A. P. KORELIN, S. V. TYUTYUKIN. The Revolutionary Situation in Russia in the Early 1900's

The authors analyse three main components of the revolutionary situation of 1901 - 1904 in Russia: crisis of the apparatus of government, deteriorating conditions of the working people in town and country, upsurge of the revolutionary struggle. The crisis was aggravated by the complex intertwining of social contradictions caused by the survivals of feudalism and emergent capitalism. The appearance of the working class on the historical scene, and the rise of the new type Marxist revolutionary party, facilitated the growing of the revolutionary situation, for the first time in Russia, into the 1905 revolution.

M. A. MOLODTSYGIN. The Red Guard Following the October 1917 Revolution

The article is devoted to one of the less-studied periods in the history of the Red Guard; the author analyses documents of the central Party and state bodies defining the functions of the Red Guard after the Revolution. Documents of local Soviets and other source materials including archival records are widely drawn upon. This enabled the author to describe the many-sided role of the Red Guard after the Revolution, and the history of separate detachments. The author dwells in detail on the process by which the Red Guard became part of the Red Army.

Yu. M. KUKUSHKIN. From the Experience of the Portuguese Revolution

The author analyses some of the crucial moments of the revolutionary process in Portugal, the role of the Communist Party in the preparation and performance of the revolution of April 25th, 1974, the Communist strategy and tactics of deepening the national-democratic revolution and upholding its gains. The author also discusses the role of the Movement of the Armed Forces in the overthrow of the fascist dictatorship, causes of its split, the opportunist and reformist tactics of the Socialist Party, the counter-revolutionary activity of the reactionary forces, their attempts to deprive the working people of the fruits of their heroic struggle.

P. P. TOPEKHA. Social and Political Changes in Post-War Japan

The article deals with the changes in the political system, capitalist structure, labour, civil and agrarian relations, education and religion, set out in the Japanese Constitution of 1947, the Civil Code and other legislative acts. These changes, the author notes, freed Japanese imperialism of its militarist and feudal traits, and it acquired the characteristics of modern state-monopoly capitalism. There thus came into being a new system of its domination over the people and this is fraught with the further aggravation of internal contradictions and the class struggle. These changes played a prominent part in the conjuncture of factors that powered Japan's rapid economic development in the 1960s.

A. M. LEDOVSKY. The Maoists' Clandestine Contacts with American Diplomacy in 1949

The article highlights the clandestine contacts of American diplomacy with the Mao Zedong grouping in 1949, on the eve of the victorious Chinese revolution. Washington tried to use the nationalistic elements in the Communist Party of China in order to save the Kuomintang regime from utter defeat and to retain the positions of American imperialism in China. Mao Zedong and his closest associates were prepared to go all lengths to seize political power in the country and strike a bargain with American imperialism for the sake of attaining their selfish aims. This conspiracy was thwarted by the victorious development of the people's revolution which enjoyed broad international support from the forces of democracy and socialism and which relied on the Soviet Union's internationalist assistance.

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