REDS – Die Roten

Appeal

Support the Victor Serge Public Library
in Moscow

The Victor Serge Public Library in Moscow has been operating for more than three years. Named after the well-known socialist writer and fighter against totalitarianism, the library aims to acquaint the public with the great wealth of radical and alternative ideas that were forbidden in Soviet times and are hardly heard in present-day Russia, including the many strands of democratic and libertarian socialism which opposed Stalinism.

The library opened in May 1997, when we were able to find a public space in high-rent Moscow to house a container-load of radical books donated by sympathizers in the US. Today the library’s unique collection has grown to 3,000 books, pamphlets and journals in Russian and other languages. It is the only place in Russia where readers can find many works written from critical perspectives on literature, social science, Marxism, anarchism, syndicalism, Trotskyism, feminism, trade unionism and the history of workers’ movement in various countries.

The library is thus a treasure house for Russian students, academics, activists and young readers who are trying to develop a critical view of the world and thinking about how to change it. The library is also used as a sort of club where discussions, lectures, seminars and gatherings of various left-wing organizations take place.

In 1999 the library’s supporters formed the Praxis Research and Study Center to undertake publications, research and the organization of conferences on political and social themes. The Center’s first publication – our Russian translation (the first ever) of Memoirs of A Revolutionary, by Victor Serge – is due out later this year. Other projects, including a translation of Serge’s novel Conquered City, and a collection of previously unpublished documents from the communist opposition of the 1920s, will follow.

The steady growth both of our collection and of our readership mean that we badly need to move to new premises. We need to establish an internet site, refine our computerized catalog, and ensure the regular receipt of periodicals. We need to grow, and that requires funds.

Since we opened the library, we have made many friends around the world – radicals and progressives in academia, left-wing activists and others. Your collaboration and support mean a great deal to us. Now we propose to set up the Friends of the Victor Serge Library as an international organization to unite all those who have become, or are happy to become, our friends. The future of this library, unique in Russia, depends to a large extent on the solidarity of those who understand the importance of establishing genuine socialist traditions in our country – which has played in the past, and will play in the future, such a vital part in the development of international movements of social liberation.

This appeal is supported by:

• Tariq Ali, writer and broadcaster, UK
• Bob Arnot, Glasgow Caledonian University, UK
• Ian Birchall, writer and translator, UK
• Terry Brotherstone, historian, University of Aberdeen, UK
• Pierre Broue, historian, France
• Alex Buchman, former bodyguard of Leon Trotsky and labor activist, USA
• Kirill Buketov, Moscow representative, International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers Associations (IUF) (in a personal capacity), Russia
• Aleksandr Buzgalin, editor of Alternativy, Moscow State University, Russia
• Marc Cooper, producer of Radio Nation, author of Roll Over Che Guevara and Pinochet and Me, USA
• Samuel Farber, Professor of Political Science, Brooklyn College, City University of New York, USA
• Don Filtzer, historian of Soviet labour, UK
• Frank Fried, veteran labor activist, USA
• Dan Gallin, chair, Global Labor Institute, Switzerland
• Richard Greeman, translator of Victor Serge’s novels, France
• Aleksei Gusev, historian, Moscow State University, Russia
• Christopher Hitchens, author and columnist for The Nation and Vanity Fair, USA
• Michael Hudson, president of Institute for the Study of Long Term Economic Trends, USA
• Boris Kagarlitsky, author and journalist, Russia
• Vlady Kibalchich, son of Victor Serge, Mexico
• Ken Loach, film director (Land and Freedom, Carla’s Song, My Name Is Joe, and many others), UK
• Jean-Jacques Marie, historian, France
• Ardeshir Mehrdad, editor, Iran Bulletin, Iran
• Cathy Nugent, editor, Action for Solidarity, UK
• Stephen Schwartz, journalist, USA
• Mohamad Reza Shalgouni, author, Iran
• Ahmed Shawki, editor, International Socialist Review, USA
• Daniel Singer, author of Whose Millennium? Theirs or Ours?, USA (deceased)
• Francisco Sobrino, editorial board of Herramienta, Argentina
• David Temple, former Durham Mechanics executive member, National Union of Mineworkers, and organiser of solidarity with Russian and Ukrainian miners, UK
• Hillel Ticktin, University of Glasgow, UK
• Esteban Volkov, grandson of Leon Trotsky, Mexico
• Mikhail Voyekov, Institute of Economics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia
• Alan Wald, author and cultural editor of Against the Current, USA
• Suzi Weissman, St Mary’s College, USA

Please return this letter to us, indicating what support you are able to give:

1. [  ]   I would like to become a Friend of the library, sign this letter for further circulation, and receive information about the library.
2. [  ]   I agree to make an annual donation of (  ) $50, (  ) $100 (  ) other.
3. [  ]   I would like to donate some books. Please get in touch.

How to get in touch with the Victor Serge Library

Correspondence to the library should marked for “BOX 385” and sent by fax to (+7) 095 292 6511.

The postal address is: Russia, Moscow 113639, Balaklavskii prospekt 4-6-365, Obshchestvennaya biblioteka imeni Viktora Serzha.

The library is ten minutes by foot from Chertanovskaya metro station (about 20 minutes from the centre of Moscow). We are open every Saturday from 12.00 to 17.00, and every Tuesday from 18.00 to 21.00. It is advisable to let us know in advance if you are coming a long way!

To send donations and/or join the Friends of the Victor Serge Library

You may post letters and cheques to: Friends of Victor Serge Library, PO Box 32417, London SE18 2WY, United Kingdom. Cheques may be in sterling, euros or dollars.

Sterling and euro cheques may be credited directly to our account: Friends of Victor Serge Library, a/c number 20096078, Unity Trust Bank, 9 Brindley Place, 4 Oozells Square, Birmingham B1 2HB, United Kingdom. Sort code 086001. Dollar cheques may be sent to our UK post office box; we expect to have a dollar account soon and will let you know the details on request.

Send correspondence for the Friends of the Victor Serge Library to friendsvsl@hotmail.com, or by fax to (+44) 20 8333 2152. Please note these should NOT be used for correspondence to the library itself.

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Last updated on 14.4.2001