Red Valkyries Quotes

“In her own memoirs, Emma Goldman reports being deeply moved by the speech Alexandra Kollontai gave over the grave of John Reed, but Kollontai must have also had Armand in mind when she spoke these words: “We call ourselves Communists, but are we really that? Do we not rather draw the life essence from those who come to us, and when they are no longer of use, we let them fall by the wayside, neglected and forgotten? Our Communism and our comradeship are dead letters if we do not give out of ourselves to those who need us. Let us beware of such Communism. It slays the best in our ranks.”30”
― Kristen R. Ghodsee, Red Valkyries: Feminist Lessons From Five Revolutionary Women

“After April 1916, Armand distanced herself from Lenin, and pushed back against him in subtle and not so subtle ways. First, she chose to live on her own in various cities and towns around Switzerland, refusing to join Lenin and Krupskaya in Zurich where she would be subject to Lenin’s constant demands. Angelica Balabanova once recalled that “[Armand] spoke a number of languages fluently, and in all of them repeated Lenin verbatim,” but Armand’s willingness to parrot him abruptly ceased.21 She still did his translations into French and English, but she now refused to translate sentences that she disagreed with, which incensed Lenin. She also began challenging his ideas and pointing out instances where Lenin contradicted”
― Kristen R. Ghodsee, Red Valkyries: Feminist Lessons From Five Revolutionary Women