The Sickle and the Hammer: A Socialist History of the Soviet Union
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- 17 Oct 2026
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We are often told the USSR was an oppressive, authoritarian society, lacking freedom and democracy. There were endless purges that claimed the lives of millions of “dissidents,” purges that were designed for one thing and one thing only: to keep power in the hands of those who wielded it.
And as we all know, the economy was based on socialist and communist principles, which is why it barely functioned at all. There were endless famines, genocides against minorities within the nation, and an industrial base that was constantly tottering on the edge of collapse.
But instead of trying to address these issues at home, the leaders of the USSR were fixated only on world domination, on spreading communism in order to destroy freedom around the world. From Europe and Asia to Latin America and Africa, the Communists were a threat to freedom the world over.
…. Or were they?
Learn the story of the Union of Soviet Socialists Republic you’ve never heard! What was life really like in the Soviet Union? How authoritarian was it? Did a “totalitarian” state really exist? How did the economy function to meet the needs of its citizens? How were the governing apparatus structured? And were the Soviets hell-bent on world domination…. Or world liberation? Or neither?
Subscribe to find out!
Please consider supporting me on Patreon at patreon.com/sovietpod
YouTube: @TheSickleandtheHammer
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Thumbnail from Toni Strauß. Find them at:
Épisodes 51
*** Transcripts Announcement! ***
Transcripts for all episodes and supplementals are now available on Patreon starting at $2 Solidarity tier! Go to patreon.com/sovietpod to sign up!
29 - Setting the Stage II - Civil War Edition!
Forget Marvel. This is the Socialist Cinematic Universe!Please consider supporting me at patreon.com/sovietpod, or buymeacoffee.com/sovietpod.Sources:Veller, M. I. and Burovsky, A. M. Grazhdanskay Istoria …
Notes de l’épisode
Forget Marvel. This is the Socialist Cinematic Universe!
Please consider supporting me at patreon.com/sovietpod, or buymeacoffee.com/sovietpod.
Sources:
Veller, M. I. and Burovsky, A. M. Grazhdanskay Istoria Bezumnoi Voiny. Izdatelstvo ACT, Moskva, 2007.
Istoria Grazhdanskoi Voiny v SSSR, vol. 3. Institute of Marxism-Leninism of the Central Bureau of the KPSS. Published by the State Publisher of Political Literature, Mosvka, 1958. PDF downloaded from leninism.su.
28 - Economy? What Economy?
“In order for economic development to take place, one must first have an economy.” - Karl Vladimir Stalin, 2026Please consider supporting me on Patreon at patreon.com/sovietpod or …
Notes de l’épisode
“In order for economic development to take place, one must first have an economy.” - Karl Vladimir Stalin, 2026
Please consider supporting me on Patreon at patreon.com/sovietpod or buymeacoffee.com/sovietpod.
Sources:
Carr, E. H. The Bolsheviks Revolution: 1917-1923, vol. 2. Pelican Books, 1966
Nove, Alec. An Economic History of the Soviet Union: 1917-1991. Penguin Books, 1992.
Dobb, Maurice. Soviet Economic Development since 1917. Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1948.
Cliff, Tony. Revolution Besieged: Lenin 1917-1923. 1976, republished by Haymarket Books, 2004.
“The Soviet Union: Facts, Descriptions, Statistics.” Soviet Union Information Bureau, Washington, DC. 1929. Found on marxist.org
27 - Introduction to the National Question
What attitude ought socialists and communists have to the question of national self-determination? Survey says: Ask Lenin and Stalin!Please consider supporting me on Patreon at patreon.com/sovietpod or …
Notes de l’épisode
What attitude ought socialists and communists have to the question of national self-determination? Survey says: Ask Lenin and Stalin!
Please consider supporting me on Patreon at patreon.com/sovietpod or buymeacoffee.com/sovietpod.
