Note: This is the second of two articles written for 'Marxism Today' by Andrew Rothstein on the 50th anniversary of the Russian Revolution. The title of this one is 'The March Revolution'. In this website and associated material we refer to this as the FEBRUARY revolution i.e we have used the Julian calendar then in use in Russia until January 1918.

ANDREW ROTHSTEIN 1898- 1994 was born in London to Jewish parents who were both exiles from Tsarist Russia. His father, Theodore was a strong supporter of the Bolshevik revolution as was Andrew who was in Oxford University at the time having won a scholarship to study history at Balliol College. However, in 1917 he was drafted into the army. His regiment was not demobbed at the end of WW1, but was instead ordered to Archangel as part of the Wars of Intervention, to fight against the Red Army. Andrew refused and led a revolt supported by the vast majority of his regiment. This was indeed a soldiers' strike, about which he later wrote a book (The Soldiers Strikes of 1919).

Andrew Rothstein was a foundation member of the Communist Party in 1920 and he was closely involved in the British Soviet Friendship Society as well as being Chair for many years of Marx Memorial Library.

Link to downloadable PDF

Source: Marxism Today (July 1967): Periodicals, Marx Memorial Library (MML)