S3 E1: The Mother in Exile–Alexandra Sokolovskaya, the Creator of the Soviet Union

<p>Welcome back (or welcome for the first time) to Women of War, and an episode with all the horrors of the Russian Revolution, the cruelties of the Tsarist regime, the horrors of the Russian Civil War, the cruelties of the Bolshevik regime AND the absence of women from the historical narrative! Yay! Let's put this woman back in the narrative, stop wasting time on tears, she (did not) live another fifty years... </p> <p>This episode - meet one of the most influential women in modern history, who you’ve probably never heard of. Hear about Alexandra Sokolovskaya, the wife of some mildly interesting dude originally known as Lev Bronstein, and her struggle to bring an equal and socialist state to the Russian Empire. Spoilers: It did not work.</p> <p>Thanks to Dorian (here’s his<a href='https://twitter.com/sin_de_siecle'> twitter</a>) for voicework on this episode as the voices of Lev Bronstein and Varlam Shalamov. Dorian is a queer-, disability- and trans- rights activist and artist based in Melbourne. He also has a kofi:<a href='https://ko-fi.com/sindesiecle'> https://ko-fi.com/sindesiecle</a></p> <p>This episode contains references to or discussion of torture, war crimes and atrocities committed by the Bolsheviks, the Red Army, and Stalin, mass executions, starvation, anti-Semitism, frostbite, suicide, imprisonment, exile, mental illness, and murder. </p> <p>It also contains naughty language and so may not be suitable for all listeners. We put this warning in for the Americans, really. And Nicola’s parents. </p> <p>The views put forth in this podcast are not representative of our employers. This episode was recorded before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.</p> <p>All efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of the information presented in this podcast however with the nature of historical research, there may be mistakes or inconsistencies.</p> <p>The quotes by Leon Trotsky were taken and slightly adapted from his autobiography, “My Life: An Attempt at an Autobiography.” The Gulag quotes were lifted and edited f