In this episode of Back in the USSR we examine the importance of history to revolutionary struggle and why the desire for "a better future" is not enough. Every successful revolutionary movement in history has seen itself in the context of a tradition of resistance spanning multiple generations. One of the reasons why many African-American radical movements, for example, have been so successful is because they are made up of people who know who they are, they know their history, they know who has historically oppressed them, and they know who their enemy is. Of course everyone wants a better future, but such a future can only be built out of a tradition of resistance to exploitation and oppression, a tradition of struggle. Movements that lack this understanding are not sustainable.
With music by Georgy Sviridov, Faso Kombat, The Red Army Choir, and Bik.