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What can and can’t be said about the Russian revolution

In Russia today, there’s little consensus on the events of a century ago. But can you have national reconciliation without truth about the Russian Empire’s revolutions? RU

By Editors of OpenDemocracy Russia and Maria Lipman
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"Second Congress of the Communist International" (1924) by Isaak Brodsky. (c) Wolfgang Kumm/DPA/PA Images. All rights reserved.In the Soviet period, the October Revolution played the role of foundation myth, but the Russian authorities today prefer to talk about it less: the commemoration of these century-old events is a reminder that no empire lasts forever.

oDR spoke to Maria Lipman, a political analyst and editor-in-chief of the Washington-based journal Counterpoint, about whether Russia can achieve unity without confronting the truth about 1917.

What kind of truth about 1917 are the Russian authorities trying to pass over today? What is it and why do we need it now, in 2017?

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