When Lenin took power in October 1917, millions saw the ghosts of Marx and Engels rise behind him, in other words the promise of proletarian revolution, synonymous with equality and justice. Very quickly, the Bolshevik revolution became a universal model, and communism a true earthly religion, arousing hope, awakening enthusiasm, justifying all sacrifices. This extraordinary seduction lasted about ten years; it only waned at the end of the 1920s, with the failure of the German, Hungarian, Italian and Chinese revolutions, and above all with the coming to power of Stalin.
0:00 The documentary
2:25 The influence of the October Revolution on the world.
9:56 The early years of the Communist International and the efforts of the Bolsheviks to spread revolution around the world.
16:43 The rise of communist parties across the world following the Russian Revolution and the influence of the Communist International.
23:15 German Revolution, the establishment of the Soviet Union, and the challenges the Bolsheviks faced in governing the country.
40:31 The influence of the Soviet Union on the international communist movement.
46:34 The appeal of communism in the 1920s and its influence on people's lives.
A film by Patrick Rotman, Patrick Barberis
Produced by Michel Rotman
Written by Patrice Chereau
Series of documentaries Faith of the Century
All episodes:
Utopia in Power (1917-1928) • Russia 1917 to 1928: U...
This volume covers 1900 to 1928, a period which saw the death of Lenin, the creation of the KGB and the coming to power of Stalin.
The Two Faces of Communism (1929-1939) • The Two Faces of Commu...
This episode includes Stalin's purge, Communism the defender of democracy, the great famine of the Ukraine and the Spanish civil war.
The Peak Years (1940-1953) • A History of Communism...
This episode includes the defeat of Germany, the take over of Eastern Europe, the Korean War and the Cold War.
End Without End (1953-1999) • A History of Communism...
This episode includes Stalin's death and Krushchev taking power, uprisings crushed in East Germany and Hungary, the propaganda of the space race, Castro taking over Cuba, Vietnam, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the unleashing of freedom, the remnants of a discredited philosophy.