All Questions
Tagged with communism soviet-union
52 questions
3
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Were any members clergy (priests, rabbis, or imams) in the USSR members of Communist party or KGB operatives?
Inspired by question Were there in the USSR monasteries decorated with Soviet orders?. Although religion was contrary to the dominant Marxist ideology (but see Christian Communism), it was tolerated ...
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1
answer
157
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Was there communist opposition to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan?
I was told to come here from Politics SE so this is a repost.
In 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan to support the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan government. This obviously led to much ...
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-3
votes
2
answers
123
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Ranking Eastern Europe Communist regimes by severity of repression [closed]
I was wondering that the severity of repression, censorship, economic stagnation must have varied greatly across the Eastern bloc countries between 1945-1990. It may even have varied over the years in ...
- 350
6
votes
2
answers
3k
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Is Wikipedia's identification of Lebed an error?
Speaking of the Alexander Yakovlev's conflict with the hardcore communists, the Wikipedia article says:
In the early 1980s, Yakovlev returned to the Soviet Union, and became a prominent supporter of ...
- 4,219
2
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1
answer
172
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Did Western governments object to repression of western communists during Stalinism? [closed]
I am interested in the repression of western communists (traveling to or residing in the USSR) during the Stalin era. How extensive was it? What were the justifications from the Soviet point of view? ...
- 4,219
3
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0
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140
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To what extent did Russian bourgeoisie and capitalism continued to exist through the Soviet rule in the USSR? [closed]
During the Communist rule in Russia, the industry and land were mostly nationalized, and many of the previous landowners or industrialist were either exiled or physically exterminated. However, the ...
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14
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3
answers
5k
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Who said, "Freedom to do what?"
I read a quote recently, it was either Lenin or Stalin, one of their aides said, "Now, comrade, we will have freedom!" and Lenin (or Stalin) replied, "Freedom to do what?" The ...
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159
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Was Lassalism persecuted in the USSR during the Stalin period?
Background
Ferdinand Lassalle was the founder of the General German Workers Association (ADAV), which is considered as the first organized labor movement (at least in Germany) and would later evolve ...
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13
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5
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Why would this word have been an unsuitable name in Communist Poland? Is it because it's a racial slur?
In Marek Hłasko's The Graveyard (set in communist-occupied Poland) there is a scene where, in a political party meeting one of the party members (Nowak) is forced to change the name of his dog. This ...
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7
votes
1
answer
226
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Could the leader of the Soviet Union have been removed legally?
The list of Soviet Union's leaders shows that usually leaders remained in office until their death, I'd like to know:
What was the legal status of the Soviet Union's leader? How was he elected or ...
- 225
0
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1
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115
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Communist Party member Stances on Molotov Ribbentrop Soviety German Treaty [closed]
I am reading "Toward Freedom, The Case against Race Reductionism" by Toure Reed. In his section about Black Progressives, he writes about how the influence of the Communist Party on the NNC ...
17
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3
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5k
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What was the ethnic composition of Soviet government?
One often describes USSR in ethnic terms, as Russian domination over other nations (many of which later became independent states). While the USSR certainly practiced ethnic policies (such as ...
- 4,219
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0
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145
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Why were Chinese and Soviet five year plans shorter than five years? [closed]
In the Chinese and Soviet systems of economic planning, they famously used "five year plans". However, most if not all of these plans apparently lasted shorter than five years. For example, ...
- 29
4
votes
1
answer
173
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What was the official theoretical journal of the communist party of the USSR?
Like other ruling communist parties the propaganda organs of the USSR would have also published material covering theoretical topics relating to building socialism, communism, etc. These materials ...
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19
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6
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10k
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Why wasn’t the USSR “rebranded” communist?
I found that the Third International in 1921 sponsored a worldwide transformation of former “socialist” parties (that was concretely related to the rejection of so-called “reformism”, to be somewhat ...
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5
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1
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864
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Did Soviet people know Stalin's birth name?
We all know now that Stalin's birth name was Jughashvili (Ioseb Besarionis dzе Jughashvili). Lenin was born Ulyanov, Trotsky was Lev Davidovich Bronstein, Kamenev was Leo Rosenfeld, etc.
Searching ...
