Long Live Victory Day [День Победы] May 9!

Gus Hall, Marxist-Leninist fighter extraordinaire, hailed the Soviet Union's lead role in the war against "Hitler fascism, the most brutal and bloodiest capitalist dictatorship!" This post is dedicated to the Communist Party of the Russian Federation КПРФ. 

May 9 is Victory Day День Победы, a holiday marking the USSR's heroism in smashing imperialist Hitler Germany in WWII!

Henry Winston, stellar late CPUSA chair, put it squarely: "the Soviet Union played the decisive role in saving the world from the racist, genocidal consequences of anti-Sovietism and anti-Communism." William Z. Foster wrote that "had Hitler been able to demolish the Red Army that would have been the end of democracy for an indefinite period. The US, though not falling an immediate victim, could not have long withstood the tremendous power Hitler would then have had at his disposal." (Winston, Race, Class and Black Liberation, 1977, International Publishers; Foster, History of the Communist Party of the United States, 1952, I.P.)

"The Soviet people won their historic victory in the Great Patriotic War because of the socialist social and state system." (B. Ponomarev, Short History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, 1970, Progress Publishers, Moscow)

The Communist Party, the party of Lenin, was "the great organizer and inspirer of the national resistance". It "set an example in both battle and labor and greatly strengthened morale. The Party transformed the country into a vast military camp. Hundreds of thousands of Communists went to the front, and their selfless valor and devotion to their socialist homeland, their implacable hatred for the fascist invaders, served as an inspiring example for millions of Soviet soldiers." (Liberation, Progress Publishers, 1974)

[William Z. Foster: "the great offensive of the Soviet people and their Red Army against the Nazi hordes was guided daily by Generalissimo Stalin."]

Stalin roused the Red Army and the guerrilla detachments: "May you be inspired by the victorious banner of Lenin!" (1941)

The American Marxist-Leninist William Z. Foster chronicles the past: "When Hitler’s armies swept across the Soviet border in June 1941, the bourgeois military experts of the West were unanimous in prophesying that it would only be a few weeks until Hitler would crush the USSR completely. In fact, Hitler’s ’blitz’ did carry him fast and far, to the very gates of Leningrad by September, a city he was never to capture. On October 3, the vainglorious Hitler blared out to the world that the Soviet Union was crushed and would never rise again.

"But he counted his chickens before they were hatched. Hitler vastly underestimated the fighting power of the Soviet people, their Red Army and socialist system. The Wehrmacht had been made to pay a terrible price in its drive across Russia. It was battered again in its fruitless attempt to take either Moscow or Leningrad.

"And in January 1943, the fascist’s back was broken at Stalingrad, the most decisive battle in the history of the world. Then began, for the Nazis, their terrible 1, 500 mile retreat, with the Red Army slashing them to pieces all the way, while the United States and Britain kept their enormous armies idling in Britain." Foster declared: "The Communists were wonderful people while they were saving the world from the criminal follies of the capitalist system." The Allies launched the western front "after the European war was basically decided and Hitler licked." (Foster, History of the Three Internationals, 1955, International Publishers)

"The Red Army carried out Stalin’s order: the flag of victory was hoisted over Berlin!" (Marx-Engels-Lenin Institute, Joseph Stalin, 1949)

"The memory of the undying exploits of the peoples of the Soviet Union in the Great Patriotic War will live through the ages." (Ponomarev, Short History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, 1970, Progress Publishers)

This is the superb anthem Victory Day День Победы.

Enjoy this stunning video with a beautiful song by Joseph Kobzon Иосиф Кобзон:

Bow to Those Great Years 

Read Georgi Dimitrov's The United Front: The Struggle Against Fascism & War. [1938]

Long Live Marx and Engels' Communist Manifesto!

Circulate International Publishers' edition of Marx & Engels’ Communist Manifesto to workers at picket lines, protests and online!

(They can be purchased in the Twin Cities from Mayday Books, 301 Cedar Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55454. Phone #: 612-333-4719)

Henry Winston spoke out eloquently: "in the opening lines of the Communist Manifesto, authored in 1848 when the modern working class was emerging, Karl Marx & Frederick Engels noted that Communist influence on the laborers was already a 'specter haunting' the exploiters and oppressors!" (Henry Winston, Class, Race & Black Liberation, 1977, International Publishers)

Gus Hall, stellar past Marxist-Leninist warrior with the Communist Party of the United States, author of Working Class USA: The Power and the Movement & a founder of the United Steelworkers union, frequently hailed one of the Manifesto's crucial lessons: "of all the classes that stand face to face with the bourgeoisie today, the proletariat alone is a really revolutionary class." (Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, Communist Manifesto, 1848, Int'l Publishers)

Karl Marx & Frederick Engels: 'Communists fight for the attainment of the immediate aims, for the enforcement of the momentary interests of the working class; but in the movement of the present, they also represent and take care of its future.'

