“An original and much needed analysis of an important but neglected aspect of the legacy of the Russian Revolution…. Essential reading.”—Mary Davis, Marx Memorial Library   From Cuba to Vietnam, China to South Africa, the October Revolution of 1917 inspired millions of people beyond the territory of Russia. It proved that the masses could not only overthrow autocratic governments, but that they could also form an opposing government in their own image.   The new idea that the working class and the peasantry could be allied, combined with the clear strength and necessity of a vanguard party, guided multiple revolutions across the globe.  Here is much-needed antidote to all the glum histories written on the demise of the Soviet Union. Vijay Prashad throws a spotlight on the way the Russian Revolution was seen and received in the countries colonized by European empires. With Russia as an inspiration and providing support, suddenly workers and peasants, those left out of capitalist prosperity, organized and attempted to create for themselves real socialist revolution. Prashad’s chapters include:   *Eastern Graves *Red October *Follow the Path of the Russians *The Lungs of Russia *Soviet Asia *Enemy of Imperialism *Eastern Marxism *Colonial Fascism *Polycentric Communism *Memories of Communism   The author writes in this Preface, “It has been a quarter-century since the demise of the USSR. And yet, the marks of the October Revolution remain—not just in the territories of the USSR but more so in what used to be known as the Third World. From Cuba to Vietnam, from China to South Africa, the October Revolution remains as an inspiration. After all, that Revolution proved that the working class and the peasantry could not only overthrow an autocratic government but it could form its own government.”   This book explains the power of the October Revolution in the Global South. From Ho Chí Minh to Fidel Castro, reflections on polycentric communism, and collective memories of communism, it shows how, for a brief moment, another world was possible.    'An original and much needed analysis of an important but neglected aspect of the legacy of the Russian Revolution. Prashad insightfully explains how Lenin's development of Marxist theory has inspired revolutionary practice in the Third World. Essential reading' - Mary Davis, Marx Memorial Library 'This is the real story of the Russian Revolution and no one tells it more powerfully, poetically, and honestly than Vijay Prashad' - Robin D. G. Kelley, author of 'Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination' 'This is the real story of the Russian Revolution and no one tells it more powerfully, poetically, and honestly than Vijay Prashad' 'An original and much needed analysis of an important but neglected aspect of the legacy of the Russian Revolution. Prashad insightfully explains how Lenin's development of Marxist theory has inspired revolutionary practice in the Third World. Essential reading' 'An almost perfect mix of history and analysis in this slender book ... packs a revolutionary punch' Vijay Prashad is the executive director of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research. He is the author or editor of several books, including  The Darker Nations: A Biography of the Short-Lived Third World  and  The Poorer Nations: A Possible History of the Global South .  He writes regularly for  Frontline , the Hindu ,  AlterNet , and  BirGun .