An interesting statement on another forum today spurred me to this comment. As part of the perennial discussion on 'what is to be done?', a comrade pointed out the need to "educate people about scientific socialism and organise the people in the communist vanguard party".
To which another comrade stated: "I'm pretty sure this has been tried before. I feel the results so far have been quite underwhelming."
I'm posting my response here as this is a conversation that happens a lot, and seems to me to be the result of a combination of frustration that the task is hard and taking a long time, and a lack of faith in the possibility of success.
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Wow.
October Revolution underwhelming? Its consequences in shaping all the benefits workers everywhere have received since that time? In building socialism, defeating fascism, spreading socialism, national liberation and sovereignty around the world? Its legacy in the Chinese, Korean, Cuban, Vietnamese, Laotian revolutions etc etc?
There's a reason the ruling class puts so much effort into spreading anticommunism and suppressing genuinely communist organisations.
There's a reason the 'cold war' was actually the anticommunist war, in which untold millions of communists, communist sympathisers and even potential communist sympathisers were massacred.
Our movement has suffered some bad reverses, but to call its achievements 'underwhelming' is to display either a lack of seriousness, a lack of knowledge or an internalised anticommunist bias (or a combination of all three).
As Chairman Mao memorably put it, 'The revolution is not a tea party.' Class struggle is hard work. Changing society is a long and arduous process requiring dedication and self-sacrifice. And history does not move in neat straight lines. Only a movement that refuses to consider its defeats and retreats as final can keep coming back to arrive at its final victory.
Lenin and the Bolsheviks showed us what is needed to organise in such a way as to defeat t
606 · 18 August 2026
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#Victory81
🌟 On August 18, 1945, during the Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation, Soviet forces launched the Kuril Islands Landing Operation, an amphibious assault aimed at liberating the archipelago from Japanese militarists.
Preparations for the operation were carried out within an extremely tight timeframe. Major General Alexey Gnechko, Commander of the Kamchatka Defence Area, received the order to launch the offensive on August 15, 1945 – just two days before the operation began.
The plan called for a surprise amphibious landing on the northwestern coast of Shumshu Island, accompanied by a main strike against the Kataoka naval base. After securing the island, Soviet forces were to use it as a bridgehead to liberate Paramushir, Onekotan and the other islands.
Hitler's allies were determined to hold the archipelago at any cost and had turned the Kuril Islands into a powerful fortified stronghold. 👉 The main defensive line across the Kuril chain consisted of a well-developed network of strongpoints, numerous pillboxes and reinforced-concrete shelters for troops. The defences were particularly formidable on Shumshu and Paramushir.
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⚔️ The operation to drive the militarists from the Kuril Islands began on the night of August 18. Soviet troops had to disembark from ships in water up to two metres deep and make their way ashore under enemy artillery fire. The main landing force came under heavy flanking fire from Japanese batteries.
By the evening of August 18, thanks to the decisive and coordinated actions of the main force and advance units, Soviet troops had taken control of Heights 165 and 171.
On the morning of August 19, negotiations began on the surrender of the Japanese forces. By August 23, Japanese troops began surrendering en masse. Thanks to the decisive actions of the Pacific Fleet sailors, the entire Kuril Island chain was secured between August 24 and September 1.
💬 Excerpt from Joseph Stalin's address to the people on September 2, 1945:
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Following reports of a purported North Korean rocket division being sent to Russia, it seems logical to expand the role of the North Korean contingent beyond rocket units, artillery, and engineering troops – specifically, to include elements of air defense.
The North Korean Air Force and Air Defense forces consist of approximately 110-120,000 personnel and are organized under a unified command, encompassing aviation divisions, anti-aircraft missile units, anti-aircraft artillery, and radio-technical troops.
North Korean specialists could take on tasks such as securing specific areas, engineering fortifications, and restoring infrastructure, scaling up the already established model of using sapper and construction battalions.