William Z. Foster of the CPUSA once wrote that: "the Communist Manifesto was the first revolutionary program of the world’s workers. It laid down the solid foundations of proletarian thought and action for the workers thenceforth on their road to socialism. It showed them how to protect themselves under capitalism, how to abolish the capitalist system, and how to build the structure of the new socialist society. Marx, Engels, V.I. Lenin, Joseph Stalin, and others were to write many books on Marxism in the ensuing decades, and their writings served to elaborate and to buttress the basic propositions of the Manifesto. Today, (more than 160) years after the great document was written, the Communist Manifesto stands as firm as a rock, a clear guide for the international working class, justified by generations of revolutionary experience, and altogether impervious to the attacks of capitalist enemies." (William Z. Foster, History of the Three Internationals, 1955, International Publishers)



Lenin, the great successor of Marx & Engels, summed up the significance of the Communist Manifesto:

"With the clarity and brilliance of genius, this work outlines a new world-conception, consistent materialism, which also embraces the realm of social life; dialectics, as the most comprehensive and profound doctrine of development; the theory of the class struggle and the world-historic revolutionary role of the proletariat--the creator of a new, communist society." (Lenin, Karl Marx, 1914)

And Lenin could add, with every justification: "This little booklet is worth whole volumes!" (Lenin, Frederick Engels, 1895)

Read Karl Marx and Frederick Engels' epic classic online at this socialist link:

Manifesto of the Communist Party.

Order the Manifesto in print from International Publishers.

(Fellow Workers! "Like" the International Publishers page on Facebook!)

Les Misérables Storms the Barricades at Washburn High School in MN!

(FYI: I'll do a future Les Misérables piece with Frederick Engels on the 1832 Paris uprising & the Soviet Union's appreciation of Victor Hugo's book. It will include a link to The 18th Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte by Karl Marx.)

I'm fired up about Washburn High School's upcoming production of Les Misérables, Fellow Workers! The epic musical adapted from Victor Hugo' s fighting novel storms Minneapolis barricades February 20 to March 2. Vive la Révolution! ― Washburn High SCH, 201 W. 49th St. , Mpls.

Comrades, Come Rally! Forward this post, share the schedule & ticket info and get out the word! ― Michael 

(Enjolras of Les Misérables : "The Leader in Red." Created by SallyGipsyPunk (Sabrina) on DeviantART with "watercolors, ink, black pen, acrylic & pastel.")

(FYI II: The Minneapolis Teachers Union MFT Local 59 FB page "liked" this public school event on their wall. Ura!)

Dig this Daily Planet article about the Les Mis performances.

Washburn High School to Present Les Misérables® School Edition

02/20/2014 - 7:00pm - 02/23/2014 - 2:00pm

02/27/2014 - 7:00pm - 03/02/2014 - 2:00pm

Washburn High School presents eight performances of Les Misérables® School Edition on February 20, 21, 22 at 7:00 p.m., February 23 at 2:00 p.m., February 27, 28, March 1 at 7:00 p.m. and March 2 at 2:00 p.m.

 Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for students and seniors, and $15 for VIP seating (online sale only). Tickets can be purchased at the door or in advance at the Washburn Arts Council Facebook page events section. The performance on February 20 will be “pay as you can” night.

 Adapted from Victor Hugo’s epic novel, Les Misérables is a passionate tale of crime and punishment, justice and redemption. After being imprisoned 19 years for stealing a loaf of bread, ex-convict Jean Valjean builds a new life, becoming mayor of a prosperous town and adopting a young daughter. However, he violates his parole, and is pursued for decades by the relentless Inspector Javert. Ultimately, Valjean proves his mettle during a bloody student uprising in Paris, saving the young man who loves his daughter. As his life comes to a close, Valjean finds peace at last.

 Nancy Lee, Co-Director and Production Lead, explains why the timing was right for Washburn to take on this demanding production. “The number of significant roles in Les Misérables allows us to feature upperclassmen who are dedicated, hard working and well trained. The production challenges our advanced instrumentalists and experienced senior tech crew as well.”

 Co-Director John Lynn adds, “Don’t let the title ‘School Edition” fool you. The difference between our production and the Broadway show is some careful editing of the songs, which shortens the run time without taking away the difficulty or the beauty of this epic production.”

 Karen Reisch and Deb Keefe, Co-Chairs of the Washburn Arts Council, emphasize, “We are tremendously proud of our musicians, performers, and crew, and look forward to sharing this outstanding production with the entire community.”

More information:  https://www.facebook.com/WashburnArts

201 W. 49th St.

Minneapolis, MN

http://washburn.mpls.k12.mn.us/