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Marxism and the National Question by Joseph Stalin

Marxism and the National question is a text by Joseph Stalin that was published in 1913. The text talks about the issues of nationalism and the abilities of various nationalities and ethnic groups to practice various forms of self governance under the program of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (which would become the Mensheviks and the Bolsheviks). In the text Stalin gives his analysis of various kinds of nationalism and nationalist movements that were seen within various socialist groups in the late 19th and early 20th century and analysis their effect on the socialist movement and their place within socialism. This a thoroughly interesting read and gives the reader a view into the various opinions of socialist groups on the topic of nationalism within the early 20th century, while not a strictly necessary read for many socialists i would highly recommend anyone that is interested in nationalism within the socialist movement.

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November 7th marks the anniversary of the october revolution which resulted in the hardest painting ever made

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Dialectical and Historical Materialism by Joseph Stalin

This small book is an introduction to the concepts of both dialectical and historical materialism. It gives an easy to follow definition of both and manages to concisely explain dialectical materialism in a simple and easy to comprehend matter, which is something i had been looking for as for a long time i was not able to fully grasp other explanations i had read. This book also touches on the Marxist view of philosophy and explains the concept that various philosophical and social ideas do not exist solely in the minds of men but are profoundly influenced by the material conditions of men. This is a great showcase of how Stalin is able to touch on socialist concepts in a great level of detail but is also able to make it simple to understand. I would highly recommend this book to socialists of any kind who are seeking to better their knowledge on the various forms of socialist analysis.

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Imperialism the Highest Stage of Capitalism by Vladimir Lenin

'Imperialism the Highest Stage of Capitalism' is a comprehensive analysis of the centralization of wealth and financial capital within industries like banking. It also analysis how this monopolization and centralization of capital spills out into imperialism and how those who control the financial capital benefit from imperialism. This book is tremendously well written and shows off Lenin's ability to go over more concrete financial data and analysis it from a Marxist perspective, it also shows his ability to point out and identify the errors in other Marxist thinkers analysis of Imperialism. While at times this can be a tough read due to the sheer amount of data and more analytical writing that is being done it is still a tremendously interesting read and still manages to show the wit and writing prowess of Lenin. I would recommend this book to either slightly more well read beginner leftists or fresh leftists that have previous experience reading and going over financial matters (i.e business/economics students)

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Roger Keeran and Thomas Kenny, Socialism Betrayed

'Socialism Betrayed' is an in depth look at the various factors that contributed to the eventual dissolution of the USSR. This book brings you all the way from Lenin and the founding of the USSR all the way to Gorbachev and USSR's dissolution. It talks in depth about reform-ism within the USSR and both its positives and negatives, going into depth on areas like the second market that was prevalent in the post Stalin USSR, it also mentions the nepotism seen under Brezhnev and the failings of Gorbachev's Peristoka and Glasnot policies, as well as touching of foreign relations with the USA and things like the war with Afghanistan. For me this book was by no means a 'fun read' but however it was extremely interesting and broadened my view of the internal political structure of the USSR and gave me a more flushed out perspective on various issues that were playing out during the various different periods of the USSR. It is an interesting read that will broaden the horizons of all socialists that want a decently in depth overview of the collapse of the USSR and i would recommend it to any socialist that has any interest in the USSR.

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J.V. Stalin, Anarchism or Socialism

‘Anarchism or Socialism’ is a book by soviet leader Joseph Stalin that compares and contrast Socialism and Anarchism, it does this by explaining theoretical devices such as ‘dialectical materialism’ and ‘historical materialism’ and showing how the two ideologies differ on these theoretical devices. although i find the assertion that Stalin makes in this work when he says that anarchists are not true socialists that take from Marxist theory a bit odd it is important to remember the anarchists of Stalin's time were probably quite different from our anarchist comrades that exist today. This book is a compelling read and Stalin is a very engaging writer that is easy to follow and has no problems with adding traces of humour sprinkled throughout his works, this serves as an effective way of keeping the reader engaged and providing some levity as Stalin describes the various disagreements between Anarchists and Socialists. I would recommend this book for any socialists, both fledgling and well read, it is a thoroughly engaging and interesting book from the most polarizing figure within the bolshevik movement.