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1
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1
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455
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How true is the Soviet killing quota under Stalin? [closed]
In The Soviet Story from 1:37:54 to 1:38:54, killing quotas of Soviet citizens are talked about. I could not find any concrete reason, evidence, or documentation suggesting that such "killing ...
5
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2
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480
views
How were USSR oblasts and cities governed?
From Wikipedia “During the Soviet period, the high authority in the oblast was shared between three persons: The first secretary of the “Oblast” CPSU Committee (who in reality had the biggest ...
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2
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1
answer
423
views
Why was there a "workers' militia" in Eastern Europe but not in the USSR?
After WWII, especially after 1956 in several Eastern European countries the ruling Communist Parties formed "workers' and peasants' militias", see for example, Worker's Militia or Combat ...
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1
answer
2k
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How much of the Jonestown money actually got given to the USSR?
So, I was reading the Wikipedia page on the Jonestown massacre, and I noticed that several members of the People's Temple (including their leadership) willed all of their money to the Communist Party ...
- 316
5
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1
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233
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What is this illustration portraying?
While doing my presentation I have come across this illustration titles "Downfall of the Soviet Union". I am, however, unable to determine, who are the people on this illustration and what is it ...
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2
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2
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993
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Was it ever possible to see students with burka/paranji having education at the schools and universities of the Uzbek Soviet Republic?
Despite strict 'hujum' (assault in English) policies against veiling as part of the liberation of women in Muslim populated less-developed areas of the Soviet Union during the early years of the ...
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0
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3
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373
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How (not why) did the Bolshevik party seize such complete control of the All-Russian Congress of Soviets?
How (not why) did the Bolshevik party seize such complete control of the All-Russian Congress of Soviets ("the supreme governing body of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic from 1917 ...
user15163
8
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3
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2k
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What was the logic behind Stalin's brutality?
In this article Stalin's behaviour is argued to be the result of a calculated and fanatical strategy. Stephen Kotkin's book 'Stalin' is referenced, and the suggestion is that criticism of Stalin as ...
user17846
1
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1
answer
350
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Why did Shock Therapy fail so badly?
Why did shock therapy fail during perestroika? Has shock therapy ever worked in other situations?
Was it responsible for the creation of the nomenclature and oligarchs?
Are there any authors who ...
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4
answers
2k
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What were the ideological differences between Mensheviks and Bolsheviks?
As I understand from this brief explanation, the main doctrinal difference was that the Bolsheviks were more radical (class struggle) while the Mensheviks were more in favor of class cooperation and ...
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6
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2
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321
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Was Nikolai Bukharin told at trial his job was “to confess and repent, not to argue”?
A recent Economist article claims:
As Nikolai Bukharin, a close Lenin ally, was told during his own
trial, his job was “to confess and repent, not to argue”.
I've searched without success for a ...
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2
answers
296
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How did Lenin secure his regime? [closed]
As we know, Bolsheviks seemed to overthow Provisional Government easily in November Revolution. Many political parties are inspired and feel like taking over the same way. War Communism also ...
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11
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4
answers
2k
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How does Louise Bryant's assessment of how the Soviet Union would fall hold up at the beginning of the 21st century?
Louise Bryant, an American bohemian spent six months in Russia during the turbulent times that presaged the October Revolution - and which she wrote up as Six Red Months in Russia. In her conclusion ...
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2
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1
answer
457
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Does anyone know the name of the student who died during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956? If not, why not?
I'm reading up on the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, and it seems that if that one student hadn't died, the revolution never would have started.
The revolt began as a student demonstration, which ...
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3
votes
2
answers
415
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What was the basic structure of power in the CPSU and how were the politicians at each level chosen?
I'm aware of the very-basics like the General Secretary, the Politburo and Central Commitee, but could someone give me a simple rundown of the lower levels to the bottom? Also, I'm particularly ...
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3
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2k
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What do Marxists mean by "class basis of law"? As seen in linked article
R. Judson Mitchell's article The Brezhnev Doctrine and Communist Ideology uses the term "class basis of law".
I'm not sure but I think:
Because this concept almost always appears hand in ...
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1
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1
answer
162
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Did any intelligence agents defect to the Cheka before 1921? [closed]
Did any intelligence agents defect to the Cheka (USSR secret police) before 1921? Does that have any historical precedent? If not, 1926.
