Dublin Core
Title
A Revolutionary Age
Description
The Revolutionary Age was published from November 1918 to August 1919. Edited by Louis Fraina, the publication was initially based in Boston but moved to New York in the summer of 1919. Shortly thereafter the newspaper was disbanded entirely, giving way to its successor The Communist. Its full title, The Revolutionary Age: A Chronicle and Interpretation of Events in Europe, reflects the European-facing focus of the communist party at the time. In 1918 clear reports of the Bolshevik Revolution were lacking and many of The Revolutionary Age’s contributors, such as John Reed, had themselves witnessed the events. And in these early years the expansionist push of the Soviet Union was felt to be fast-moving in its spread toward Western Europe. A great deal of the news presented followed the spread of socialism in countries such as Germany and France.
This headline, “Withdraw From Russia!” is particularly interesting in contrast to the New York Times headline also presented in this exhibit. Instead of depicting American forces as peacekeepers, the intervention is painted as an act of war. Furthermore – there is a disagreement between the two publications on what the “true Russia” is. Where The New York Times called Tsarist Russia the true Russia, the Revolutionary Age puts Russianness in the hands of the people: “The Russian people who had the revolutionary energy to overthrow Czarism… would and could overthrow the Soviet Government if they wished to.”
This headline, “Withdraw From Russia!” is particularly interesting in contrast to the New York Times headline also presented in this exhibit. Instead of depicting American forces as peacekeepers, the intervention is painted as an act of war. Furthermore – there is a disagreement between the two publications on what the “true Russia” is. Where The New York Times called Tsarist Russia the true Russia, the Revolutionary Age puts Russianness in the hands of the people: “The Russian people who had the revolutionary energy to overthrow Czarism… would and could overthrow the Soviet Government if they wished to.”
Creator
A Revolutionary Age
Source
Revolutionary Age 23 Nov. 1918: 4. Marxist Internet Archive. Web. 04 May 2014. https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/revolutionaryage/v1n02-nov-20-1918.pdf
Publisher
Louis Fraina
Date
Nov 23, 1918
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Comments
Kelly O'Neill
Lara, this is a great source (in tandem with the NYT piece). One can't help but wonder exactly who this "Russian people" who would and could overthrow the Soviet government might be. The dueling narratives brought out in this exhibit are fascinating, but are two among many such attempts to define the significance of 1917. After a while one begins to wonder whether the Revolution was anything more than one big rhetorical skirmish. (Don't get me wrong - tt was much more than that, of course!)