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A tramway in Novosibirsk, a city in Siberia characterized
by huge shifts in temperature between the winter and the summer months.
From: Trams and buses in the USSR -- A look at public transit in the Soviet Union, 1976
https://www.theleftchapter.com/post/buses-and-trams-of-the-soviet-union-a-look-at-public-transit-in-the-ussr-1976
Mao Tse-Tung - Hugo Gellert c. 1944
Hugo Gellert was a member of the Communist Party in the United States who rose to fame in the 1920s and 1930s through his political posters and art as well as illustrations he did for socialist and communist magazines. He was blacklisted during the McCarthy era and opened a gallery for blacklisted artists in New York. Gellert died in 1985.
https://www.theleftchapter.com/post/daily-lift-256
Great photos!
Excellent analysis:
"Nicolás Maduro, the leader of Venezuela’s socialist movement, won the July 28 Venezuela presidential election by a wide margin. In a near-repeat of 2019, the Biden administration immediately declared the election illegitimate and recognized their preferred—but badly defeated–candidate as the winner, Edmundo González as the winner, just as they supported Juan Guaido’s pitiful attempt to take power in 2019-2020. Similarly, the U.S. is fully supporting current right-wing violence in Venezuela to set the stage for another coup against the legitimate and widely popular government.
None of this appears in the corporate media, of course. Instead, we only encounter accusations of “corruption” and “illegitimate” elections...
While western media consistently accuses Maduro of rigging elections, there is zero evidence to support this claim. In both the 2018 and 2024 elections, thousands of international observers were present at polling stations across Venezuela."
[Photo Credit: MIGUEL GUTIERREZ/EPA/Shutterstock] By Eli Morey Republished from Liberation Center . Nicolás Maduro, the leader of Venezuela’s socialist movement, won the July 28 Venezuela presidential election by a wide margin. In a near-repeat of 2019, the Biden administ
The Conundrums of Bangladeshi Politics
In depth analysis from Vijay Prashad
"On Monday, August 5, former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina boarded a Bangladesh Air Force C-130J military transport in a hurry and fled to Hindon Air Force base, outside Delhi. Her plane was refueled and reports said that she intended to fly on either to the United Kingdom (her niece, Tulip Siddiq is a minister in the new Labor government), Finland (her nephew Radwan Mujib Siddiq is married to a Finnish national), or the United States (her son Sajeeb Wajed Joy is a dual Bangladesh-US national). Army Chief Waker uz-Zaman, who only became Army Chief six weeks ago and was her relative by marriage, informed her earlier in the day that he was taking charge of the situation and would create an interim government to hold future elections...
What role the removal of Sheikh Hasina will play in the calculations in the region can only be gauged after elections are held under the interim government. But there is little doubt that these decisions in Dhaka are not without their regional and global implications.
The students rely upon the power of the mass demonstrations for their legitimacy. What they do not have is an agenda for Bangladesh, which is why the old neoliberal technocrats are already swimming like sharks around the interim government. In their ranks are those who favor the BNP and the Islamists. What role they will play is yet to be seen.
If the student committee now formed a bloc with the trade unions, particularly the garment worker unions, there is the possibility that they might indeed form the opening for building a new democratic and people-centered Bangladesh. If they are unable to build this historical bloc, they may be pushed to the side, just like the students and workers in Egypt, and they might have to surrender their efforts to the military and an elite that has merely changed its jersey."
Image from the street protests in Bangladesh that brought down Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina -- image via XBy Vijay PrashadOn Monday, August 5, former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina boarded a Bangladesh Air Force C-130J military transport in a hurry and fled to Hindon Air Force base, outside Delhi. Her...
Bangladesh: A Popular Upsurge
Statements from the Communist Party of Bangladesh, Communist Party of India and Communist Party of India (Marxist) about the situation in Bangladesh where, after weeks of protests and severe police repression leading to hundreds of deaths, on August 5, Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina stepped down and fled the country.
"Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her government in Bangladesh have been ousted in a mass revolt led by students against the authoritarian and corrupt regime. The Polit Bureau expresses its deep sorrow at the loss of more than 300 lives due to brutal repression against the mass protests.