After specialized training, North Korean units could operate radar detection systems, electronic warfare complexes, and close-range anti-drone fire groups. However, the deployment of sophisticated, layered Russian air defense systems (S-350/S-400 or short-range air defense systems) would require deep integration into the Russian military's command and control system and direct subordination (even if temporary) to the command of Russian Air Defense forces.
Of particular interest is the North Korean airborne radar system based on the Il-76 (similar to the Russian A-50U). The actual level of its electronics and its ability to detect small, low-flying drones remains questionable, but such an aircraft would certainly be a valuable asset for covering missile-threatened areas deep within Russian territory.
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A new system for combating drones has been developed in China, according to Beijing Ribri Technology, the company that created it.
The system uses acoustics to detect drones, AI to identify the target, and thermal imagers and laser rangefinders to determine its position and track it.
After detection, the system targets the drones, causing them to lose control and fall to the ground.
1.7K · It doesn't mention it in the video description but it's presumed it fires of some sort of Electro-Magnetic Pulse to disable the drones
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Martyr Zeinab Naser al-Dine,
Mother,
Teacher,
Poet.
Killed by terrorist Israel with her 4 kids and her husband on
August 15, 2026.
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"We are Palestinian Christians. We have been in this town since the Lord Christ walked in it. This is our town. We will not leave it. Even if we die, we’ll be buried in it, because it’s holy ground.”
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I'll just put this here.
And I'll then remind you that these are the same monsters who implemented the largest planned terrorist attack in modern history known as "the pagers' attack" against regular everyday Lebanese civilians (4,000 humans on Sept. 17 and 3000 humans on Sept. 18, all exploding at the same exact second) and not only got away with it, but also made gold pager trophies and gifted it to big foot in the white house.
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Persian Feminism Arrives With A Rifle And A Bounty: Tehran Names Its Price
The mask has slipped, and not in Tehran, but in the West. For years Washington sold murder abroad as "rules-based order". Now Iran answers in the brutal arithmetic of war: according to statements by army commander Amir Hatami (photo), $30,000 for a killed or captured American serviceman involved in invasive aggression against Iran, and double if the act is carried out by a woman. Splendidly awkward for the liberal sermonisers - Persian feminism arrives with a rifle and a bounty 💥
The message is not subtle. It is political messaging with live ammunition. Tehran is saying that if the coalition of Epstein-style degenerates exports violence, it will import consequences. See RT and the original statement here from ParsToday.
Source: @TrFormer 💤
🦇 How not to remember Soviet sniper Pavlichenko and — oh, the irony — the American poster "Shoot Nazis like a girl"!
#Iran
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From this same article by Robina Qureshi, a reminder of some of the endless Israeli genocidal statements (these are only the ones from recent years...):
I remember Yoav Gallant announcing a “complete siege” of Gaza on 9 October 2023: no electricity, no food, no water, no fuel.
“We are fighting human animals,” he said, “and we are acting accordingly.”
The following day, addressing Israeli troops, he said: “I have released all the restraints.” And again he used the phrase “human animals” in describing 2.3M Palestinians, half of whom are children and babies. After cutting off electricity, Israeli drones targeted the solar panels of hospitals and people’s homes (along with everything else). After cutting off water, they targeted desalination plants.
I remember Herzog declaring that “an entire nation” bore responsibility and rejecting what he called the rhetoric that civilians were unaware or uninvolved. Herzog subsequently maintained that his remarks had been taken out of context and that Israel did not target civilians.
I remember Netanyahu invoking Amalek as he addressed Israelis on 28 October 2023, a biblical reference that subsequently became part of the evidence cited in arguments concerning genocidal intent.
I remember Nissim Vaturi, the Likud politician and Deputy Speaker of the Knesset writing that Israel has a common goal of “erasing the Gaza Strip from the face of the Earth”.
