The Triumph of the Bolsheviki, John Reed, March, 1918

Vintage Leftist Leaflet Project

Leaflet: Red Russia -- The Triumph of the Bolsheviki, John Reed, March, 1918

Published in 1918 in the very first issue of the American socialist magazine The Liberator, this incredible firsthand account of the triumph of the Bolsheviks in 1917 written by John Reed reads like a thriller.

It has twists and turns, threats and counter threats, confused pivots when at any moment everything could go wrong, and, ultimately the initial seizing of  power.

Lenin and Trostsky are the principal revolutionary characters in the drama that unfolds and Reed interviews Trotsky. It is all the more compelling when one realizes that this was published mere weeks after the Bolsheviks took control of Petrograd and when it was by no means clear that they would hold it.

As we now know a terrible civil war lay ahead.

Reed, of course, went on to write perhaps the most famous book about the revolution itself, Ten Days That Shook the World. He died in October 1920 in Moscow at the young age of 32.

The article ends with words that still inspire today:

"Comrades! Greeting from the first proletarian republic of the world. We call you to arms for the international social revolution."

(Click on scans to enlarge)

Soyez les bienvenus a Leningrad! -- Tourist Brochure, USSR 1960s

This charming brochure was published in the late 1960s by Intourist, the Soviet tourist agency, and combined black and white photos, text blurbs and illustrations to invite people to visit the city of Leningrad.

The text is in French and talks of Leningrad's many highlights and attractions. There are the monuments and palaces from before the revolution as well as the various statues and museums that had been built since. It is noted that the city was not only one of the most important industrial and cultural centres of the USSR, but that it was also a revolutionary city that witnessed many of the revolution's greatest events and that was named for its leader.

The famed naval cruiser the Aurora, which played such a critical role in the initial Bolshevik triumph, is referenced as is the exceptional heroism of the city's people during the 900 days of siege by the Nazis and their fascist allies.

The photos are quite atmospheric and feature sights such as the Lenin statue at Smolny, the Motherland statue in the Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery and new housing complexes. The red, blue and white themed drawings are terrific.

I have translated the blurb for each photo into English while leaving the text in French.

(Click on images to enlarge)

Lenin Statue at Smolny

Peter and Paul Fortress

   

Motherland Monument at the Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery

New Housing Complex

Pushkin Monument

St. Issac's Cathedral

The Admiralty Building

Rostral Columns on the Spit of Vasilievsky Island 

Soviet Leningrad 1969 -- 20 Vintage Photographs of Streets, Monuments and Victory Parks

Published in 1969, two years after the 50th anniversary of the Revolution, this postcard folder looked at the streets, sights, monuments and victory parks of Leningrad where it all began.

The 20 cards here offer a great diversity of images from the famous and iconic Lenin statue near the Finland Station to a festive Nevsky Prospekt at night to a bustling Uprising (Vosstaniya) Square named so as it was the sight of many significant revolutionary protests.

Note the photographs of a new housing district in the city as well as of the burial memorial site for the heroes of the revolution. Note as well the cool vintage Soviet cars and buses.

The victory parks were so called in honour of the triumph over the Nazis and their fascist allies during the Second World War.

(Click on images to enlarge)

Monument to Lenin at the Finland Station

Nevsky Prospekt at Night Celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the Revolution

Zina Portnova Street in Dachnoe a New Housing District

Russian Museum

Peter I Monument

St. Issac's Cathedral

Burial Place of the Heroes of the Revolution on the Field of Mars

View of Peter and Paul Fortress

The Leningrad Branch of the Central V. I Lenin Museum

Leningrad Hermitage Theatre

Admiralty Tower

Gate of the Summer Gardens

Uprising Square

Monument to Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya in Moskovsky Victory Park

See "You can't hang us all. They will avenge me." - Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, Anti-Nazi Hero Murdered November 29, 1941

Palace Square

Great Fountain and Main Alley

Moskovsky Victory Park

Pool in Moskovsky Victory Park

Southern Pool and the Vostok Restaurant

Primorsky Victory Park

Primorsky Victory Park

Statue of Kirov, Primorsky Victory Park