The democratic and secular forces have to work unitedly to restore peace and stability. This is necessary to thwart the designs of the rightwing and fundamentalist forces who will seek to benefit with the support of external forces."
Protesters in Bangladesh storm the residence of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina -- image via video screenshotStatements from the Communist Party of Bangladesh, Communist Party of India and Communist Party of India (Marxist) about the situation in Bangladesh where, after weeks of protests and severe pol...
Portrait of Gorky, Valentina Khodasevich, 1919
https://www.theleftchapter.com/post/daily-lift-1002
Revolutionary Committee of the Yakutian Soviet, 1921
For a brief look at the Yakut Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic see: https://www.theleftchapter.com/post/the-yakut-autonomous-soviet-socialist-republic
Work
One day, two days, three days,
one year, two years....
A machine is revolving,
My father who died at this machine,
Told me not to follow his trade...
But I too have worked at the machine,
Labouring year upon year...
One day, two days, three days,
one year, two years...
A machine is revolving,
At length comes the day when the Liberation Army arrives,
Now we are masters of the machine.
I, wishing my son to be useful to our country
Tell him "work alongside me when you are grown-up."
- Teng Che-yu, People's Republic of China, 1951
Image: Red Flag Emulation Drive, painting Su Chien, People's Republic of China, 1951
https://www.theleftchapter.com/post/_work2
Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, IWW, labour and Communist activist, b. August 7, 1890
"What is a labor victory? I maintain that it is a twofold thing. Workers must gain economic advantage, but they must also gain revolutionary spirit, in order to achieve a complete victory. For workers to gain a few cents more a day, a few minutes less a day, and go back to work with the same psychology, the same attitude toward society is to have achieved a temporary gain and not a lasting victory. For workers to go back with a class-conscious spirit, with an organized and a determined attitude toward society means that even if they have made no economic gain they have the possibility of gaining in the future. In other words, a labor victory must be economic and it must be revolutionizing. Otherwise it is not complete." - Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, IWW, labour and Communist activist, b. August 7, 1890
Elizabeth Gurley Flynn was an early IWW leader who played a critical role in many labour struggles across the United States. The famous labour leader and martyr Joe Hill wrote the song "The Rebel Girl" in her honour. She was a founding member of the American Civil Liberties Union and organized mass protest campaigns against the executions of Sacco and Vanzetti.
In 1936 Flynn joined the Communist Party of the United States and went to prison for two years in the 1950s as a result of the anti-communist persecution of the Smith Act. Flynn became the National Chairperson of the CPUSA in 1961.
Flynn died while visiting the USSR in 1964. She was accorded a public state funeral in Moscow.
For a brief biography of Flynn see: https://www.theleftchapter.com/post/elizabeth-gurley-flynn-iww-labour-and-communist-activist-b-august-7-1890
Father's Watch Never Moved Again - Djataro Ito, Japan 1985 (from the Hiroshima-45 series)
Today is the 79th anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima by the United States, a horrific act that killed approximately 140,000 people either in the blast or the terrible after effects. The vast majority of these were civilians.
3 days later the United States dropped another atomic bomb on Nagasaki killing ten of thousands more, almost all of whom were civilians.
The fight for total nuclear disarmament and the abolition of these terrible weapons must continue.
Let there never again be another Hiroshima or Nagasaki.
https://www.theleftchapter.com/post/father-s-watch-never-moved-again-djataro-ito-japan-1985-from-the-hiroshima-45-series
Mao Zedong and the Red Guards, papercut, People's Republic of China -- Daily LIFT #1414
https://www.theleftchapter.com/post/daily-lift-1414
Grassroots Mobilizations to Challenge Surge of Far-Right Violence in Britain
Anti-fascist groups in Britain are preparing for mobilizations against the far-right. Far-right groups have recently incited a series of violent rallies across England, exploiting the public discourse after three children were tragically killed in a stabbing in Southport in northwest England.
