get the first editions of the papers. We saturated ourselves with the events in Homestead to the exclusion of everything else. Entire nights we would sit up discussing the various phases of the situation, almost engulfed by the possibilities of the gigantic struggle.
One afternoon a customer came in for an ice-cream, while I was alone in the store. As I set the dish down before him, I caught the large headlines of his paper: "LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN HOMESTEAD -- FAMILIES OF STRIKERS EVICTED FROM THE COMPANY HOUSES -- WOMAN IN CONFINEMENT CARRIED OUT INTO THE STREET BY SHERIFFS." I read over the man's shoulder Frick's dictum to the workers: he would rather see them dead than concede to their demands, and he threatened to import Pinkerton detectives. The brutal bluntness of the account, the inhumanity of Frick towards the evicted mother, inflamed my mind. Indignation swept my whole being. I heard the man at the table ask: "Are you sick, young lady? Can I do anything for you?" "Yes, you can let me have your paper," I blurted out. "You won't have to pay me for the ice-cream. But I must ask you to leave. I must close the store." The man looked at me as if I had gone crazy.
I locked up the store and ran full speed the three blocks to our little flat. It was Homestead, not Russia; I knew it now. We belonged in Homestead. The boys, resting for the evening shift, sat up as I rushed into the room, newspaper clutched in my hand. "What has happened, Emma? You look terrible!" I could not speak. I handed them the paper.
Sasha was the first on his feet. "Homestead!" he exclaimed. "I must go to Homestead!" I flung my arms around him, crying out his name. I, too, would go. "We must go tonight," he said; "the great moment has come at last!" Being internationalists, he added, it mattered not to us where the blow was struck by the workers; we must be with them. We must bring them our great message and help them see that it was not only for the moment that they must strike, but for all time, for a free life, for anarchism. Russia had many heroic men and women, but who was there in America? Yes, we must go to Homestead, tonight!
from Living My Life, Chapter 8 (Penguin Classics ed., pp. 58-59)
I’m sure that if Emma had her life to live over again, she would -- in Trotsky’s words -- “try to avoid this or that mistake.” But what a legacy Emma left to those who truly desire and struggle to change the world for the better. She once said:
“I want freedom, the right to self-expression, everybody’s right to beautiful, radiant things.”
What a world it would be if we there were more people like Emma Goldman. Recommended Reading Living My Life full text online from Anarchy Archives
A new page entitled “Articles and Texts” features links to a number of Internet articles dedicated to Zoya’s story. Included in this section are two new texts transcribed exclusively for greeklish.org. One text is an excerpt entitled "The Heroic Struggle Waged by the Soviet Partisans," taken from the multi-volume set A History of the USSR which was published by Foreign Languages Publishing House in 1947. We have also added the full transcription of the article "Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya" from the 1947 volume Soviet Calendar: Thirty Years of the Soviet State, 1917-1947, also published by Foreign Languages Publishing House.
Additionally, we have posted a new image gallery entitled, "Statues, Busts and Monuments," which features pictures of some of the many sculptural representations of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya.
We are particularly grateful to Benedicte P. S. for granting us permission to use her fantastic photo of the statue of Zoya from the Partizanskaya Metro Station in Moscow. This photo is from Benedicte’s "sleep in the fog" gallery.
Our friend Nina Lebed provided translations of some of the captions for the images in our galleries. Большое спасибо, Nina!
The argument that follows this introduction is as painstakingly detailed and spot-on as required, which is a necessity given the subject matter at hand. From the caustic polemic follows a methodical deconstruction that is then buttressed by a wealth of relevant statistical data. The balance of the piece is a resounding 
