On June 25th the Dawn, the biggest and most influential English-language daily paper in Pakistan, published a lengthy article by one Boris Stremlin, Non-fiction: the old Bolsheviks of the new Russia, which was supposed to be a review of the new edition of

I have been asked by my Swedish comrades to write a brief preface to Lenin’s State and Revolution – a task which I readily agreed to, given the enormous importance of this work for the worldwide struggle for socialism. Strangely enough, the question of the state, despite its colossal significance, is something that does not normally occupy the attention of even the most advanced workers.

In this talk from a recent Socialist Appeal day school, Alan Woods (editor of In Defence of Marxism) explores Trotsky's theory of the permanent revolution and how it has been vindicated throughout history - both in the positive sense, by the Russian Revolution, and in the negative, by the Chinese Revolution of 1925-27.

Alan Woods, editor of In Defence of Marxism, discusses Donald Trump's visit to the Middle East, which is taking place at a convenient time for the new president, who requires a distraction from the crisis facing his administration back home.

Alan Woods, editor of In Defence of Marxism, discusses the recent results of the first round of the French presidential elections. Above all, these results represented a shattering of the status quo, with a complete collapse of the traditional parties of the centre left and the centre right.

Today we publish the fourth and final part of Alan Woods' series: 'Marxism or anarchism? - An open letter to thinking anarchists'. The open letter is a response to an article by 'Black Flag' (an anarchist group in Brazil). Click here to jump straight to the fourth part

The brutal lynching of Mashal Khan, a 23 year old student of journalism in Abdul Wali Khan University, by a fundamentalist mob is a new and shocking example of the reign of terror that is being waged against left-wing and progressive forces in Pakistan. Even by the barbaric standards of fundamentalist violence, this murder was characterised by its extreme savagery. Dragged from his hostel room, Mashal Khan was battered with wooden planks before being shot dead. Not satisfied by this butchery, those cowardly murderers then proceeded to desecrate and humiliate his dead body.

In the latest video from our "In Defence of October" series celebrating the 100th anniversary of the 1917 Russian Revolution, Alan Woods - editor of "Bolshevism: the Road to Revolution" - discusses the events surrounding Lenin's return to Russia on 16th April 1917.

Alan Woods - editor of In Defence of Marxism - discusses the political earthquakes that have shattered the status quo and shaken the Establishment in country after country: from the victory of Donald Trump, to the Brexit vote, and the prospect of a Le Pen win in the French elections. "All that is solid melts into air" - and all the old certainties are now being questioned, with the future of the European Union and the Middle East hanging in the balance. Wars, terrorism, and crisis: all of these are symptoms of the death agony of capitalism and the birth pangs of revolution.

In the first part of our Russian Revolution video diary, Alan Woods examines the events of the February Revolution, when the masses entered onto the scene of history to overthrow the hated Tsarist monarchy.

Using a wealth of primary sources, Alan Woods reveals the real evolution of Bolshevism as a living struggle to apply the method of Marxism to the peculiarities of Russia. Woods traces this evolution from the birth of Russian Marxism, and its ideological struggle against the Narodniks and the trend of economism, through the struggle between the two strands of Menshevism and Bolshevism, and up to the eventual seizure of power. 'Bolshevism: The Road to Revolution' is a comprehensive history of the Bolshevik Party, from its early beginnings through to the seizure of power in October 1917.

The First World War was becoming a catastrophe for Russia. From the front line there was news of defeat after defeat. The breakdown of the economy produced a shortage of bread. Crowds of half-starved and desperate women queued outside shops for bread that never arrived. But at the top of Russian society things were very different.

In the second of a series of videos celebrating the 100th anniversary of the 1917 Russian Revolution, Alan Woods - editor of In Defence of Marxism, www.marxist.com - examines the lies and slanders used to attack the Revolution, the Bolsheviks, and the ideas of Lenin and Trotsky.

In the beginning of a series of videos celebrating the 100th anniversary of the 1917 Russian Revolution, Alan Woods - editor of In Defence of Marxism, www.marxist.com - examines the lies and slanders used to attack the Revolution, the Bolsheviks, and the ideas of Lenin and Trotsky. In this first part "in Defence of the Russian Revolution", Alan looks at the gains made by the October Revolution and the planned economy in terms of science, industry, and culture.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the October Revolution. The apologists of capitalism, and their faithful echoes in the labour movement, try to comfort themselves with the thought that the collapse of the USSR signified the demise of socialism. But what failed in Russia was not socialism but a caricature of socialism. Contrary to the oft-repeated slanders, the Stalinist regime was the antithesis of the democratic regime established by the Bolsheviks in 1917.