Either former Czarist agents, or spies working for other ...
user15163
3
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1
answer
4k
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How much impact did US Policy of containment have?
This will border dangerously close to a discussion rather than question/answer, but I would like to know whether there exists any consensus regarding the effects of the United States' policy of ...
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1
answer
384
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Was communism a weaponized idea deployed against Imperial Russia? [closed]
I remember a lecture by a historian praising Imperial Germany for defeating Imperial Russia by both political (financing and "deploying" Lenin) and military means, a feat that both Napoleon and Hitler ...
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4
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2k
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Was the population of Moscow wildly overstated during the Cold War?
The science fiction author Robert Heinlein was a socialist in his youth, but became a strident anticommunist during the Cold War. In 1960, he and his wife Virginia went as tourists to the USSR, and he ...
user2848
5
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2
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750
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How much resemblance did the industrialization of the Soviet Union bear to those of the rest of the world?
I was thinking about the industrialization of the Soviet Union, most notably the death toll involved. The policies (such as forced-labour, prison camps for those who under performed, extremely poor ...
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10
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3
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1k
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How did the KPD relate to the German state during the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact?
Between August 1939 and June 1941, Germany and the USSR had the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. During this time, many USSR-oriented communist parties in Europe and North America were (forced to be) rather ...
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13
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5
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1k
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What made the generation-switch hard in Soviet Union?
I always wondered, why didn't the Soviet leadership have similar generation changes like Chinese had later with Deng Xiao Ping?
Only Gorbachev could get the leadership as second-generation communist ...
- 6,604
4
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3
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527
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Why was communism at odds with pan-Arabism?
I can't figure this out. Communism was supposed to be against nationalism. This would seem to favor pan-Arabism, which espoused the ideal of uniting the Arab lands instead of remaining divided up more ...
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28
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2
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7k
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Why did Stalin keep the famine of 1932 a secret?
The famine of 1932 took millions of lives, before the Soviet authorities took some measures to alleviate the lives of the peasants. During the whole time, and for decades afterwards, the affair was ...
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2
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When did the Great Purge start?
In what month of what year did the Great Purge begin in the Soviet Union?
Wikipedia's individual page says it it started in 1934, but if I Google search for "Great Purge" and "1934," nothing much ...
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3
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How much was the wealthy elite harmed by the Bolshevik revolution?
One of the stated benefits of communism is supposed to be that the property of the extremely wealthy will be seized and redistributed. However, a common criticism states that the extremely wealthy ...
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3
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438
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Did technical managers have to join the Nazi party?
In the Soviet Union a person who was rising in technical management (say, becoming the director of a plant) was usually expected to join the Communist Party as a pre-requisite of getting the job.
I ...
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6
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12k
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Why did the Soviet Union's economy grow fast in the 1950's-1960's?
Communist economic systems self-implode. Today it has been recognized that Communism is bad for economic progress. There is no dispute that Communism makes countries poor based on what has happened in ...
- 4,546
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2
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2k
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Stalin cultivated a "Friend of the Children" image: Why? Did other communist/socialist leaders do the same?
Part of Stalin's cult of personality was his promulgation of a "Friend of the children" image.
What was the reason for this?
What other communist or socialist leaders also used this tactic?
(I ...
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7
answers
4k
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Did Stalin believe Israel would go communist?
In Anne Applebaum's recent book Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe 1944-1956, she claims the USSR supported the new state of Israel and states
Stalin believed Israel would quickly join the ...
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3
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Did Gorbachev say that his intention was to destroy Communism?
As I remember the 1980s and the Perestroika epoch, the reforms were advertised to the people as "return to Leninist principles", even deeper implementation of Socialism. The posters claimed it was "...
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4
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578
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How far should I go back in Russian History in order to understand Communist Russia? [closed]
I'm writing a story and need information on the Russian communist rule because I'm writing a book about a government much like that of communist Russia, specifically focused on a police state ...
12
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3
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2k
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How Successful Were the International Brigades?
During the Spanish Civil War (1936 to 1939) to what extent did the International Brigades play a role in fighting the fascists coup? My understanding is that they were a relatively minor element, ...
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