What the New Economic Policy Did — And What It Left Unfinished
The NEP helped the young Soviet Union rebound economically. But its lack of political reform hampered the ability of workers and peasants to resist the onset of Stalinism.
Search Result(s) for: “russia”
To Defeat Antisemitism, We Must Defeat Capitalism
Antisemitism endures because capitalist oppression needs a scapegoat. Only by democratizing the economy can the ancient hate finally be extinguished.
Trump Is Pushing War on Iran — But Democrats Laid the Groundwork
When it comes to the United States' saber-rattling and waging war around the world, we've seen a consistent pattern: Democrats tee up the ball for Trump’s aggression, then express outrage when his administration takes a swing.
Why Donald Trump Has Turned on Europe
For decades, European leaders fostered a willing dependence on the United States that has made the continent acutely vulnerable to the superpower’s whims. Donald Trump has sensed this weakness and is using it to advance his own narrow interests.
France’s “War Economy” Is a Prelude to Cutting the Welfare State
In recent months, Emmanuel Macron insisted on the need to slash public debt, yet now he calls for huge military spending. The call to remilitarize has become the center of the French president’s agenda — and offers a pretext for even further cuts to welfare.
Seventeen Soviet Films
The October Revolution unleashed cinematic brilliance that even decades of political censorship couldn’t extinguish.
The Post-Politics Behind Romania’s Rising Far Right
Ultranationalist Călin Georgescu was barred from Romania’s presidential election, but now another far-right candidate has taken over his poll lead. To defeat them requires real social policies, not just calls to stop extremism.
Europe Is Complicit in Israeli Genocide
European states have armed Israel through almost two years of genocide in Gaza. While the European Union’s trade deal with Israel is meant to be conditional on human rights, in practice EU leaders have turned a blind eye to its crimes.
The European Union Is Damaged by Its Loudest Supporters
Recent pro-European demonstrations in Italy saw top liberals call for the EU to rearm. For some, it’s a passionate rallying cry — but the diversion of more funds to the military is weakening any prospect of serious European social policy.
The Trump–Putin Talks Blindsided European Leaders
This summer, European states hiked military spending and swallowed a poor trade deal in order to win favor with Donald Trump. Yet the US president’s negotiations with Vladimir Putin all but ignored their proposals.
Germans Are Reading Carl Schmitt in the Ruins of Atlanticism
With Atlanticism fraying, Nazi thinker Carl Schmitt is being reread in Germany as a theorist of a world divided into power blocs, a reading that Donald Trump’s “Donroe Doctrine” is helping to underscore.
Red Diaper Babies
In America, school is preparation for “real” life. In the early Soviet Union, school was filled with life.
Europe Signs Up for Its Century of Humiliation
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen has signed Europe up to a humiliating, unequal trade deal with the United States. The terms dictated by Donald Trump reflect Europe’s vassal status as an increasingly junior partner to US empire.
The Race for the Arctic Is Undermining Indigenous Rights
The Arctic region is becoming a theater for competition between states over its resources and geopolitical advantages. This is having a deeply harmful impact on the indigenous peoples of the Arctic, whose way of life doesn’t fit in with state borders.
Greens for Tanks
Many of Europe’s Green parties have pacifist roots — but now support hurried rearmament. The plan to boost defense spending to 5 percent of GDP is turning Europe away from green investment and plowing cash into the vastly polluting arms industry.
Paul Robeson Defended Jewish Anti-Fascists From Stalinism
In 1949, Paul Robeson performed the “Song of the Jewish Partisans” in Moscow, in the Yiddish original. At a time of rising Stalinist antisemitism, Robeson’s act of solidarity made clear his stand against any form of racism.
The Russian Revolution at 100
We've been covering the October Revolution and its aftermath with uncharacteristic nuance.
No, It’s Not the US’s Hemisphere
Donald Trump speaks of an expanded Monroe Doctrine that asserts US domination across the Americas. Chilean ex-diplomat Jorge Heine told Jacobin about the need for a new nonaligned movement that can resist imperialist claims.
The Saudi-Emirati Rivalry Is Fueling a Series of Wars
The tensions between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have now burst into the open as a bitter public feud. Two oil-rich absolute monarchies are using much poorer neighbors like Yemen and Sudan as battlegrounds for their destructive proxy wars.