Bolsheviks Quote by Murray Bookchin
“I was a Stalinist in the '30s. I had come from a Russian revolutionary family who simply were elated by the fact that the Czar was overthrown by this group known as the Bolsheviks. My family identified with anybody who overthrew the Czar. So they identified themselves intuitively with Bolshevism.”
About This Quote
Source Memoir: Anarchist Reflections, 1975
Early political identity was shaped by family revolutionary pride, aligning with Bolshevism despite later ideological shifts.
In simple terms: Family shaped early politics.
Key Takeaway
Critically assess inherited beliefs.
Themes
politics
family
identity
Mood
reflective
critical
Type
autobiographical
political
When to use this quote
- political activism
- historical study
- personal reflection
- education
Key Concepts
history
ideology
social movements
Questions to Reflect On
- How have your family’s views shaped you?
- Can you separate personal values from inherited ideology?
A Different Perspective
Family influence may limit independent thought.
![“At the start of the eighties, Tony and I [Tony Wakefield was one of the original members of DIJ] were involved in radical left politics and beneath it history students. In search of a political view for the future we came across National Bolshevism which is closely connected with the SA hierarchy…” quote by Douglas Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/094/douglas-pearce-69732_attention_at-the-start-of-the-eighties-tony-and-i_586907.jpg)
![“You're looking a bit bolshy. [...] Like a Bolshevik, [...] Someone about to start a revolution.” quote by Rachel Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d61/rachel-hawkins-379_revolution_you-re-looking-a-bit-bolshy-like-a-bolsh_2532221.jpg)
![“[The] term 'libertarian' itself, to be sure, raises a problem, notably, the specious identification of an anti-authoritarian ideology with a straggling movement for 'pure capitalism' and 'free trade.' This movement never created the word: it appropriated it from the anarchist movement of the…” quote by Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d1e/murray-bookchin-2587_free-trade_the-term-libertarian-itself-to-be-sure-r_144681.jpg)
![“[W]ithout changing the most molecular relationships in society — notably, those between men and women, adults and children, whites and other ethnic groups, heterosexuals and gays (the list, in fact, is considerable) — society will be riddled by domination even in a socialistic ‘classless’ and…” quote by Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/5e4/murray-bookchin-2587_children_w-ithout-changing-the-most-molecular-rel_189100.jpg)
![“The most important thing [anarchists] can do is educate themselves, develop a propaganda machinery in the form of books and periodicals, a literature, engage in discussion groups that are open to a community, to discuss and develop their ideas and to develop networks.” quote by Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d5f/murray-bookchin-2587_anarchist_the-most-important-thing-anarchists-can_190565.jpg)
![“There are historical analogs, which are not exact, of course, but are close enough to be worrisome. This is a whiff of early Nazi Germany. [Adolf] Hitler was appealing to groups with similar grievances, and giving them crazy answers, but at least they were answers; these groups weren't getting…” quote by Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/081/noam-chomsky-42_analog_there-are-historical-analogs-which-are-n_19392.jpg)
![“[F]or the most part football these days is the opium of the people, not to speak of their crack cocaine. Its icon is the impeccably Tory, slavishly conformist Beckham. The Reds are no longer the Bolsheviks. Nobody serious about political change can shirk the fact that the game has to be abolished…” quote by Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/555/terry-eagleton-1660_beckham_f-or-the-most-part-football-these-days-i_303401.jpg)
![“In the appendix to my History of the Russian Revolution I give a detailed and documented study of the ideas of the Bolshevik party on the October revolution. This study, I hope, will make it impossible in the future to ascribe to [Vladimir] Lenin the theory of Socialism in a single country.” quote by Leon Trotsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/374/leon-trotsky-2558_appendix_in-the-appendix-to-my-history-of-the-rus_363447.jpg)
