In this latest video from our series on the 1917 Russian Revolution, Alan Woods – author of “Bolshevism: from Revolution to Counter-Revolution” – discusses the failed coup attempt by General Kornilov and the impact this had on the political consciousness of the masses.

This week marks 100 years since the attempted coup by General Kornilov in Russia, the aim of which was to completely crush the revolution. Dejan Kukic examines the events leading up to the Kornilov affair and explains how the working class, headed by the Bolsheviks, was able to defeat this counter-revolutionary putsch.

Continuing our commemorations of the centenary anniversary of the Russian Revolution, we republish here extracts from Leon Trotsky’s History of the Russian Revolution, in which the author explains the events surrounding the attempted – and failed – coup by General Kornilov and the forces of reaction surrounding him.