Category: 20th Century History

Women and the Russian Revolution: profile on a key female figure during the Russian Revolution, the protest on International Women’s Day, and how the Bolsheviks changed the lives of women, by Alexandra Baynes

Posted On By The Manchester Historian

The extraordinary lives of women in Russia get somewhat buried by the histories of men. Icons such as Valentina Tereshkova and Anna Pavlova are overshadowed by dominating figures like Lenin, Stalin and Putin. Women made enormous contributions to the complex history of Russia; in fact, women directly influenced the course it took, as illustrated by the fact that the demonstration of women workers asking for bread was the stimulus for the Russian Revolution of 1917. It’s time that Russian women get their fair share of the limelight.

Category: 20th Century History/British History

A Glass House with Many Stones, by Freddie Tuson

Posted On By The Manchester Historian

As the run-up to the 2024 UK general election begins in earnest, it is likely that we will see a rapid increase in hysteria surrounding Chinese and Russian interference in Britain’s electoral process. However, there is no doubt that the majority of this discourse will fail to connect this meddling with Britain’s own historical involvement in election interference, military interventions, and assassinations, in its attempt to preserve commercial and ideological interests abroad.

Category: 20th Century History/African, Islamic and Arabic

Women During the Algerian War of Independence, by Keziah Taylor

Posted On By The Manchester Historian

Why are women always excluded from the retelling of historical events? This overlooked segment of the population plays a far greater role in rebellions and the resistance than we are led to believe. In the Algerian revolution women proved indispensable, holding greater importance to the resistance than their male counterparts. This article aims to rectify male-centric history by focusing on the historical impact of Algerian women.

Category: 20th Century History

Defiance Against Distortion: Memorial’s Fight to Uncover the Truth of Stalinist Repressions, by Sophie Stanford

Posted On By The Manchester Historian

In Russia, memories of Stalinist repressions and the Gulag are contentious topics. Despite over 20 million people perishing as a result of Stalin’s purges and many more being forced into labour camps in Siberia, the Kremlin, through propaganda and censorship, has consistently attempted to sanitise its dark history, which it portrays as a necessary measure for the nation’s security and stability. The state memory, in which the grim realities of past forced labour camps and political repressions are downplayed, however, has not gone unchallenged.