In October 1917, Lenin’s Bolshevik Party seized power and inaugurated the first Communist Workers’ State, founded on the principles of Karl Marx’s “Das Kapital.” Almost immediately, the race was on to turn antiquated, war-weary Imperial Russia into an advanced capitalist state, ripe for the organic transition to socialism envisioned by Marx. It was a tall order in Russia: the vast majority of the population of the nascent Soviet state were illiterate peasants, for whom the traditions and tenants of Orthodox Christianity were the sole cultural and spiritual bedrock. Replacing it with the more complicated economic and social principles of Marxism took ingenuity, dedication, and ruthlessness.
The Moscow Times: ‘Godless Utopia – the anti-religious campaign in Russia’
A bildboard displaying communist-era insigns can be seen in Tiraspol, the main city of Transdniestr separatist republic of Moldova April 16, 2014. Ukrainian Minister of foreign Affairs, Andrii Dechtchytsia, said was "very concerned" by Transnistria breakaway pro-Russian entity in Moldova, while Moscow has to proceed to the annexation of Crimea to Russia. "The situation in Transnistria is a major concern, not only for Ukraine, not only for Moldova" stated Mr. Dechtchytsia during a press conference in the Brussels Forum of the German Marshall Fund. Transnistria, a small strip of land of 500,000 inhabitants in eastern Moldova, has won the support of Russia, a short war of independence after the collapse of the USSR in 1991. It is not recognized by the international community. AFP PHOTO DANIEL MIHAILESCU / AFP PHOTO / DANIEL MIHAILESCU
