Explore the Russian Revolution's global legacy, how the Bolsheviks influenced socialist movements worldwide, and the transformation of the USSR into a global power.
The Russian Revolution’s Global Legacy
The Russian Revolution’s Global Legacy: How the USSR Transformed the World’s Political Landscape
Socialist parties in Europe did not wholly approve of the way the Bolsheviks took power – and kept it.
However, the possibility of a workers’ state fired people’s imagination across the world.
In many countries, communist parties were formed, such as the Communist Party of Great Britain.
The Bolsheviks encouraged colonial peoples to follow their experiment:
Many non-Russians from outside the USSR participated in the Conference of the Peoples of the East (1920).
The Bolshevik-founded Comintern was an international union of pro-Bolshevik socialist parties.
Some individuals received education in the USSR’s Communist University of the Workers of the East.
By the outbreak of the Second World War, the USSR had given socialism a global face and world stature.
Challenges Within the USSR
By the 1950s, it was acknowledged within the country that the style of government was not in keeping with the ideals of the Russian Revolution.
The international socialist movement also recognised that all was not well in the Soviet Union.
While the USSR had become a great power and developed its industries and agriculture, it:
Denied essential freedoms to its citizens.
Carried out developmental projects through repressive policies.
By the end of the twentieth century, the USSR’s international reputation as a socialist country had declined, but socialist ideals still enjoyed respect among its people.
Global Influence of the Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution inspired many Indians, with several attending the Communist University.
By the mid-1920s, the Communist Party of India was formed, maintaining ties with the Soviet Communist Party.
Indian leaders and cultural figures such as Jawaharlal Nehru and Rabindranath Tagore visited Russia and wrote about Soviet socialism.
Notable Indian writings about Soviet Russia:
R.S. Avasthi’s *Russian Revolution, Lenin, His Life and His Thoughts* and *The Red Revolution* (Hindi).
S.D. Vidyalankar’s *The Rebirth of Russia* and *The Soviet State of Russia* (Hindi).
Many writings in Bengali, Marathi, Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu.
Perspectives from Indian Visitors
Shaukat Usmani (1920) described Soviet Russia as:
A land of real equality with freedom in its true light.
A place where fifty different nationalities mingled freely without barriers of caste or religion.
Rabindranath Tagore (1930) reflected on:
The transformation of workers and peasants in ten years, comparing them to the illiterate masses in India.
The equality and opportunities afforded to the working masses.
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