109 Years Since the Great October Socialist Revolution
109 YEARS SINCE THE GREAT OCTOBER SOCIALIST REVOLUTION
109 years have passed since the victory of the Great October Socialist Revolution, one of the most significant and far-reaching events in the history of humankind.
On November 7, 1917, according to the Gregorian calendar, the workers, peasants and revolutionary soldiers of Russia, led by the Bolshevik Party and Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, overthrew the rule of the bourgeoisie and ushered in a new era — the era of building a socialist society.
The October Revolution was not merely the replacement of one government by another. It marked a historic break with a system based on the exploitation of man by man and demonstrated that the working class, in alliance with the peasantry and other oppressed strata of society, could seize political power and begin building a society founded on social justice, solidarity and social ownership of the means of production.
Under the revolutionary slogans "Peace, Land, Bread" and "All Power to the Soviets", the Bolsheviks expressed the deepest aspirations of millions of people exhausted by war, poverty and centuries of injustice.
The first decrees of Soviet power were devoted to peace and land. The new government initiated Russia's withdrawal from the imperialist war, the abolition of large landed estates and the transfer of land to the peasantry. These measures were followed by the nationalisation of major industries and banks, the establishment of new systems of education, healthcare and social security, as well as measures aimed at achieving women's equality and recognising the right of nations to self-determination.
For the first time in history, a state was established that proclaimed the abolition of class exploitation and the construction of socialism as its fundamental objectives.
The victory of the October Revolution marked the beginning of a complex and contradictory, yet historically significant process of socialist construction. Despite civil war, foreign military intervention, economic blockade and enormous destruction, the Soviet state managed to survive and become one of the world's leading powers.
Within a relatively short historical period, the Soviet Union achieved remarkable progress in industrialisation, electrification, education, science, culture and technological development. Mass illiteracy was eradicated, millions of people gained access to education and healthcare, and opportunities for social advancement opened up to the working class that had been unimaginable under Tsarist Russia.
The Soviet Union became a country of great scientific achievements, from the development of modern industry to the conquest of space. The launch of the world's first artificial satellite in 1957 and Yuri Gagarin's historic spaceflight in 1961 became symbols of the scientific and technological progress achieved under socialism.
A particularly important place in the historical legacy of October belongs to the decisive contribution of the Soviet Union to the victory over Nazi Germany. The heroic struggle of the Red Army, from Moscow and Stalingrad to Berlin, accompanied by the enormous sacrifices of the Soviet peoples, was decisive in the defeat of Hitlerite fascism in Europe.
The victory over fascism created favourable conditions for the strengthening of socialist and national liberation movements, while the Soviet Union became an important source of support for the anti-colonial struggles of the peoples of Asia, Africa and Latin America.
At the same time, the achievements of socialism also influenced the position of workers in capitalist countries. The fear of the ruling classes that the revolutionary movement might spread, together with the organised struggle of trade unions and workers' parties, contributed to the recognition of numerous social rights, the limitation of working hours, and the expansion of public healthcare, pension insurance and education.
For the peoples of the Yugoslav lands, the October Revolution holds particular historical significance. It was not merely a distant event that influenced the development of the workers' movement in the Balkans. People from the territories that would later form Yugoslavia directly participated in the revolutionary events in Russia, fought alongside the Bolsheviks and took part in the defence of the young Soviet state.
Upon returning to their homeland, many participants in the revolutionary events in Russia joined the workers' and communist movements, bringing with them the experience of revolutionary struggle and the ideas of proletarian internationalism.
Under the direct influence of the October Revolution and Lenin's ideas, the Socialist Workers' Party of Yugoslavia (Communists) was founded in Belgrade in April 1919. In 1920, it adopted the name Communist Party of Yugoslavia.
The establishment of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia (CPY) marked a historic turning point in the organisation of the revolutionary workers' movement of the Yugoslav peoples. Despite bans, persecution, arrests and the repression of the monarchist regime, the communist movement continued its struggle for workers' rights, social justice, national equality and the revolutionary transformation of society.
It was precisely from this movement, built upon the ideas of Marxism-Leninism, that the force emerged which organised and led the National Liberation Struggle of the Yugoslav peoples during the Second World War.
The victory over fascism in 1945 and the establishment of socialist Yugoslavia represented a new stage in the historical development of the Yugoslav workers' movement, whose ideological roots were deeply connected with the October Revolution.
Although the historical paths and policies of the Soviet Union and socialist Yugoslavia later diverged, the fact remains that the October Revolution had a decisive influence on the emergence, ideological formation and development of the Yugoslav communist movement.
The dissolution of the Soviet Union and the restoration of capitalist relations in the countries of Eastern Europe at the end of the twentieth century represented a severe historical defeat for socialism and the international communist movement.
However, that defeat cannot erase the historical achievements of the October Revolution, nor can it prove that capitalism is the final and unchangeable form of social organisation.
On the contrary, the contemporary world continues to be marked by profound class inequalities, the concentration of wealth in the hands of a privileged few, the exploitation of labour, imperialist conflicts, wars and growing insecurity in the lives of working people.
While a vast proportion of humanity lives in poverty or economic uncertainty, wealth and economic power are increasingly concentrated in the hands of big capital and transnational corporations.
Workers' rights, won through decades of difficult struggle, remain under constant attack. The privatisation of public assets, precarious forms of employment, rising living costs and the commercialisation of healthcare and education reveal the contradictions of the capitalist system.
Under such conditions, the ideals of the October Revolution — social ownership, working-class power, social equality, peace and international solidarity — retain their historical and political relevance.
The historical experience of socialist construction, with all its achievements, contradictions and mistakes, requires serious study and critical examination. Yet no mistake, nor any subsequent historical defeat, can erase the fact that the October Revolution, for the first time in world history, opened the way for the long-term construction of a state based on working-class power.
For the New Communist Party of Yugoslavia (NKPJ), the Great October Socialist Revolution is not merely an important historical anniversary, but an enduring ideological and political legacy of the international communist movement. It reminds us that social progress does not come about on its own, but through the organised struggle of the working class, political consciousness, solidarity and determination to overcome relations of exploitation.
One hundred and nine years after the historic October Revolution, its most important message remains unchanged: working people have both the right and the ability to determine their own destiny and to build a society in which human beings and their needs take precedence over profit and the interests of capital.
The history of the October Revolution remains a testament to the fact that another world is possible — a world in which labour, solidarity, equality and peace form the foundations of social development.
Long live the Great October Socialist Revolution!
Long live proletarian internationalism!
Long live the struggle for socialism!
NEW COMMUNIST PARTY OF YUGOSLAVIA (NKPJ)
Belgrade, November 7, 2026
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