Sources:
Natsional’ny Vopros v Nashei Programme - V. I. Lenin, published in “Iskra” 15 July 1903
Kriticheskie zametki o natsional’nom voproce - V. I. Lenin, published in “Prosveshchenie”, November-December 1913
Rabochii klass i natsional’ny vopros - V. I. Lenin, published in “Pravda” 10 May 1913
Nuzhen li obyazatelny yazyk? - V. I. Lenin, published in “Proletarskaya Pravda” 18 January 1914
O Prave Natsii Na Samoopredelenie - V. I. Lenin, 1914
O Natsional’noi Gordosti Velikorossov - V. I. Lenin, published in “Sotsial-Demokrat”, 12 December 1914
Revoliutsionny Proletariat i Pravo Natsii na Samoopredelenie - V. I. Lenin, 16 October 1915
Marksizm i Natsional’ny Vopros, J. V. Stalin, 1906.
Texts found on leninism.su and marxist.org
27.a - The Declaration of the Rights of the Peoples of Russia
Source: https://www.hist.msu.ru/ER/Etext/DEKRET/peoples.htm
26 - Epilogue to Brest-Litovsk
The narrative is over. Now comes the fun part: analysis!Please consider supporting me on Patreon at patreon.com/sovietpod or buymeacoffee.com/sovietpod.
25.a - The Socialist Fatherland Is In Danger!
Source: https://www.hist.msu.ru/ER/Etext/DEKRET/opasnost.htmPlease consider supporting me on Patreon: patreon.com/sovietpod, or buymeacoffee.com/sovietpod
25 - An Unacceptable Peace, Ratified
The saga of ending Soviet Russia’s participation in World War 1 comes to an end.Please consider supporting me on Patreon at patreon.com/sovietpod or buymeacoffee.com/sovietpod.Sources:Rabinowitch, Alexander …
Notes de l’épisode
The saga of ending Soviet Russia’s participation in World War 1 comes to an end.
Please consider supporting me on Patreon at patreon.com/sovietpod or buymeacoffee.com/sovietpod.
Sources:
Rabinowitch, Alexander. The Bolsheviks in Power: The First Year of Soviet Rule in Petrograd. Indiana University Press, 2007.
Gluckstein, Donny. The Tragedy of Bukharin. Pluto Press, 1994.
“Sedmoi S’ezd RKP(b).” Bolshaya Sovietskaya Entsiklopedia, 3rd edition. Accessed via booksite.ru
“Brestskii Mir.” Bolshaya Sovietskaya Entsiklopedia, 3rd edition. Accessed via booksite.ru
“Chresvychainy Chetvyorty Vserossiiskii S’ezd Sovietov.” Bolshaya Sovietskaya Entsiklopedia, 3rd edition. Accessed via booksite.ru
24 - An Unacceptable Peace, Accepted
To fight or not to fight… that is the question!Please consider supporting me on Patreon at patreon.com/sovietpod or buymeacoffee.com/sovietpod.Sources:Rabinowitch, Alexander. The Bolsheviks In Power: The First …
Notes de l’épisode
To fight or not to fight… that is the question!
Please consider supporting me on Patreon at patreon.com/sovietpod or buymeacoffee.com/sovietpod.
Sources:
Rabinowitch, Alexander. The Bolsheviks In Power: The First Year of Soviet Rule in Petrograd. Indiana University Press, 2007.
Gluckstein, Donny. The Tragedy of Bukharin. Pluto Press, 1994.
Cliff, Tony. Revolution Besieged: Lenin 1917-1924. Republished by Haymarket Books, 2012.
Veller, M. and Burovskii, A. Grazhdanskaya Istoria Bezumnoi Voiny. Izdatelstvo ACT Moskva, 2007.
24.a - Theses on the Question of the Immediate Conclusion of a Separate and Annexationist Peace
Source: https://uaio.ru/vil/35.htm
23 - Prologue to Brest-Litovsk
It’s that episode on the international aspects of the Russian Revolution you’ve been waiting for!Please consider supporting me on Patreon at patreon.com/sovietpod or …
Notes de l’épisode
It’s that episode on the international aspects of the Russian Revolution you’ve been waiting for!
Please consider supporting me on Patreon at patreon.com/sovietpod or buymeacoffee.com/sovietpod.
