Mike Duncan has been taking a lot of flak from his fans for a while now about taking so long for taking so long to get to the October Revolution. (Previously the longest revolution in this series had been the French Revolution with 54 episodes in total. The Russian Revolution is 74 episodes in now, and we're just now getting to the turning point.) So, of course, he's making a big deal about finally arriving at the October Revolution.
Big one today folks.
— Mike Duncan (@mikeduncan) November 9, 2021
But as I've previously stated in all my reviews, I don't mind the slow pace. Give me the long version please!
Mike Duncan also states in this episode that he has no plans to quite anytime soon.
He's said on Twitter that he plans to go through the Russian Civil War (1921-1923) but not past it, because you've got to stop somewhere.
But it won't go past that because, as another old saying goes "you gotta draw the line somewhere even if it's a bit artificial and arbitrary."
— Mike Duncan (@mikeduncan) November 3, 2021
I had been hoping he would go at least up to Trotsky's exile, but through the Civil War is still good. This means we've still got a lot of interesting stuff ahead of us, like:
* The debacle of making peace with Germany
* Hopefully Mike Duncan will find devote at least a little time to talking about the revolution in Germany, and its impact on Lenin's thinking.
* Lenin getting shot by the SRs
* The anarchists dissent, and Lenin's meeting with Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman (based on Mike Duncan's bibliography, it looks like he's gearing up to include Goldman and Berkman in his narrative).
* The Kronstadt Rebellion
* The US and Britain sending troops to fight in Russia's Civil War
etc, etc, etc. I'm hopeful we'll have many more episodes of this podcast to come.
But as for this particular episode:
As usual, I found it fascinating.
Everyone knows that the Bolsheviks took power in October 1917, but walking through step by step of how they actually pulled off the coup is fascinating.
It's been very evident from the past couple episodes that your average person doesn't have the inclination or the guts to stage a coup. There is a lot of reluctance to go through with this both from within the Bolshevik ranks, and from outside it. But Lenin was not your average person, and his determination to push this through pulled along all of his comrades.
I also found the exit of Julius Martov fascinating. Mike Duncan makes the point of talking about how he and Lenin go way back, and I remember him Martov from Conspirator: Lenin in Exile by Helen Rappaport. (Helen Rappaport also mentions Trotsky's jab at how Martov went into the dustbin of history).
Mike Duncan mentions how Lenin even near the end of his life lamented that Martov was not with them. (I think Mike Duncan had previously mentioned this exact same quote in an earlier episode, but I can't remember which one.)
I also found it interesting how Trotsky's theory of permanent revolution (which Mike Duncan detailed in episode 10.46) is able to give him a different view of historical determinism than the more dogmatic Marxists.
Anyways, another fascinating episode. Can't wait for the next one.
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