{"podcast":{"title":"The Sickle and the Hammer: A Socialist History of the Soviet Union","slug":"the-sickle-and-the-hammer-a-socialist-history-of-the-soviet-union-7173656","podcast_index_feed_id":7173656,"rss_url":"https://media.rss.com/sovietpod/feed.xml","website_url":"https://rss.com/podcasts/sovietpod","image_url":"https://media.rss.com/sovietpod/20260416_110407_192b98dc172444cece4e8874acd3580a.png","author":"Daniel","episode_count":49,"summary":"We are often told the USSR was an oppressive, authoritarian society, lacking freedom and democracy. There were endless purges that claimed the lives of millions of “dissidents,” purges that were designed for one thing and one thing only: to keep power in the hands of those who wielded it. And as we all know, the economy was based on socialist and communist principles, which is why it barely functioned at all. There were endless famines, genocides against minorities within the nation, and an industrial base that was constantly tottering on the edge of collapse. But instead of trying to address these issues at home, the leaders of the USSR were fixated only on world domination, on spreading communism in order to destroy freedom around the world. From Europe and Asia to Latin America and Africa, the Communists were a threat to freedom the world over. …. Or were they? Learn the story of the Union of Soviet Socialists Republic you’ve never heard! What was life really like in the Soviet Union? How authoritarian was it? Did a “totalitarian” state really exist? How did the economy function to meet the needs of its citizens? How were the governing apparatus structured? And were the Soviets…","last_synced_at":"2026-07-07T00:22:14.036803+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-sickle-and-the-hammer-a-socialist-history-of-the-soviet-union-7173656"},"episode":{"title":"27 - Introduction to the National Question","slug":"27-introduction-to-the-national-question","published_at":"2026-06-07T14:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-sickle-and-the-hammer-a-socialist-history-of-the-soviet-union-7173656/27-introduction-to-the-national-question","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-sickle-and-the-hammer-a-socialist-history-of-the-soviet-union-7173656","url":"https://rss.com/podcasts/sovietpod/2872161","audio_url":"https://content.rss.com/episodes/311764/2872161/sovietpod/2026_05_31_01_22_04_38563330-5f31-4cea-910b-70684fa06553.mp3","summary":"What attitude ought socialists and communists have to the question of national self-determination? Survey says: Ask Lenin and Stalin! Please consider supporting me on Patreon at patreon.com/sovietpod or buymeacoffee.com/sovietpod. Sources: Natsional’ny Vopros v Nashei Programme - V. I. Lenin, published in “Iskra” 15 July 1903 Kriticheskie zametki o natsional’nom voproce - V. I. Lenin, published in “Prosveshchenie”, November-December 1913 Rabochii klass i natsional’ny vopros - V. I. Lenin, published in “Pravda” 10 May 1913 Nuzhen li obyazatelny yazyk? - V. I. Lenin, published in “Proletarskaya Pravda” 18 January 1914 O Prave Natsii Na Samoopredelenie - V. I. Lenin, 1914 O Natsional’noi Gordosti Velikorossov - V. I. Lenin, published in “Sotsial-Demokrat”, 12 December 1914 Revoliutsionny Proletariat i Pravo Natsii na Samoopredelenie - V. I. Lenin, 16 October 1915 Marksizm i Natsional’ny Vopros, J. V. Stalin, 1906. Texts found on leninism.su and marxist.org","meta_description":"What attitude ought socialists and communists have to the question of national self-determination? Survey says: Ask Lenin and Stalin! Please consider supp…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3458,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-sickle-and-the-hammer-a-socialist-history-of-the-soviet-union-7173656/episodes/27-introduction-to-the-national-question/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-sickle-and-the-hammer-a-socialist-history-of-the-soviet-union-7173656/27-introduction-to-the-national-question.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}