Demand increases in Soviet Union for access to Trotsky's writings

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The banned writings of Soviet revolu- autobiography, first published in 1930, tionary Leon Trotsky, who was exiled covers Trotsky's life and revolutionary and later assassinated by the Stalinist work from his earliest days until his forpolice state, are once again becoming eign exile to Prinkipo in Turkey.

A second edition of "Stalin," the dicta- Other volumes wait to be printed, tor's biography written by Trotsky, has although the process is sometimes torjust appeared. The two-volume work turous. The Communist Party apparatus was published in an edition of 150,000 still controls the supply of paper and the known as Politizdat, the Communist And there is a larger complaint.

The way was prepared for the publica- original Terra editions that the Walnut tion of this second edition by the first Trotsky Fund assisted have no weakenTerra edition of 100,000. This printing ing introductions or notes, the Politizdat had been assisted by people in the Unit- editions have introductions that are cered States who contributed to Walnut tainly not consistent with Trotsky's Publishing Company's Trotsky Fund ideas. The second edition of "Stalin"

Previously, the four-volume cepts of the Russian Revolution," a "Archives of Trotsky: The Communist succinct explanation of the process of Opposition in the USSR 1923-1927," permanent revolution in Russia. was published in an edition of 100,000, The most important thing, however, also by Terra publishers and again is that there is clearly a hunger in the assisted by Walnut's Trotsky Fund [See Soviet Union to find out the real truth Two other volumes of Trotsky have Revolution. The feeling of empoweralso appeared in the USSR. "Toward a ment that comes when the truth is History of the Russian Revolution," an learned, especially by the working class, anthology of Trotsky's writings, was will have an impact on everything that published in an edition of 150,000 by happens in the Soviet Union. Politizdat, and "The Stalin School of •Walnut Publishers is excited about the Falsification," a facsimile of the 1932 thirst for Trotsky's ideas in the Soviet Berlin Russian language edition, was Union and would like you to help. We published in an edition of 200,000 by think it is especially important that ediNauka, the publishing house of the tions of Trotsky are published that This makes a total of one-and-a-quarter ideas. We have set up the Trotsky Pubmillion individual volumes of Trotsky lishing Fund to help with this effort. published in the space of one year and Please give generously.

Walnut has also just learned from Fund and sent to Walnut Publishing Yuri Felshtinsky, a Trotsky scholar, Co., 3435 Army St., Room 308, San that Trotsky's "My Life" is in the pro- Francisco, CA 94110 available to readers in the USSR. Party Central Committee publishers.

[See Socialist Action, May 1991.] Socialist Action, August 1990.] Academy of Sciences of the USSR now circulating in the USSR. cess of being published in a two-volume edition of 150,000 in the USSR. This printing presses, so the actual realization Although the Nauka edition and the even deletes the appendix, "Three Conabout Soviet history and the Russian contain nothing to weaken or distort his Checks can be made out to Trotsky the population. To make up for that, it offered the people a chance to deal the Communist Party a symbolic slap in the face.

The tactic seems to have worked, at least in one sense. Pravda did more huffing and puffing over the proposed name change than it did over the Russian elections, even though the referendum could not even definitively decide the question.

The Soviet CP organ was roused to draw the most dreadful picture of the city of Lenin under the rule of a renegade city council: "Women are afraid to give birth lines, the lack of products for children, social tension ... the endless mass meetings prevent them from taking responsibility for the lives of more children. ... Are Leningraders going to die out like the mammoths?"

Since lines in front of shops are nothing new, it seems that the writer thought that it was the mass meetings in particular that were so frightening to women that they felt they had to forego motherhood.

Regardless of the deal between Yeltsin and Gorbachev, the Russian presidential elections represented a big new widening of the area in which the Communist Party has lost its control of elections, as it has for some time in Leningrad and Moscow. Presumably then, from the point of view of CP propagandists, the entire Russian people is now threatened with extinction.

However, a correspondent writing in the Pravda of June 17, found a more immediate worry than the possibility of a decline in the birth rate owing to a fear of democratic tumult.

O. Odinets wrote that in the Ukraine, "thoughts have been expressed of uniting the strike committees in order to convert them into a new political party that would oppose the Communist Party. Certain organizational and political conditions for this already exist—leaders, structures, a

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Should the women's movement organize to change society, or should it limit itself to seeking equal rights and power within the existing social This debate has been fundamental in the women's movement since its first wave beginning one century ago. At no time in the history of the movement has the debate revealed such a sharp divergence between these Should the movement champion all women's rights here and internationally, or does this stance conflict with the goal of attaining rights and privileges for some at the top of American society-including its deadly war machine at the expense of others here and especially abroad?

There is a public debate going on in the media and congressional committees over women's role in the military. Should women be allowed to editorial What has the women's movement accomplished since its second wave crashed on the barren shores of American sexism in the late 1960's? A lot.

Women and the military The most profound effect of the women's rights movement has been the revolution in consciousness of the millions of females order? who have been born in the last 30 years.

Girls of elementary school age believe they ann in what haro non do and fatharmaro ual wu wuat wuys vau wu, am immicinuie, that they have rights.

When the second wave of feminism burst two frameworks. participate in combat? been forced to make RU-486, a non-surgical means of abortion, available. Eastern European nations, coming under renewed inflence of world canitalism and its aoent the Catholic Church hierarchy, are forcing women to re-win the rights to control their own bodies.

The best hope for turning the tide is in mobilizing ever-larger militant street demonstrations that are independent of all 1- 41- - A 1 - 1_ -- A -11 gurumm purs, tuar mans war wo anvernment nower That means that the demonstrations must be organized above and against the politicians who have succeeded