Exploiting the town’s mourning, far-right groups have cynically manipulated the narrative surrounding the event into their hate-driven, racist, and Islamophobic discourse. Hundreds traveled to Southport and other towns in the north following vigils held for the killed children, only to spark violent riots. The rioters surrounded and attacked mosques with people inside, set police vehicles ablaze, and vandalized local shops.
Image of far right rioters via XBy Global News ServiceAnti-fascist groups in Britain are preparing for mobilizations against the far-right. Far-right groups have recently incited a series of violent rallies across England, exploiting the public discourse after three children were tragically killed i...
Amazing!
Waves of Protests Follow Police Killing of Sonya Massey
On July 6, 36-year-old Black woman Sonya Massey was shot and killed by white police officer Sean Grayson after inviting the police into her own home, seeking protection from a potential intruder. On July 22, body camera footage was released to the public of Massey’s killing.
Protests have erupted over the past few weeks across the country, including in major cities such as New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago. In Springfield, Illinois, where Massey was killed, her family members mobilized the community in a mass action, converting Massey’s last words to officer Grayson into a chant: “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus!”
Image from a New York protest via video screenshotBy Global News ServiceOn July 6, 36-year-old Black woman Sonya Massey was shot and killed by white police officer Sean Grayson after inviting the police into her own home, seeking protection from a potential intruder. On July 22, body camera footage....
Same old pathetic imperialist playbook:
Without Evidence, the U.S. Declares Edmundo González Winner of Venezuela’s Presidential Elections
History has repeated itself in U.S.-Venezuelan relations. On August 1, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken released a statement, “Assessing the Results of Venezuela’s Presidential Election,” wherein he declares that “it is clear to the United States and, most importantly, to the Venezuelan people that Edmundo González Urrutia won the most votes in Venezuela’s July 28 presidential election.”
The declaration has been harshly criticized by different governments, political analysts, and social movements, which accuse the U.S. of once again trying to implement the failed “Guaidó plan.” In that plan, the United States unilaterally propped up a seemingly unheard-of member of Venezuela’s National Assembly, and declared that he was the constitutional president of Venezuela.
By Global News ServiceHistory has repeated itself in U.S.-Venezuelan relations. On August 1, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken released a statement, “Assessing the Results of Venezuela’s Presidential Election,” wherein he declares that “it is clear to the United States and, most importa...
Fish Cutlets at the Soviet Moskva Restaurant
From the Soviet Magazine Sputnik in 1982, a brief look at the Moskva Restaurant with a recipe for a house specialty: Fish Cutlets.
"In the years 1933-1935, the old structures were demolished and two massive buildings were erected in their place: The House of the USSR Council of Ministers and the Hotel Moskva. Now Okhotny Ryad is a part of Marx Prospekt in the heart of Moscow. The restaurant Moskva is a sort of landmark. It is located on several floors of the hotel but the best is on the third. Its interior decoration is marked by columns of green marble and elegant chandeliers. The menu is in the tradition of the former Okhotny Ryad – fish and game dishes predominate."
From the Soviet Magazine Sputnik in 1982, a brief look at the Moskva with a recipe for a house specialty: Fish Cutlets. From the Soviet Magazine Sputnik, 1982:Once upon a time the street Okhotny Ryad (Hunting Row. – Trans.) was known as the maw of Moscow. Back in the 15th and 16th centuries hunter...
Revolutionary Cuba 1975: Sixteen Years of Socialist Construction in Photos #5: Youth in the Countryside
Recipe: Basa Fillets in Spicy Tomato Sauce
Basa is mild and inexpensive Asian catfish that works with a wide array of sauces and flavours. It has become widely available in grocery stores.
Today we are going to make basa by simmering it in a delicious and slightly spicy tomato and vegetable sauce.
Basa is mild and inexpensive Asian catfish that works with a wide array of sauces and flavours. It has become widely available in grocery stores. Today we are going to make basa by simmering it in a delicious and slightly spicy tomato and vegetable sauce.To begin you want to chop up both 1 onion (me...
