Left Is Best Library

Public Domain Communist Texts


About

I'm Aubrey, a communist in the Pacific Northwest. I like reading theory and document formatting.

There are texts that deserve to be read, that too few have, and whose availability is painfully limited considering they have fallen into the public domain. They may be available in some capacity, like a middling PDF scan on Archive.org, but certainly not well-formatted or as ebooks. This project is an attempt to fulfill this need.

In addition, my curiosity about reporting on the Soviet Union and its relation to and perspective on international affairs—particularly as regards to other socialist projects and western meddling therein—led me to start collecting news articles from the era I can't find online otherwise.

If you find any errors in formatting or spelling or whatnot, or have a recommendation for a text to transcribe, please email aubrey@leftis.best and I'll see what I can do. Enjoy, and solidarity.


Articles

Soviet Education 📸

Beatrice Kinkead

Originally published in the July 1941 issue of Soviet Russia Today, this brief article explores the methods and curriculum of Soviet schools at that time.

The Drive That Took Berlin 📸

Anna Louise Strong, 1945

Originally published as an article in the June 1945 issue of Soviet Russia Today, a magazine published by the Friends of the Soviet Union. Completely unavailable online. Details contemporaneous reporting on the final battle that secured the fall of Berlin at the end of the Great Patriotic War, with heartwrenching details of the people who were there.

The Colonial War in Korea

Frederick V. Field, 1950

Originally published in the August 1950 issue of Soviet Russia Today. Details the events leading up to the U.S. involvement in Korea and their colonial war supporting their puppet in South Korea, as well as the relation to the U.S. support of Taiwan (called Formosa here).

Pravda

Izvestia


Books

In North Korea: First Eye-Witness Report

Anna Louise Strong, 1949

Strong's 1949 reporting of her 1947 visit to North Korea, originally published in Soviet Russia Today, exploring the reality on the ground in the northern division of Korea after World War II. Most western sources were replete with western propaganda, making her interviews and analysis especially valuable.

The Stalin Era

Anna Louise Strong, 1956

Strong's 1956 reflection on the Stalin Era, considering the claims of Khrushchev's secret speech in the context of the Soviet Union's achievements and shortcomings from the revolution to, through, and beyond World War 2.