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Alexander Shlyapnikov, 1885-1937 book cover
Alexander Shlyapnikov, 1885-1937
Life of an Old Bolshevik
2015
First Published
4.22
Average Rating
426
Number of Pages

In Alexander Shlyapnikov, 1885-1937: Life of an Old Bolshevik, Barbara Allen recounts the political formation and positions of Russian Communist and trade unionist, Alexander Shlyapnikov. As leader of the Workers' Opposition (1919-21), Shlyapnikov called for trade unions to realise workers' mastery over the economy. Despite defeat, he continued to advocate distinct views on the Soviet socialist project that provide a counterpoint to Stalin's vision. Arrested during the Great Terror, he refused to confess to charges he thought illogical and unsupported by evidence. Unlike the standard historical and literary depiction of the Old Bolshevik, Shlyapnikov contested Stalin's and the NKVD's construct of the ideal party member. Allen conducted extensive research in archives of the Soviet Communist party and secret police. Listen to SRB Podcast's episode on Alexander An Old Working Class Bolshevik featuring Barbara Allen.

Avg Rating
4.22
Number of Ratings
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3 STARS
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Author

Barbara C. Allen
Barbara C. Allen
Author · 3 books
While growing up in rural North Carolina, I loved to read about people in other places and times and to write short stories, poems, and satire. I studied Russian language and literature and Modern European history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and earned a Ph.D. in Russian and Soviet History at Indiana University Bloomington. I have carried out archival research in Russia, Ukraine, and the United States. I teach at La Salle University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
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