Alexandra Kollontai: A Biography

Alexandra Kollontai (1872-1952) was the only woman in Lenin’s government, and one of the most famous women in Russian history. She was a revolutionary who saw the revolution become less than she had dreamed, and throughout her life she passionately defended its true ideals. She believed too that real political change could only come with a transformation in personal and family relationships.Her life, both personally and politically, was stormy. Born into the aristocracy, she became involved early in radical circles, and her lifelong preoccupation with women’s emancipation began with her painful decision to leave her husband and child. She worked tirelessly all her life, a brilliant speaker, writer and organiser, and her ideas are as crucial today as they were in her own time. This compelling biography records the life of a remarkable woman and the dramatic period in which she lived.