Building Socialism
The Communist Party and the Making of the Soviet System, 1921–1941
Author(s): Yiannis Kokosalakis
Quantity
Pickup available at Cambridge University Press Bookshop
Usually ready in 24 hours
Building Socialism
Cambridge University Press Bookshop
1-2 Trinity Street
Cambridge CB2 1SZ
United Kingdom
🚚 Please note we can only ship within the UK.
FREE delivery on books (excluding sale).
Delivery for other items is £1.50 - £4.50, calculated at checkout.
T&Cs apply.
Free click & collect on all orders.
By placing the party grassroots at the centre of its focus, Building Socialism presents an original account of the formative first two decades of the Soviet system. Assembled in a large network of primary party organisations (PPO), the Bolshevik rank-and-file was an army of activists made up of ordinary people. While far removed from the levers of power, they were nevertheless charged with promoting the Party's programme of revolutionary social transformation in their workplaces, neighbourhoods, and households. Their regular meetings, conferences and campaigns have generated a voluminous source base. This rich material provides a unique view of the practical manifestation of the Party's revolutionary mission and forms the basis of this insightful new narrative of how the Soviet republic functioned in the period from the end of the Russian Civil War in 1921 to its invasion by Nazi Germany in 1941.
- Offers a grassroots account of communist activism in the formative years of the Soviet system
- Breaks new ground in historical scholarship on the early USSR by offering the first detailed examination of the Primary Party Organisations of the Soviet Communist Party
- Offers new insights into established debates regarding the formation and nature of the Soviet political system and the apparent paradox of a governing revolutionary party
Choose options