Kristen Ghodsee reads Cathy Porter’s translation of an excerpt from Alexandra Kollontai’s autobiography. Reflecting on a visit to Narva, Estonia in March of 1896, when she was just 24-years-old, Kollontai describes the event that radicalized her forever.

Recent Writings from Kristen Ghodsee:

“Clima y Utopía,” El País Semanal, October 17, 2025

“Materialists skewers the dating market – but stops too short,” Jacobin Magazine, July 12, 2025

“From Democracy to ‘Safety’,” Los Angeles Review of Books, July 3, 2025

Recent Interviews with Kristen Ghodsee:

Meagan Day, “How Manosphere Content Placates Disenfranchised Men,” Jacobin Magazine, May 1, 2025 (Also in Spanish, French, and German)

“Der Sozialismus behandelte Frauen besser,” Konkret Magazin, May 2025: 52-52

Meagan Day, “Tradwives are a Harbinger of Systemic Breakdown,” Jacobin Magazine, April 27, 2025 (Also in Spanish)

Recent writings about Kollontai:

Cathy Porter, Alexandra Kollontai: Writings from the Struggle

Maria Wiesner, Radikal selbstbestimmt – Ihrer Zeit weit voraus. Was wir von Alexandra Kollontai lernen können

Mridula Manglam, “Across Struggles and Time: If I Could Speak to Alexandra Kollontai.”

If you can stomach social media, please request to follow @prof_kristen

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Kristen R. Ghodsee is the award-winning author of twelve books and Professor of Russian and East European Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. Check out Kristen Ghodsee's recent books:

Subscribe to Kristen Ghodsee’s free, episodic newsletter at: https://kristenghodsee.substack.com

Learn more about Kristen Ghodsee's work: www.kristenghodsee.com or request to follow her on Instagram @prof_kristen

151 - A.K. 47 - Narva