In 1979, the Iranian masses erupted into struggle, sweeping away the hated regime of the Shah, and wielding power through popular councils. In this podcast, Hamid Alizadeh explains why this powerful revolution failed, and the lessons for today.

This weekend, one thousand attendees will gather for this year’s Revolution Festival – the school of communism. To commemorate this landmark event, Rob Sewell looks back at the communist history and traditions upon which we base ourselves today.

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the coup in Chile, when General Pinochet and the military – backed by US imperialism – overthrew the socialist government of Salvador Allende. Revolutionaries must fully absorb the lessons of these tragic events.