A funicular railway in Baku, on the Caspian Sea
From our post: Trams and buses in the USSR -- A look at public transit in the Soviet Union, 1976 https://www.theleftchapter.com/post/buses-and-trams-of-the-soviet-union-a-look-at-public-transit-in-the-ussr-1976
Peace, poster by Tran Mai, Vietnam, 1985
https://www.theleftchapter.com/post/daily-lift-255
Excellent statement by the Communist Party of Luxembourg:
Hiroshima and Nagasaki admonish: Abolish all nuclear weapons!
On 6 August 1945, the Japanese city of Hiroshima was destroyed by an atomic bomb dropped by the USA. This was followed on 9 August by another atomic bomb dropped by the USA on the port city of Nagasaki. Neither city was an important target for the war effort. Hundreds of thousands of people died a horrific death as a direct result of the explosions of the two bombs and in the decades that followed as a result of nuclear radiation.
Since 1945, an enormous nuclear arms race has begun and more and more states are in possession of nuclear weapons of destruction. Previous agreements on stockpile reduction and non-proliferation have only had a limited effect. Nuclear weapons are currently being further developed, which further increases their danger.
The USA's intention to install new missile systems in the Federal Republic of Germany, which can also be equipped with nuclear warheads and have a range of over 2,000 kilometres, not only increases the danger of a further arms race, but also the risk of a war waged with nuclear weapons.
After 79 years, the deaths of Hiroshima and Nagasaki remind us of the urgent need to prevent such an arms race. The unique effective remedy can only be the abolition of all nuclear weapons throughout the world, in every country without exception that is in possession of nuclear weapons.
The Communist Party of Luxembourg takes the 79th anniversary of the only use of nuclear weapons to date as an opportunity to call on the government of Luxembourg to sign the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and to campaign for other states to follow suit.
https://www.theleftchapter.com/post/hiroshima-and-nagasaki-admonish-abolish-all-nuclear-weapons
Recipe: Fiery Sizzling Shrimp
Whether as a summer backyard appetizer or a Friday night main with a friend or partner, this spectacularly easy, fiery spicy and totally delicious sizzled shrimp dish that makes its own sauce is a must try.
Whether as a summer backyard appetizer or a Friday night main with a friend or partner, this spectacularly easy, fiery spicy and totally delicious sizzled shrimp dish that makes its own sauce is a must try.Here we used two pounds of cooked, tail-on frozen shrimp, but you can use jumbo or fresh or an...
USSR: Bulwark of Peace, Moscow 1988
Magnificent sculpture structure that went through many variations during the the 60s, 70s and 80s in the Soviet capital. It originally had the various flags of the USSR, was changed to this format celebrating the capital itself and then was finally changed in 1988 to this slogan.
Tragically it was torn down during the counterrevolution at the end of 1991.
https://www.theleftchapter.com/post/daily-lift-770
Remember the Victims of War on Hiroshima Day
"The world mourns the day the atomic bomb exploded over Hiroshima, August 6, 1945, and three days later, Nagasaki. Of all the bombs ever dropped on civilians, these two were in a class of their own in destructive force and cruelty. The discovery of nuclear fission, ten million times more energetic than chemical reactions, was put to its worst possible use at the close of the Pacific War.
The result was an atrocity. In Hiroshima, the blast killed over 70 000 people at once and wounded an equal number, many of whom soon succumbed to their burns. In Nagasaki, the immediate toll was uncertain. 60–80 000 had perished by the end of 1945, joining the 90–140 000 dead in Hiroshima.
In both cities, thousands were fatally irradiated. They suffered and died of acute radiation syndrome, over 13 000 within a month. Occupying US General MacArthur suppressed reports of this syndrome. After two years, cases of leukemia emerged, and after five years, solid cancers, almost 2000 more than normal. One child, Sadako Sasaki, popularized the origami crane as a symbol of peace by folding over a thousand paper cranes before she died of leukemia....
We remember the bombing of Japan as a horrible tragedy in which working masses suffered and paid with their lives for a war launched by the ruling class -- just as in every war in class society. The method was unique in its power to extinguish masses of lives in the blink of an eye, yet inflicted years of pain and grief on those around them.
