April in Lenin's Life, USSR April 1983

Vintage Leftist Leaflet Project

Leaflet: April in Lenin's Life, USSR April 1983

This short little piece looks at the various events that happened in April over the course of Lenin's life. It has some interesting photos and anecdotes and was excerpted from the book The Portrait and Time by Y. Yakovlev that had been published in Moscow the year before.

There are snippets and events from both before and after the revolution. April 22, 2020 was the 150th anniversary of Lenin's birth.

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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."

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The Rising Standard of Living in the USSR, 1976

Vintage Leftist Leaflet Project

Leaflet: The Rising Standard of Living in the USSR, 1976

Published in 1976 this booklet looked at living standards in the USSR across a wide number of categories. These include wages and prices, housing. healthcare, maternity leave, childcare, education, sports and recreation, vacations, etc.

A number of interesting points in the efforts to build a more just and socialist society stand out. Among them are:

- Soviet families, on average, paid no more than 4-5% of their monthly income on housing and utilities combined.

- All citizens were guaranteed a job.

- Personal taxes were very low with the plan being their ultimate abolition.

- Pensions were financed fully by the state and co-operative enterprises. Workers did not have to contribute anything towards them. Male workers could retire at 60 and women at 55 after 25 and 20 years of work respectively.

- Children's summer camps were heavily subsidized for all parents and were entirely free for large families and single mothers.

- There were up to ten days of paid leave from work to care for a sick child in addition to regular paid sick leave.

- All types of education at all levels, including things like evening classes and correspondence courses, was entirely free.

- In 1975 one-third of all Soviet citizens were enrolled in some type of educational program totaling over 86 million people.

- For every 10,000 inhabitants there were 31.8 doctors at the time, compared to 20.2 in the USA or 15.7 in the UK.

These are just some highlights of the information provided.

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They Cannot Overcome the Power of the People / I Am not Alone - Open Letters by Angela Davis & the CPUSA 1970

Poster, 1971

Vintage Leftist Leaflet Project


In October, 1970 communist and civil rights activist Angela Davis was arrested  by the FBI on trumped up murder charges. She was imprisoned for 16 months in California -- some of it in solitary confinement. In July, 1972 she was acquitted on all counts at trial, but only after an international solidarity campaign put the injustice of what was happening to her in the spotlight.


In early 1971 an English language roundup of news and events in 1970 published by the Soviet Novosti Press Agency included two remarkable open letters. One is from the National Committee of the US Communist Party to Davis and the other is from Davis to her supporters. There is also a brief write up by the Daily World's Moscow correspondent about the background of the arrest and expressions of Soviet solidarity with Davis.





Notable quotes include:

Ronald Reagan and the State of California, having first demanded my job because I am a member of the Communist party, are now demanding my life. Why? Not because I am the dangerous criminal they portray; not because I am guilty of their framed-up charge for which there is no evidence whatsoever, but because, in their warped vision, a revolutionary is, a priori, a criminal.
One more is being held captive, but more importantly, the revolution continues to grow in vigor and verve.
If masses of people will fulfill their obligation to protect the men and women who have devoted their lives to the struggle for equality and freedom, let there be no doubt about it—victory will soon be ours.
Power to the people. - Angela Davis

Yours is the spirit of Sacco and Vanzetti, of Tom Mooney and Angelo Herndon. It is the spirit which has sustained Communists imprisoned by the ruling class for over 50 years. It is true spirit alive in the jail cells and torture chambers holding Communists, working class leaders and democrats throughout the capitalist world. It is the spirit that says to the enemy: No matter how much force you employ, no matter how many of us you jail—you cannot overcome the power of the people.
Angela, we long to have you free, amongst us working to rid the world of imperialism and exploitation and building a socialist society. - CPUSA Letter

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The Political Events in Bolivia, L. Padilla, December 1971

The military rounds up prisoners during the 1971 coup in Bolivia

Vintage Leftist Leaflet Project

Leaflet: The Political Events in Bolivia, L. Padilla, December 1971

Between August 18-22, 1971 the left-leaning Bolvian government of  Juan José Torres was overthrown by the Bolivian military in conjunction with right wing political parties. General Hugo Banzer was installed in power.

While the military coup encountered serious resistance from the people, leftist parties, trade unions and some progressive elements in the police and military it was ultimately successful due to vastly greater firepower. This came at a considerable loss of life with at least 100 killed and many hundreds wounded.

To maintain power Banzer, who was President until 1978, unleashed tremendous brutality. "Under Banzer’s rule, more than 14,000 Bolivians were arrested without a judicial order, more than 8,000 were tortured—with electricity, water, beatings—and more than 200 were executed or dis­ap­peared".

While they denied it at the time, documents that were declassified later show that the United Sates, as always, played a critical and supportive role in the coup.

Written in December, 1971, this interesting piece by South American communist writer and activist L. Padilla looks at these terrible events and what led up to them. Padilla was in no doubt about the American involvement despite any denials.

There are some very direct parallels with the coup that occurred in Bolivia at the end of last year. These include the alarm in Washington that Torres was charting a more independent foreign policy course that was more favourable to trade and relations with the socialist countries as well as moves to place sectors of the economy and natural resources under greater state or national control. Torres and his government also failed to take steps to deal with right wing elements in the military even when it became clear that many of them backed the idea of a coup.  Padilla looks at these as well as other factors.

The article stands as a reminder of the long and terrible role the United States has played destroying democracy and independence in the Americas. Tragically Padilla warns that the coup may be a sign of what could happen in the future in countries like Chile, which of course did have a brutal coup two years later that led to nearly two decades of fascist rule.

"US imperialism is not a mere onlooker in the revolutionary movement in Latin America but is trying to crush it be every means". How little has changed in the last almost 50 years.

Note: The tern "gorilla" used here is not to be confused with guerrilla. "Gorilla" was a term used by Latin American leftists as an insult towards ultra-violent military and dictatorial leaders.

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