Source:
Rabinowitch, Alexander. The Bolsheviks In Power: The First Year of Soviet Rule in Petrograd. Indiana University Press, 2007.
22 - The Life and Death of the Constituent Assembly
This one is in the title, folks.Please consider supporting me on Patreon at patreon.com/sovietpod or buymeacoffee.com/sovietpod.Sources:Rabinowitch, Alexander. The Bolsheviks In Power: The First Year of Soviet …
Notes de l’épisode
This one is in the title, folks.
Please consider supporting me on Patreon at patreon.com/sovietpod or buymeacoffee.com/sovietpod.
Sources:
Rabinowitch, Alexander. The Bolsheviks In Power: The First Year of Soviet Rule in Petrograd. Indiana University Press, 2007.
Znamensky, O. N. Vserossiiskoe Uchrezhditelnoe Sobranie: Istoria Sozyva i Krushenia. Nauka Publshers, 1976.
Cliff, Tony. Revolution Besieged: Lenin 1917-1923. Haymarket Books, 2012.
Carr, E. H. The Bolshevik Revolution: 1917-1923, vol. I. Pelican Books, 1966.
22.a - Theses on the Constituent Assembly
Source: https://leninism.su/works/74-tom-35/1583-tezisy-ob-uchretitelnom-sobranii.html
22.b - Declaration of the Rights of the Toiling and Exploited People
Source: https://www.hist.msu.ru/ER/Etext/DEKRET/declarat.htm
21 - The Origins of the Cheka
The Cheka: vehicle of Communist oppression, or shield and sword of the revolution?Please consider supporting me on Patreon at patreon.com/sovietpod or buymeacoffee.com/sovietpod.Sources:Rabinowitch, Alexander …
Notes de l’épisode
The Cheka: vehicle of Communist oppression, or shield and sword of the revolution?
Please consider supporting me on Patreon at patreon.com/sovietpod or buymeacoffee.com/sovietpod.
Sources:
Rabinowitch, Alexander. The Bolsheviks In Power: The First Year of Soviet Rule in Petrograd. Indiana University Press, 2007.
Golinkov, D. L. Krushenie antisovietsogo podpolya v SSSR, 1917-1925 gg. Izdatelstvo politicheskoi literatury, Moskva, 1975
20 - The Peasant Question, In All Its Glory
What do you get when you mix 18 years of theory with two separate Congresses of Peasants’ Deputies? Why, one unified Soviet government of, by, and for the masses, of course!Please consider supporting me on …
Notes de l’épisode
What do you get when you mix 18 years of theory with two separate Congresses of Peasants’ Deputies? Why, one unified Soviet government of, by, and for the masses, of course!
Please consider supporting me on Patreon at patreon.com/sovietpod or buymeacoffee.com/sovietpod.
Sources:
The Development of Capitalism in Russia (1899)
The Workers’ Party and the Peasantry (1901)
The Agrarian Program of Russian Social-Democracy (1902)
The Proletariat and the Peasantry (1905)
On Our Agrarian Program - A Letter to the Third Congress (1905)
The Question on Land and the Struggle for Freedom (1906)
The Peasantry and the Working Class (1913)
Speech on the Agrarian Question (22 May [4 June] 1917)
10 Days That Shook The World. Reed, John.
Chresvychayny Vse-Rossiiskii Cyezd Sovietov Krestyanskikh Deputatov. Bolshaya Sovietskaya Ensiklopedia.
Vse-Rossiiskii Cyezd Sovietov Krestyanskikh Deputatov.
Rozhdenia Sovietskogo Gosudarstva - Chresvychayny i II Vse-Rossiiskii Cyezdy Sovietov Krestyanskikh Deputatov. Soglashenia bolshevikov s levymi eseramy.
Evolutskia vzglyadov V. I. Lenina na krestyanstvo i postroenie sotsialisma v krestyanskoi strane. Vakhitov, Rustem Rinatovich.
19 - The Struggle for the People’s Government
Never forget, kids: the support of the masses is the key to victory.Please consider supporting me on Patreon at patreon.com/sovietpod or buymeacoffee.com/sovietpod.Sources:Cliff, Tony. Revolution Besieged …
Notes de l’épisode
Never forget, kids: the support of the masses is the key to victory.
