This post was written by Jeff Howarth, Librarian of the TUC Library Collections at London Metropolitan University. To borrow this exhibition please contact him, j.howarth@londonmet.ac.uk.

To celebrate the centenary of the Russian Revolution the TUC Library has produced an exciting new exhibition entitled The Russian Revolution and its Impact on the Left in Britain, 1917-1926.

In the years following 1917, the aftershocks of the Russian Revolution fundamentally reshaped the politics of the British left. Amidst the turmoil that extended from the end of the First World War in 1918 to the General Strike in 1926, events in Russia seemed, in the eyes of many, to offer new possibilities for political, social and economic change.

Drawing on the TUC Library’s extensive collections, this new exhibition documents the attempts of British socialists and trade unionists to interpret, emulate and come to terms with the revolution, revealing the extent to which Russia’s socialist experiment challenged accepted notions of internationalism, solidarity and class consciousness
not just at home but overseas.

This exhibition has been produced with funding from the Amiel Melburn Trust, and has been curated by Dr Ben Phillips, and designed by Becky Shand.

The exhibition is currently touring the country at various venues.