This book analyses the relationship between the USSR and various parts of the British left. The book shows how enthusiasm for the USSR was high during the 20s and 30s, with prominent leftist from Britain's Labour Party and trade unions given VIP tours of the glorious new workers' paradise. These tours of course only showed the side the Soviets wanted them to see; smiling, well fed 'workers' in Potemkin villages, whilst millions slaved and starved in the gulags. These delegations often returned with glowing reports of the USSR.
The Nazi-Soviet Pact temporarily dampened this enthusiasm, but with the Nazi invasion of the USSR in 1941, and Stalin joining the Allies, this enthusiasm soon returned, with gusto. This enthusiasm was at its peak in the 1945 election, with a landslide Labour victory on a manifesto of hard-line socialist transformation. The Communist Party itself even had MPs elected, largely due to the lionised image of communism the Soviet defeat of the Nazis had given it. This was however to soon change.
As the years went on, this began to change. The Soviet rigging of Eastern European post-war elections, its ruthless crushing of the Hungarian uprising and later the Prague Spring deflated the general public's image of the USSR, the left in general and communism in particular. For the Labour Party, the rest of the Cold War would be marked by Labour MPs who rejected the Soviets (such as Michael Foot), to some who had a worrying tendency to side-step its brutality with a fawning remark about is welfare system. The book also details the unrepentant 'fellow travellers', hardliners whose uncritical, canine-like obedience to the Moscow line came to dominate the most notorious elements of the British left.
In short, this book is a good overview for anyone interested in the British left.
Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
-
Apple
-
Android
-
Windows Phone
-
Android
To get the free app, enter your mobile phone number.
![Moscow Gold? The Soviet Union and the British left by [Paul Anderson, Kevin Davey]](http://web.archive.org./web/20210224110419im_/https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41-dpCa1zbL._SY346_.jpg)
Customers who bought this item also bought
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
Customer reviews
Top reviews from United Kingdom
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 10 December 2013
Verified Purchase
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 May 2017
Verified Purchase
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 27 May 2016
Verified Purchase
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 January 2016
Verified Purchase
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 March 2014
Verified Purchase