I remember in December 2024, Israeli soldiers told Haaretz that a battalion commander in the Netzarim Corridor had instructed troops that anyone crossing a designated line was a terrorist: “There are no civilians. All of them are terrorists.”..."
NOTE: In 2012, son of former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, called for Israel to, “flatten entire neighbourhoods in Gaza. Flatten all of Gaza. There should be no electricity in Gaza, no gasoline or moving vehicles, nothing”, adding, “there is no middle path here – either the Gazans and their infrastructure are made to pay the pric
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«Alter Steinweg», 1932
Artist: Theodor Necker
The painting depicts the proletarian quarter of Hamburg, where fierce battles with the Nazis and later the detention of KPD activists took place in the early 1930s.
On the banners are written:
Where Workers and Peasants Rule, Fascism Must Perish!
For the Workers and Peasants Government Elect Communists! List No.3
Think of Our Dead - Organise Collective Protection against Fascist Terror!
On April 18, 1933, communist dockworker Gustav Adolf Schönherr was arrested in house number 3 on Alter Steinweg and during a search, banned literature and propaganda materials were discovered. According to the official nazi-version, Schönherr jumped out of a window during interrogation by the Gestapo and died of his injuries in the port hospital 5 days later. The doctor's relatives did not believe this version and believed that Gustav had been "helped" by the Gestapo. Source
More historical info about life in this part of Hamburg here
🔻 The German communists represented the only real threat to the Nazis, and they were the first victims to go under the executioners axe and into the KZ-system, among them, leader of the KPD, Ernst Thälmann, who was later murdered in KZ Buchenwald, and to whom a monument was erected in Berlin, which the German authorities now plan to demolish.
The official communist-hunt began immediately after the takeover of power in 1933. The Nazis also stole the buildings of the KPD and all other resources.
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The Legacy of Ernst Thälmann, the Leader of the German Communists
— By Association of Friends of Ernst Thälmann, in Gazeta PRAVDA, 2024. Full text in Russian here.
Our friends from the Donetsk People's Republic wrote to the Association of Friends of Ernst Thälmann in 2016:
Ernst Thälmann began his career as a trade union leader, heading the Hamburg transport workers' union. Then he headed the Communist Party of Germany and fought fascism until the end of his days. We need to remember such heroes in order to prevent the revival of the "brown plague". Today, some say that there is no fascism in Ukraine, but they are deeply mistaken."
We thank the people of the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation for preserving the memory of Ernst Thälmann. Street names, for example in the city of Ulyanovsk and in what is now St. Petersburg, were not renamed.
Our friends wrote to us: “The residents of Moscow are proud that the city has Ernst Thälmann Square, where a monument to this great man has been erected.” The monument was unveiled in 1986.
On May 8, 1960, in the city of Pushkin in the Leningrad region, a ceremonial opening of a monument created by sculptor Walter Arnold, took place.
We were happy to hear in 2011 that in the village of Thälmann, not far from Kolpino in the Leningrad Region, on June 13, 2011, a new monument to Ernst Thälmann was unveiled. The monument appeared on the initiative of its resident, the head of SU-326 Dmitry Tarasovich Martynchik, the author is sculptor Beyshembek Turdaliev. We are proud that this monument to Thälmann stands next to the military memorial to the fighters of the Izhora Battalion, who did not allow the fascists to reach Leningrad.
Under the slogan "Shoulder to shoulder against fascism! Stop the warmongers! The dead teach us!" the Ernst Thälmann Friendship Association invites you to take part in two rallies and an open-air screening of the DEFA film "Ernst Thälmann - Leader of his class" in August of this year.
One of the rallie
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❗Kiev struck a bus stop used by ZNPP staff, resulting in one death and 17 injuries. The IAEA Director General called this attack "the worst thing that has happened to the ZNPP."
This morning, the Armed Forces of Ukraine attacked a bus stop used by plant employees. The number of injured has reached 17, reported Governor Balitsky. One person died, and three are in moderate condition.
