This year marks the 100 year anniversary of the Russian Revolution – a momentous event in human history. In 1917, Russian women garment workers went on strike. They were protesting the desperate poverty caused by the first World War, symbolised in the infamous bread queues. On International Women’s Day, March 8, before the morning was out, tens of thousands of women textile workers were on strike. Joined by housewives, they marched to the metal factories demanding that the (mostly male) workers join them. It sparked the revolution, the overthrow of the Tsar and the attempt to build a new world order.

What happened to the gains of the revolution? What’s the meaning of socialism in this centenary year? How do we understand the failure, collapse and rejection of the totalitarian soviet model of socialism? And most importantly, what are the tasks for the international workers of the world, to realise a just and fair society for all?

To discuss these issues and more, I am joined by Beatrix Campbell, writer, broadcaster and feminists activist based in the UK. Campbell is on a speaking tour in Australia, hosted by the SEARCH foundation, discussing the issues that face working people of the world in light of the 100 year anniversary of the Russian Revolution.