A.K. 47 - Selections from the Works of Alexandra Kollontai

119 - A.K. 47 - Bonus Episode - Clara Zetkin on the Establishment of 8 March as International Communist Women's Day


Listen Later

To celebrate International Women's Day in 2023, Kristen Ghodsee reads an abridged version of Clara Zetkin's article on the official establishment of March 8 as International Communist Women's Day. The article is from International Press Correspondence, Vol. 2 No. 18, published on 8 March 1922. 

Clara Zetkin was the leader of the women's section of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) of Germany, and a close friend and mentor to Alexandra Kollontai when the latter was in exile in Western Europe. Both Kollontai and Zetkin were in attendance in 1910 at the 2nd International Conference of Socialist Women where the assembled delegates voted to establish an international women's day once a year. The date of 8 March, however, was only firmly established internationally after the 1922 congress in Moscow, in honor of the women's demonstration that kicked off the February revolution in Russia (which occurred on 8 March by the Western calendar). Zetkin's passionate article clearly shows that IWD was meant to do more than merely celebrate women. It was supposed to be a mass recruitment event to bring new men and women into the struggle against the continued ravages of capitalism.

Mentioned in this episode is the starred review in Publishers Weekly of Ghodsee's forthcoming book, Everyday Utopia.

From the archives: my pre-pandemic ode to International Women's Day in the New York Times (paywall)

Send us a text

Thanks so much for listening. This podcast has no Patreon-type account and receives no funding. There are no ads and there is no monetization. If you'd like to support the work being done here, please spread the word with your networks.

Kristen R. Ghodsee is the award-winning author of twelve books and Professor of Russian and East European Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. Check out Kristen Ghodsee's recent books:

  • Everyday Utopia
  • Red Valkyries
  • Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism
  • Second World, Second Sex

Subscribe to Kristen Ghodsee’s free, episodic newsletter at: https://kristenghodsee.substack.com

Learn more about Kristen Ghodsee's work: www.kristenghodsee.com or request to follow her on Instagram @prof_kristen

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

A.K. 47 - Selections from the Works of Alexandra KollontaiBy Kristen R. Ghodsee

  • 5
  • 5
  • 5
  • 5
  • 5

5

98 ratings