This Hiroshima Day, fold a paper crane in memory of Sadako and all victims of war." - Rafe Saltman, a founding member of the Vancouver Island-based Freedom From War
Rafe Saltman, a founding member of the Vancouver Island-based Freedom From War Coalition, reflects on the terrible human costs of capitalism, imperialism, war, militarism and nuclear weapons as Hiroshima Day approaches on August 6.For the Freedom From War CoalitionBy Rafe SaltmanThe world mourns the...
From the Black Panther newspaper, August 5, 1972 -- Daily LIFT #1413
https://www.theleftchapter.com/post/daily-lift-1413
Some of the designs on our Etsy store! Click on images for details.
For all our Left history and art designs see the Etsy store: https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/DaughtersOfTheEmpire
All purchases help fund the website!
Monument to the Hero Members of the Young Communist League, Frunze, Kirghiz SSR, USSR 1970
To learn more about Soviet Frunze see: https://www.theleftchapter.com/post/a-visit-to-soviet-frunze-1970
“This move by the CRA to crack down on JNF Canada’s activities in Israel and the OPT is long overdue. The colonization of Palestinian land is not a charitable purpose, and neither is the JNF’s support for a military engaged in illegal occupation and genocide"
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) applauds the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) for indicating that it will revoke the charitable
Panoramic Soviet Moscow 1971 #13: Ostankino Television Tower
A remarkable feat of Soviet engineering, the Ostankino Television Tower was built to mark the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution in 1967 opening just 2 days before it on November 5.
The tower was the tallest freestanding structure in the world until the opening of the CN Tower in Toronto, Canada in 1976.
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Amílcar Cabral, Bissau-Guinean and Cape Verdean revolutionary, theoretician and independence leader, was born September 12, 1924. He was assassinated in January, 1973, only eight months before Guinea-Bissau became independent. Fidel Castro once said of Cabral that he was “one of the most lucid and brilliant leaders in Africa, who instilled in us tremendous confidence in the future and the success of his struggle for liberation.”
Remembering W.E.B. Du Bois, scholar, civil rights activist, historian and communist W.E.B. Du Bois, the scholar, civil rights activist, historian and communist was born in 1868 in Massachusetts. He died on August 27, 1963 at age 95 in Ghana after a remarkable life that took him around the world in his fight for justice, equality and freedom. In the Letter of an American Communist -- the letter that Du Bois attached to his membership application to the CPUSA when he joined in October, 1961 at the of age 93 -- DuBois wrote that: "Capitalism cannot reform itself; it is doomed to self-destruction. No universal selfishness can bring social good to all. Communism -- the effort to give all men what they need and to ask of each the best they can contribute -- this is the only way of human life." Images in order of appearance: 1) Cover of a Soviet book published in 1971 dedicated to life and writings of W.E.B. Du Bois. 2) Paul Robeson and W.E.B DuBois great each other at the World Congress of the Partisans of Peace, 1949 3) Anna Louise Strong, Mao and W.E.B. Du Bois in Wuhan. 1959 4) Mao and W.E.B. Du Bois in the People's Republic of China, 1959 5) Premier Zhou Enlai with Du Bois and his wife the writer Shirley Graham (third from left). First and second from right are Vice-Premier Chen Yi and his wife Zhang Qian 6) At a birthday reception, 1959
Today marks the anniversary of the end of the Battle of Kursk (August 23, 1943) where the soldiers of the Red Army emerged victorious at tremendous cost and turned the tide once and for all on the Eastern Front. Kursk was the largest tank battle in human history and after Kursk -- though many hard days were still ahead -- the people of the Soviet Union through their courage and sacrifice had laid the path that would lead to the total defeat of the Third Reich just under two years later. To learn more about the Battle of Kursk from the memories of the Marshals of the Soviet Union involved see our posts "Battle of Kursk remembered" https://www.theleftchapter.com/post/battle-of-kursk-remembered-july-19832 and The Battle of Kursk Begins, July 5, 1943 https://www.theleftchapter.com/post/the-battle-of-kursk-begins-july-5-1943
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