Opening session of the new IHC seminar — Communisms — dedicated to the study of communism in its many dimensions. With Alexander Reznik.

Civil War as Thought and Fought: the ‘Russian’ Case of 1917-1918

Communisms — Lisbon Research Seminars on History and Politics

A century later, the Russian Civil War remains a deeply contested topic in historical scholarship and political discourse. This presentation explores an under-researched aspect: the clashing political languages that framed the concept of “civil war” during the 1917-1922 conflict. Specifically, it examines how the term “civil war” was used to label and represent the conflict and advance the rival factions’ political agendas. The presentation will introduce an upcoming collective volume (soon to be published in Russian) and discuss the speaker’s chapter on the early stages of large-scale civil conflict in 1918. It argues that a critical factor driving societies into mass violence and terror is the distortion of political communication, which fuels conflicts over meanings. The ‘Russian’ case provides valuable insights into the role of political language, applicable to the study of civil wars, which remain among the most prevalent forms of conflict today.

About the speaker:
Alexander Reznik holds a PhD in Russian History. Currently, he is a DAAD stipend at Bielefeld University. His research interests include political culture, communication, and the languages of the Russian Civil War, focusing on the concept of ‘civil war,’ leader cults, and the biography of Leon Trotsky. His latest articles have been published in Kritika, History, Historical Materialism, among others.

About the seminar:
Communisms — Lisbon Research Seminars on History and Politics
The seminar is a meeting point for researchers dedicated to the study of communism in its many dimensions, from the political history of communist movements and parties to the analysis of the intellectual and cultural dimensions associated with it. The seminar also welcomes research on communism by political scientists, sociologists, anthropologists, and other social scientists. Organised by researchers from the Institute of Contemporary History at NOVA University Lisbon, the seminar is open to researchers from universities and independent researchers from anywhere in the world. Researchers wishing to present their work at the seminar should send proposals to the following e-mails: jneves@fcsh.unl.pt, azoffmann@fcsh.unl.pt, giuliastrippoli@fcsh.unl.pt. The sessions will take place in different locations around Lisbon.

Coordination: Arturo Zoffman Rodriguez, Giulia Strippoli, and José Neves.