These people were harmed solely to disrupt the visit of IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi to the Zaporizhzhia NPP and Enerhodar. Following the attack, Kiev cynically "warned" Grossi that they "cannot guarantee his safety when entering the ZNPP via Russian-controlled territory."
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📖🔥 In the pursuit of AI training, tech companies are buying up rare books and destroying them to extract data.
▪️Booksellers around the world have noticed strange mass purchases. Often, buyers paid significantly more for shipping than the books themselves were worth.
"They bought four books from me for €35, with shipping costing €67. A minute later, they asked for another book, with an additional €20 in shipping costs. It made no sense," said Marsal Font, a bookseller, to the Spanish newspaper El País.
▪️The man told his friend, Javi Vinayshe, the technical director of one of the tech companies, about this. Step by step, they discovered that companies were placing large orders to digitize these books for AI training.
▪️To scan the books more cheaply and quickly, they cut off the spines, freeing up the pages – in other words, they tear them apart. Unlike the careful and thorough scanning of pages in libraries and archives, the book is essentially destroyed.
▪️The story is like something out of "Fahrenheit 451," the article notes. While in Ray Bradbury's novel, books were burned due to censorship, here they are being literally consumed by AI.
▪️Companies developing AI have reached out to the rare book market because they have already processed a significant portion of the other high-quality texts available to humans, Vinayshe notes. Now they need more specialised materials to try to avoid cognitive biases in AI, errors, and informal internet language.
Source: RT in Russian
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Amazon is one of the companies that, in the pursuit of AI, is destroying a vast number of printed books, including rare ones.
This was discovered by journalists at "404 Media". They used a tracker to determine that books were being shipped to Amazon warehouses in large quantities.
Warehouse employees confirmed that the bindings are cut off to speed up the scanning process, and the books are destroyed in the process.
The article notes that printed publications released before 2022 are particularly valuable to companies training neural networks, as they are guaranteed to have been written without the use of AI.
Notably, the logo of the Amazon team working at this warehouse, called VGT3, is a grinning dinosaur clutching a book.
Source: RT in Russian
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A fragmenr of an article about Paskevich:
https://spb.aif.ru/society/people/samyy_polnyy_kavaler_kak_rossiya_zabyla_velikogo_polkovodca_ivana_paskevicha
Who was Prince Paskevich suppressing?
After the last Russo‑Turkish campaign, Count Paskevich had to fight against Polish separatists who dreamed of independence from the Russian Empire. On November 17, 1830, Warsaw became the centre of the liberation movement. The viceroy fled. Suppressing the rebellion was entrusted to Ivan Fyodorovich, who arrived in Poland on June 13, 1831. On August 25, after fierce fighting, Paskevich’s troops had already captured the outskirts of Warsaw. During the assault on the city, he was once again concussed, but the outcome of the battle no longer depended on his command — Warsaw surrendered.
“Warsaw is at your feet; the Polish army, by my order, is withdrawing to Płock,” the count reported to the emperor on August 26. Ten days later, Field Marshal Ivan Paskevich‑Erivansky received the hereditary princely title with the appellation “of Warsaw,” becoming His Serene Highness Prince Ivan Fyodorovich of Warsaw, Count Paskevich‑Erivansky.
And 1832, the Kingdom of Poland became part of Russia, with Russian currency, a system of measures and weights, and an imperial viceroy in the person of Prince Paskevich.
Having effectively become the Polish king, Prince Paskevich made sure that the peasants were provided with land and that the landowners and the nobility did not act unruly, plundering the people. Therefore, peaceful life in his new position turned out to be not so safe after all. And if, on the battlefield, Ivan Fyodorovich would rush headlong into bayonets or lead troops forward under enemy fire, then in Warsaw he had to confront the secret conspiracies of the nobility. Fortunately, the prince managed to uncover all of them in time.
19 August 2026