Press release, 07.11.2014

The grandson of a well-known revolutionary, scientist, journalist, YABLOKO member Anton Antonov-Ovseyenko launched a book on Bolshevism called “Bolshevisks.1917” at Biblio-Globus book store. The author talked to the readers and answered their questions.

In his book Antonov-Ovseyenko answers the sharp questions about Bolsheviks and the money of the German General Staff. But there is no open agitation “for” or “against”.

“I wrote this book not to prove wether the General Staff had the money or not. I wrote it to find out how things actually went”, explained the author.

The author had been working in archives for year which helped him to find palnty of documentary evidence. The history of Antonov-Ovseyenko’s family played a big role as well. The grandson of a Bolshevik, son of an avid anti-Stalinist (head of the GULAG history museum), Antonov-Ovseyenko confessed that the evolution of views didn’t take place in their family.

“My grandfather was shot in 1938, my father spent 13 years in Stalin’s camps. Since childhood I was brought up within the atmosphere of hatred to Stalinism. At the same time my father my had always seen the difference between Bolsheviks, his father and Stalin”, said Antonov-Ovseyenko. He emphasized that Bolshevism wasn’t actuaaly fascism but Stalinism was close to it.

“A person shouldn’t take totalitarian regime as something natural. There must be something wrong with the person who wants to be ruled by someone”, said the author.

Antonov-Ovseyenko emphasized that is was a long way off dictatorship in Russia at the moment and Tsarism was only a child’s play in comparison with Bolshevism: “When Lenin lived in exile he could read books, keep in touch, write letters. Due to Bolsheviks we know what does “Ten years without the right of correspondence” mean. One could meet this clause in the protocols quite often at Stalin times.

According to the author, the studying of history in Russia is only beginning. “Our history is spoilt, poisoned with such shame. Unfortunately, this process continues up to now”.

Antonov-Ovseyenko used the state archives for information and managed to find some unique things.

“The book is written in a literary style as am a journalist in the first place, then the scientist. The book will be useful to those who take interest in history”.

The book is on sale in Russia and the countries of the near abroad including Belarus, Ukraine and Kazakhstan.