SEP (Australia) public meeting and film screening

The historical and contemporary political significance of the 1917 Russian Revolution

9 November 2012

The Russian Revolution of 1917 ranks among the seminal events of the twentieth century. The victory of the Bolshevik Party and the establishment of the Soviet Union not only abolished capitalism in the largest country on earth. The example of a victorious socialist revolution politically radicalised the working class throughout the world, inspiring the masses with the possibility of an alternative to capitalism and imperialism.

In the aftermath of the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the propagandists of the ruling class declared that this represented the decisive triumph of capitalism, the so-called “End of History.” However, as capitalism confronts its greatest crisis since the 1930s, the events of 1917 assume immense contemporary significance.

Nick Beams, the national secretary of the Socialist Equality Party, will introduce the showing of the great historical documentary Tsar to Lenin with a lecture on “The Historical and Contemporary Political Significance of the 1917 Russian Revolution.”

Tsar to Lenin, first released in 1937, presents an extraordinary cinematic account of the Russian Revolution—from the mass uprising which overthrew the centuries-old Tsarist regime in February 1917, to the Bolshevik-led insurrection eight months later that established the first socialist workers’ state, and the final victory in 1921 of the new Soviet regime over counter-revolutionary forces after a three-year civil war.

Based on archival footage assembled over more than a decade by the legendary Herman Axelbank (1900-1979), Tsar to Lenin provides an unparalleled film record of a revolutionary movement, embracing millions, which “shook the world” and changed the course of history.

Melbourne:

Sunday, December 9, 2 p.m.

Kaleide Theatre,

Building 8, RMIT

Swanston Street entrance, near Commonwealth Bank

Sydney:

Sunday, December 16, 2 p.m.

University of Sydney, Camperdown Campus

Carslaw Building, Lecture Theatre 157

Eastern Avenue

Short walk from Redfern Station

Car parking available in university or surrounding streets

Tickets: $5/$3 concession