Make the post!

The American parallels are hard to ignore. Like Tsarist Russia, our state plays an extremely reactionary role in crushing popular movements abroad. Our "masses" are suspicious, religious, (suburban, not feudal) peasants, what Matt calls "pringles in a tube." Like Russia in the early 20th century, we are experiencing national humiliations, social turmoil, and a large wave of strikes. Post 1905, Lenin and pals did the hard and slow work of reaching the urban working class through smuggled pamphlets and secret correspondence. Right until the very climax, the Bolsheviks were a small and semi-marginal movement, but unwavering dedication to the cause helped distinguish them as a focal point.

(It's an equally fascinating/depressing story how the American Communist movement degenerated into the domain of white middle class libs and intelligentsia.)