In this wide-ranging and insightful work, Soma Marik defends the legacy of the Bolshevik Revolution, arguing against many of its detractors that the early communist regime was centrally concerned with both the liberation of women and the expansion of democracy.

Soma Marik teaches history at RKSM Vivekananda Vidyabhavan, Kolkata, and is a former visiting professor, School of Women's Studies, Jadavpur University. She is involved as an activist in the women's movement, through the Nari Nirjatan Pratirodh Mancha (Kolkata) and the network Das Theke Das Hajar, as well as with general democratic and anticommunal work. She has published extensively on class and gender relations in socialist and communist history.