On Saturday the "Der Funke" Marxist tendency organised a big event with
Trotsky’s grandson, Esteban Volkov, as special guest, to commemorate
and celebrate the 90th anniversary of the 1917Russian Revolution.
Around 200 people came to listen to the speeches in defence of "Red
October" and between 400-500 celebrated all night long at the party
that was organised after the meeting.
The event started with a seminar of the Marxist Tendency with
discussions and workshops on "What the Bolsheviks really stood for",
"Why the Russian Revolution degenerated", "The role of the Soviets"
where we also presented our new book on the Russian Revolution, which
is a compilation of several texts, including a translation of Alan
Woods’ text "The Bolsheviks in 1917", an extract from his book
"Bolshevism, The Road to Revolution" and articles by Lenin, Trotsky,
Gramsci and from the Austrian Social Democratic paper
"Arbeiter-Zeitung", plus a critique on the anarchist view of the events
in Kronstadt 1921. Another workshop dealt with the events in Pakistan
where concrete solidarity activities were planned.
After the seminars all comrades present participated actively in the
preparation of the public meeting and the party. It was a great
collective achievement to decorate the hall, to prepare the bar, the
food, to arrange the bookstall, to help the band, etc. It was a
marvellous example of revolutionary spirit. Everybody was expecting
that this evening would be something special.
We were conscious of the fact that we had to swim against the stream
in celebrating the Russian Revolution.. We were the only ones who were
prepared to organise a big event to celebrate the October Revolution
and to defend its ideas and achievements.
In the two weeks prior to the event the whole Tendency worked to make
this event a big success. The whole city was fly-posted; comrades gave
out leaflets and sold tickets fort the raffle. The event was
omnipresent at the university, in the metro stations and in the most
important public places.
Esteban Volkov arrived in Vienna two days before the meeting. He lived
in Vienna for two years when he was a child after his stay in Prinkipo
with Leon Trotsky and Natalia Sedova. For Esteban this trip to Vienna
was in a certain sense also a return to his own past. We also showed
Esteban the places where his grandfather lived and worked when he was
in exile in Vienna between 1907 and 1914.
We also managed to arrange an exclusive interview for him with "Der Standard" (in German)
in which he explained his role in defending Trotsky against Stalinist
slanders. This paper is one of the most important daily papers in
Austria and especially its weekend issue, which is free, has a very big
circulation. At the end of the article there was also an advert for our
meeting with Esteban Volkov.
The event took place in the WUK, an old factory building near the
centre of Vienna, which is one of the most important alternative
cultural venues in the Austrian capital. When the meeting started it
was completely full. Up to 200 people attended the meeting which was
much more then we had expected. Many people had to stand or sit on the
floor. It was the first public political meeting for many many years
within the Austrian Left where one had to pay an entrance fee.
The first speaker was Josef Falkinger from "Der Funke". He outlined the
events in 1917, defended the Russian Revolution against its critics and
highlighted the most important lessons for today’s generation of
revolutionaries. At the end he called on the audience to "join the
party" and to build together with us a strong left wing within the
Labour movement.
He was followed by Helmut Dahmer, a university professor and
journalist, who plays a vital role in publishing Trotsky’s works in
German. His speech was also a very good defence of the revolution.
Compared to many other left-wing intellectuals he still stands for a
revolutionary perspective. For this event "Der Funke" also published a
new pamphlet by Helmut Dahmer on the life and writings of Trotsky. We
hope in the future to deepen this important collaboration.
Then Esteban Volkov opened his speech. He gave a very interesting insight into his life
and the struggle of Leon Trotsky and his comrades against Stalinism.
This was probably the biggest meeting ever in Austria where the role of
Trotsky, the most important leader of the Russian Revolution next to
Lenin, was highlighted.
After two hours of political speeches the party started with a concert
by "Politpark", a left wing band from Linz. Their concert was a
marvellous musical introduction to the history of the revolutionary
movement. It lasted until 4 o’clock in the morning with more then 400
paying guests. There were comrades from all the left-wing tendencies
within the Socialist Youth, from the Socialist Students, the Communist
Youth, students and young workers. There were people not only from
Vienna but also from Lower Austria, from Upper Austria, from Styria,
Salzburg, Tyrol and Vorarlberg. One comrade even came from Bologna to
take part! Everywhere people were discussing and enjoying the event.
Another highlight was the raffle at midnight. The main prize was a trip
to Latin America worth 1000 Euros. The other prizes were books,
t-shirts, etc. The raffle was a big success and will be repeated next
year.
At the bookstall political material ton a value of more than 800 Euros
was sold during the party. At this event several comrades responded to
the main slogan literally and agreed to join the Marxist Tendency. Many
people left their addresses saying they want to become active.
Once again, the comrades of Der Funke have shown that they are the only
viable political tendency in Austria that can offer an organised
expression to the will of those people who are looking for a
revolutionary change. After the meeting of 5000 people with Alan Woods,
Aleida Guevara and Hugo Chavez in Vienna on 12 May of last year ‑ the
biggest anti-imperialist meeting in Austria for decades ‑ this year the
comrades organised the only visible public meeting to commemorate and
defend the traditions of Red October. Basing ourselves on this
experience, we will build a strong Marxist tendency with deep roots in
the workers’ and youth movement.
You can see more photos here.
