The Two Faces of Communism

After the failure of communist-inspired revolutions all over the world, Stalin put the Comintern on hold and decided to build socialism in one country. But the abandonment of proletarian internationalism will never be consecrated. One of the official dogmas of the new Russian thought is anti-fascism. The fight against far-right parties is a priority for Western communist parties, especially with the war in Spain, which gives goodwill the opportunity to go and fight within the International Brigades. In the Soviet Union, through five-year plans and Stakhanovism, they are trying to transform the country into a great industrial power.

A film by Patrick Rotman, Patrick Barberis
Produced by Michel Rotman
Written by Patrice Chereau
Series of documentaries Faith of the Century

All episodes:

Utopia in Power (1917-1928)
This volume covers 1900 to 1928, a period which saw the death of Lenin, the creation of the KGB and the coming to power of Stalin.

The Two Faces of Communism (1929-1939)
This episode includes Stalin's purge, Communism the defender of democracy, the great famine of the Ukraine and the Spanish civil war.

The Peak Years (1940-1953)
This episode includes the defeat of Germany, the take over of Eastern Europe, the Korean War and the Cold War.

End Without End (1953-1999)
This episode includes Stalin's death and Krushchev taking power, uprisings crushed in East Germany and Hungary, the propaganda of the space race, Castro taking over Cuba, Vietnam, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the unleashing of freedom, the remnants of a discredited philosophy.