“How did you become what you are, Pasha?”
Praskovya Angelina, affectionately known as Pasha Angelina, takes issue with an American Encyclopaedia's recognition of her as being a 'distinguished person'. In this autobiographical piece she lays out the story of her life from peasant farmer to deputy of the Supreme Soviet and takes us on a journey through collectivisation and the Soviet psyche during some of the most hopeful, and the most desperate times of modern human history.
Join us as we discuss Pasha Angelina's 'My Answer to an American Questionnaire', in which we learn the about the strength and humility of this Hero of Socialist Labour, contrast the mindsets of people living under socialism with those living under capitalism, discover the indomitable spirit of the Soviet people and learn how one of the most distinguished citizens of her era understood the concept fame.
This episode is part of our series on Marxist feminists. As Mao and Thomas Sankara said, “Women hold up the other half of the sky.” Red Book Club recognizes that including the voices of nonmen in our studies is not a niche activity, but is in fact an essential step in gaining the most comprehensive view of the material conditions of the past and present as we possibly can; so we’ve planned this series to amplify the ideas that nonmen have been bringing to the conversation for centuries. From Federici’s analysis of women as a means of primitive accumulation to Luxemburg’s essay of the benefits of revolution vs the impossibility of reform, each of these works confronts history and the movement for social change through the lens of the experiences of nonmen in society.
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Outro music: Марш женских бригад - Женского хора и оркестра ГАБТ СССР
[March of the Women's Brigades - Female Choir and Orchestra of the Bolshoi Theatre of the USSR]
