Anonymous Comrade writes:

"The Praxis Research and Education Centre

International research-practical conference

The anti-totalitarian left,

past and future

Moscow, 21-22 June 2003

This conference is being organised to coincide with the re-opening of
Moscows library of democratic and libertarian socialism, the Victor Serge
Library.
The purpose of the conference is to discuss the historical experience of,
and perspectives for development of, the social, political and intellectual
tendencies comprising the anti-totalitarian left in Russia and
internationally.

We invite contributions to the conference on the following themes:


The left: criteria of (self-)identification, its core values.

The
scope and differentiation of the left spectrum.

The left and the
pseudo-left.

The success and failure of the left in the twentieth century.


The historical experience of communism, social democracy and anarchism.

Socialist heretics and dissidents.

Left alternatives in the Russian revolution of 1917-1921.

The
character and historical fate of Bolshevism.

Lessons of the degeneration of
the revolution.


The struggle of the left against totalitarianism.


How socialists
understood the totalitarian system.

The social basis of the left.

The evolution and transformation of
the working class in the twentieth century.

The objective conditions of the lefts activity.

Capitalism:
development or decline?

Globalisation: ally or enemy?

Alternative
strategies for the left in the 21st century.

The present-day understanding of socialism. The imperative for the
renewal of socialist doctrines. New directions in left social and political
thought. Is a synthesis of left traditions possible? Integration of the
experience of new social movements.
 Perspectives for the revival of democratic and libertarian
socialism in Russia. The struggle to influence civil society and overcome
marginalisation. Problems of socialist education and political practice.
Those who wish to take part in the conference should contact us by 1 May
2003.

To contact the organising committee:

By post: Russia, 109443 Moscow, box 7.

Fax: (7)095 504 4500. Write prominently on the top: Box 385.

E-mail: praxis2001@mail.ru

Telephone (weekdays) (7)095 278 8156.

The Victor Serge Library re-opening in 2003

We are pleased to announce that the Victor Serge Library, Moscows library
of alternative socialist and radical thought, is re-opening in spring 2003
in new premises, within the framework of the Moscow city public library
system.

The Victor Serge library, named after the socialist writer and fighter
against totalitarianism, Victor Serge, aims to acquaint the public with the
great wealth of radical and alternative ideas that were forbidden in Soviet
times and are hardly heard in present-day Russia, including the many
strands of democratic and libertarian socialism which opposed
totalitarianism.

The Library was set up in May 1997 by a group of Moscow scholars,
journalists and political activists with the support of International
Victor Serge Foundation. Today its unique collection has grown to 4000
books, pamphlets and journals in Russian, English, French, German, Spanish
and
Italian. It is the only place in Russia where readers can find works
written from critical perspectives on social science, Marxism, anarchism,
trade-unionism, human rights, environmentalism, and the history of workers
and liberation movements in various countries. The Library is thus a unique
and invaluable resource for Russian students, academics, activists and
young readers who are trying to develop a critical view of the world and
thinking about how to change it. The Library is also used as a sort of club
where
discussions, lectures, seminars and gathering of various left-wing
organisations take place.
Praxis, the political and publishing group that run the Victor Serge
Library, has recently made an agreement with the Moscow public library
authority under which its collection of literature (the Victor Serge
Memorial Fund) moves from its previous damp, overcrowded premises to the
new one, much bigger and with better facilities. We hope that this will
provide a new stimulus for the development both of the Library and of
Praxis activities.

If you visit Moscow, make sure you go to see the library!

Address: City Library no.10, ulitsa Verkhnyaya Khokhlovka 39/47.
Telephone: (7)095 278 8156.

Note: Verkhnyaya Khokhlovka is a small housing estate and the buildings are
not in number order. Number 39/47 is behind number 83.

Directions: take the metro to Marksistskaya station (on line no.8, the
yellow line, interchange with Taganskaya station on the circle line). Get
any bus or taxi/minibus along ulitsa Taganskaya, a main road going
south-east, which soon changes its name to ulitsa Nizhegorodskaya. Ask for
Khokhlovka, the last stop before the road changes its name again, to
Ryazansky prospekt. It is 15 minutes by bus and less than 5 minutes by foot
from the bus stop."