Last week, the British left newspaper Solidarity published this review of my book. Today, they published my rebuttal: Paul Vernadsky in his review of my book, The Experiment: Georgia’s…Read more…
Review: The Beria Papers, by Alan Williams
To anyone who has seen the recent film on the death of Stalin, the character of Lavrenty Beria, played by Simon Russell Beale, may now be familiar. Though the film was a comedy (of sorts),…Read more…
Review: Stalin’s Great Secret, by Isaac Don Levine
I don’t think I’ll be giving anything away by saying what the secret was: Stalin was an agent of the tsarist police, the Okhrana, from 1906 until 1912. Isaac Don Levine, who wrote the…Read more…
Review: Eyewitness to History: Memoirs and Reflections of a Foreign Correspondent for Half a Century by Isaac Don Levine
I first came across Isaac Don Levine while researching the question of whether Stalin had been an agent of the tsarist police — an Okhrana mole inside the Bolshevik Party. Levine published a…Read more…
100 years ago today …
… the Bolsheviks seized power in Petrograd. This video may be worth viewing. Read more…
Review: The Vanishing Futurist, by Charlotte Hobson
Charlotte Hobson has written a book that touches on two subjects that interest me enormously: the Russian Revolution and time travel. Without giving away too much of the plot — and there is a…Read more…
Review: No Less Than Mystic: A History of Lenin and the Russian Revolution for a 21st Century Left
John Medhurst’s new book is essential reading for anyone who (a) thinks of themselves as being progressive or on the left or (b) has something positive to say about Lenin or Trotsky. Actually,…Read more…
Review: John Medhurst, No Less Than Mystic: A History of Lenin and the Russian Revolution for a 21st Century Left
John Medhurst’s new book is essential reading for anyone who (a) thinks of themselves as being progressive or on the left or (b) has something positive to say about Lenin or Trotsky. Actually,…Read more…
Review: Timothy Snyder, On Tyranny
Timothy Snyder is an internationally-recognised expert on tyranny. His previous books have included studies of both right-wing and left-wing tyrannical regimes, focussing on Stalinism and Nazism. So…Read more…
Operation Basalt 75 years later
This is the text of a speech I gave at Stocks Hotel, Sark, 3 October 2017, the 75th anniversary of the British commando raid on the island. It has been three quarters of a century…Read more…
Remembering the first Georgian republic
This is the talk I gave on Thursday, 14 September 2017 at Prospero’s Bookshop in Tbilisi. I want to start by thanking Peter Nasmyth and Prospero’s Books for hosting us this evening. I…Read more…
Trade union independence and the Georgian republic
Presentation to the Georgian Trade Union Confederation’s congress, Tbilisi – 15 September 2017 I want to begin by thanking the Georgian Trade Union Confederation and your president,…Read more…
Book cover for THE EXPERIMENT singled out for praise
The Bookseller, the British weekly magazine for bookshops and the publishing industry, has named THE EXPERIMENT as one of the best book cover designs for September. Very proud – Zed books and…Read more…
Operation Basalt – now available in paperback
On 1 September, Operation Basalt became available in paperback. Order your copy from Foyles (free shipping in the UK) for just £12.99. More details on other bookshops coming soon. This book includes…Read more…
I resign from Democratic Socialists of America
I was a member of DSA’s parent organization, DSOC, from 1975 until 1981, served on its National Board and also worked as a staff member in its national office. I joined DSA after a lapse…Read more…
1917: Freedom or Tyranny?
Last night I participated in a debate with the Alliance for Workers Liberty in central London on the subject of “1917: Freedom or Tyranny?”. The following is the text of my opening…Read more…
The Experiment: Georgia’s Forgotten Revolution 1918-21 – website now live
Check it out.Read more…
For a June 9th Movement
I think it is a safe bet to assume that we are going to wake up on morning of June 9, 2017 to a Tory government with an increased parliamentary majority, and with Labour facing an electoral defeat of…Read more…
Ken Livingstone in Tel Aviv
In November 1986, Ken Livingstone visited Israel as the guest of Mapam (the United Workers’ Party). He toured the country, appeared on national television, met Knesset members, visited a…Read more…
The Experiment: Georgia’s Forgotten Revolution 1918-1921
This speech was given on 22 February 2017 at the Georgian Embassy in London. I want to thank the British Georgian Society for inviting me to give this talk, and to the Georgian Embassy for hosting…Read more…