Please consider supporting me on Patreon at patreon.com/sovietpod or buymeacoffee.com/sovietpod.
Sources:
Cliff, Tony. Revolution Besieged: Lenin 1917-1923. Haymarket Books, 2012.
Rabinowitch, Alexander. The Bolsheviks in Power: The First Year of Soviet Rule in Petrograd. Indiana University Press, 2007.
18 - Shots Fired
We’re back! But so is the bourgeoisie.Please consider supporting me on Patreon at patreon.com/sovietpod or buymeacoffee.com/sovietpod.Sources:Cliff, Tony. Revolution Besieged: Lenin 1917-1923. Haymarket Books …
Notes de l’épisode
We’re back! But so is the bourgeoisie.
Please consider supporting me on Patreon at patreon.com/sovietpod or buymeacoffee.com/sovietpod.
Sources:
Cliff, Tony. Revolution Besieged: Lenin 1917-1923. Haymarket Books 2012.
Rabinowitch, Alexander. The Bolsheviks in Power: The First Year of Soviet Rule in Petrograd. Indiana University Press, 2007.
Reed, John. 10 Days That Shook The World. Public domain, available on marxists.org. Originally published 1919.
Russian Wikipedia article, Oktyabrskoe vooruzhenoe Vosstanie v Moskve (1917). Last accessed 20 Oct 2025.
17 - Lessons to be Learned
Wherein we find out what the point of all this was, and close the book on the revolutionary period.Please consider supporting me on Patreon at patreon.com/sovietpod or buymeacoffee.com/sovietpod.
16 - Filling in the Blanks
This is the first of a two-episode retrospective on the Russian Revolution. In this episode, we discuss some of the finer details that we passed over, in order to provide a more complete understanding of the …
Notes de l’épisode
This is the first of a two-episode retrospective on the Russian Revolution. In this episode, we discuss some of the finer details that we passed over, in order to provide a more complete understanding of the revolutionary period.
Please consider supporting me on Patreon at patreon.com/sovietpod or buymeacoffee.com/sovietpod.
15 - Checkmate
Kerensky gets pushed right off the board, and the revolutionary masses emerge victorious.Please consider supporting me on Patreon at patreon.com/sovietpod or buymeacoffee.com/sovietpod.Sources:Rabinowitch …
Notes de l’épisode
Kerensky gets pushed right off the board, and the revolutionary masses emerge victorious.
Please consider supporting me on Patreon at patreon.com/sovietpod or buymeacoffee.com/sovietpod.
Sources:
Rabinowitch, Alexander. The Bolsheviks Come to Power: The Revolution of 1917 in Petrograd. 1976
15.a - To the Garrison of the City of Petrograd and the Surrounding Areas
Source: https://marxists.architexturez.net/russkij/trotsky/works/trotl336.html
15.b - Address of the Second All-Russian Congress
Source: https://www.hist.msu.ru/ER/Etext/DEKRET/IIsiezd.htm
14 - On The Eve
Who knew preparing to overthrow a government would be this much work?!Please consider supporting me on Patreon at patreon.com/sovietpod or buymeacoffee.com/sovietpod.Sources:Trotsky, L. D. Istoriya Russkoi …
Notes de l’épisode
Who knew preparing to overthrow a government would be this much work?!
Please consider supporting me on Patreon at patreon.com/sovietpod or buymeacoffee.com/sovietpod.
Sources:
Trotsky, L. D. Istoriya Russkoi Revoliutsii. 1930
Cliff, Tony. All Power to the Soviets: Lenin 1914-1917. 1976, republished by Haymarket Books, 2004.
Rabinowitch, Alexander. The Bolsheviks Come to Power: The Revolution of 1917 in Petrograd. 1976
14.a - The Bolshevik Central Committee Resolution of 10 October
Source for text: https://ru.wikisource.org/wiki/Заседание_Центрального_Комитета_РСДРП(б)_10_(23)_октября_1917_г._(Ленин)
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