People usually get history wrong. They think the Cold War was just two big guys in suits—Washington and Moscow—staring each other down while everyone else just sat there waiting to see who would win. It’s a boring way to look at the world. Honestly, it’s also pretty inaccurate. If you actually want to understand how the modern world was built, you have to look at Red Star Over the Third World.
Vijay Prashad wrote this book to flip the script. It’s not just a dry academic text about the Soviet Union. It’s a story about hope, desperate struggle, and what happens when people who have been stepped on for centuries finally decide they’ve had enough. You’ve probably heard of the Russian Revolution of 1917. Most history books treat it like a European event that ended up being a disaster. But for a farmer in India or a worker in Egypt in the 1920s? It was the "Big Bang."
The Dream of 1917 Outside of Europe
The thing about Red Star Over the Third World is that it focuses on the "periphery." Prashad argues that the October Revolution wasn't just a Russian thing. It was a global signal. Before 1917, if you lived in a colony, you were basically told that white European rule was inevitable. It was the "natural order." Then, suddenly, this massive empire called Tsarist Russia collapses, and the people taking over are saying that colonialism is a crime.
Imagine being a young activist in Vietnam or Mexico at that time.
It changed everything.
Prashad dives deep into how the Bolsheviks—specifically through the Comintern—started reaching out to what we now call the Global South. They weren't just looking for allies; they were providing a blueprint. This wasn't about "exporting" revolution like a product. It was about shared trauma. The peasantry in Russia looked a lot like the peasantry in Asia. They were poor. They were illiterate. They were tired of being cannon fodder for imperial wars.
Why the Baku Congress Changed Everything
In 1920, there was this massive meeting called the Congress of the Peoples of the East in Baku. If you haven't heard of it, you're not alone. It’s often skipped in Western schools. But in Red Star Over the Third World, Prashad highlights it as a pivotal moment. There were almost 2,000 delegates there from all over Asia and the Middle East.
💡 You might also like: 39 Carl St and Kevin Lau: What Actually Happened at the Cole Valley Property
They weren't all Marxists.
Some were nationalists. Some were religious leaders. Some were just curious. But they all gathered to figure out how to kick out the British, the French, and the Dutch. This is where the "Red Star" starts to shine over the Third World. The Soviets basically told them: "We will give you the tools, the theory, and the political backing to be free."
It’s easy to be cynical now. We know how the USSR ended. But back then? It was pure electricity. Prashad doesn't shy away from the messiness, but he insists we acknowledge the genuine spark of liberation that 1917 provided to people who had been written out of history.
The Peasantry as a Revolutionary Force
One of the most interesting parts of the book is how Marxism had to change to survive in the Third World. Classic Marxism was all about the factory worker. The "proletariat." But in places like China, India, or Africa, there weren't many factories. There were farms.
Lots of them.
Prashad explains how thinkers like Mao Zedong or Ho Chi Minh took the "Red Star" and adapted it. They realized that if the revolution was going to happen in the Third World, it had to belong to the peasants. This was a huge shift. It meant that socialism became synonymous with national liberation. To be a socialist in the Third World wasn't just about wages; it was about dignity. It was about owning the land you worked on.
📖 Related: Effingham County Jail Bookings 72 Hours: What Really Happened
Key Figures Mentioned by Prashad:
- M.N. Roy: An Indian revolutionary who actually debated Lenin. He pushed the Soviets to take the colonial struggle more seriously.
- Tan Malaka: The "Father of the Indonesian Republic" who tried to bridge the gap between Marxism and Islam.
- Chatto (Virendranath Chattopadhyaya): A key figure in the Berlin Committee who spent his life trying to overthrow British rule in India from afar.
These aren't household names in the US or UK, but they are giants in the history of the Global South. Prashad brings them to the forefront to show that the "Red Star" wasn't just a Russian import—it was something these leaders took and reshaped into something of their own.
The Tragedy of the 20th Century
It wasn't all sunshine and successful revolutions. Red Star Over the Third World is also a bit of a heartbreaker. Prashad acknowledges the "exhaustion" that eventually set in. By the time we get to the 1970s and 80s, the dream was fading. Economic pressures, internal corruption, and the sheer brutality of the Cold War proxy battles took their toll.
But Prashad’s point is that we shouldn't let the ending ruin the whole story.
The movement forced the West to change. Why do you think European countries suddenly cared about the "welfare state" after WWII? Part of it was the fear that if they didn't take care of their workers, those workers would look toward the Red Star. The existence of a "Third World" project—nations trying to find a path between capitalism and communism—changed the global map forever.
Why You Should Care in 2026
You might be wondering why a book about 100-year-old revolutions matters today. Honestly, look around. We are back in a world of "Great Power Competition." We see a rising China, a fractured West, and a Global South that is increasingly tired of being told what to do by Washington or Brussels.
The themes in Red Star Over the Third World are repeating.
👉 See also: Joseph Stalin Political Party: What Most People Get Wrong
The desire for "sovereignty"—the idea that a country should control its own resources and destiny—is the loudest it’s been in decades. When Prashad talks about the "Third World Project," he’s talking about a vision of the world where poverty isn't a permanent condition and where every nation has a seat at the table.
We haven't reached that world yet.
Moving Beyond the Book
If you’re actually going to engage with these ideas, don't just stop at reading the book. You have to look at the current movements in the Global South. Look at how countries in the African Union are negotiating for better trade deals. Look at the BRICS+ expansion. These aren't "communist" movements in the old sense, but they carry the DNA of the struggles Prashad describes.
To really get the most out of this history, start by looking at the primary sources. Read the "Manifesto of the Second Congress of the Comintern" regarding the national and colonial questions. Contrast it with the "Atlantic Charter" from the Allies. You’ll see two very different visions of what the post-war world was supposed to look like.
Next, check out Prashad’s other work, like The Darker Nations. It picks up where the "Red Star" begins to dim and explains how the Third World as a political entity eventually fractured.
Actionable Steps for the Curious:
- Map the Geography: Take a map and mark the locations of the 1920 Baku Congress delegates. It visualizes the scale of the movement better than any paragraph can.
- Comparative Reading: Read a standard Western textbook's account of the 1917 Revolution, then read Prashad’s first two chapters. The difference in "who matters" is jarring.
- Track the "Non-Aligned" Legacy: Research the Bandung Conference of 1955. This was the peak of the Third World's attempt to stay independent from both the US and the USSR.
- Analyze Current Events: When you see news about debt distress in Sri Lanka or mining strikes in Peru, ask yourself: "How does the history of land and labor described in Red Star apply here?"
History isn't just a list of dates. It's a series of choices made by people who were just as stressed and hopeful as we are. Red Star Over the Third World reminds us that the way the world is right now wasn't inevitable. It was fought for, and in many ways, that fight is still going on.