Selected Writings of Alexandra Kollontai

Alexandra Kollontaithe only woman member of the Bolshevik central committee and the USSRs first Minister of Social Welfareis known today as a historic contributor to the international womens movement and as one of the first Bolshevik leaders to oppose the growth of the bureaucracy in the young socialist state. Her Selected Writings discuss the social democratic movement before the First World War the history of the Russian womens movement and the debate between feminist and socialist women; the effects of the war on European socialism; the revolutions; the part played by women in the revolutionary events; the early manifestations of bureaucracy and Kollontais role as spokeswoman for the workers opposition; and morality sexual politics the family and prostitution. It also includes writings from her later life as a Soviet official. Each section is introduced by a commentary in which Alix Holt explains the background and critically sets Kollontais unique lifework in its historical and biographical contexts demonstrating both its necessary limitations and its extraordinary range.