Lyev

Well he upheld and defended October almost flawlessly if you ask me. It's not about Stalin as an individual so much, it just happens that he is a symbol of the working class of that period in Russia, at a time when many would seek to destroy socialism, the working class fought for it, of course, Stalin played a pretty major role in this fight. So it's not so much about worshipping heroes or idols, although personally I do think that Stalin was a hero if there is such a thing as one, it is about getting the message across that we are Marxist-Leninists, we are anti-revisionists, and we are anti-imperialists. Unlike most socialist parties, we won't make compromises like telling people to vote for the bourgeois Labour Party to fight the BNP. Basically what we're saying is that we are a party which wants socialism, and nothing less than socialism will suffice.

Well if you look at what Stalin represents to us, it is basically the same thing that May Day represents to the proletariat, socialism, worker solidarity, class pride. The main reason for marching with Stalin is really so that we can set ourselves apart from other groups, people see us and instantly know that we are different to the CPB, the SWP, the SP, etc. We are different because we uphold Stalin and with him the banner of Communism. Not everyone agrees with it, but we are just not prepared to denounce the gains that were made during the Stalin era just because the workers have been fed lies about him, better to instead educate them about what Stalin really stood for and the great things that he did for the class in his country. Also I think that you might be surprised at how many people approach and thank us for not being afraid of carrying a huge picture of Stalin through London, some people even ask if they can march with us behind Stalin and of course they are welcome to do so.

No I'm serious, we don't take him to Palestine demos or anything like that. For future reference it's probably worth noting that I generally don't to use sarcasm but sometimes I do come across as a bit of a tosser so I can completely understand why some people might think that. It's not intentional, I just have a bad personality but I usually mean well.

Nothing at the moment, I've had to focus more on schoolwork. What would you suggest?

I've heard that's a hard read, what else is on your reading list?

I'm picturing a vast, overwhelming library.

Am I close?

I have not, but I've read about the theory itself. It seems to make a lot of sense, and I like the sense of internationalism (as opposed to "socialism in one country" which I find quite nationalist).

I was previously Marxist-Leninist, but I really didn't know much about it beyond the idea that it was "anti-revisionist." When I read about some of the ideas that make up the so-called "counter-revolutionary" Trotskyism, and read about their ML counterparts, I found I agreed MUCH more with Trotskyism.

So, here we are!