Listen to more historic takes from Seven-Minute Explainers:
The lessons of the Russian revolution, 100 years later
Is Marxism just a turn-crank formula for purges and dictatorship or was something else to blame?
Recommended
Is the U.S. culpable in Mexico's deadly migrant fire?

Is the U.S. culpable in Mexico's deadly migrant fire?
Most Popular
The snowmelt in California could cause a long-lost lake to re-emerge

The snowmelt in California could cause a long-lost lake to re-emerge
The 8 most bizarre moments of Gwyneth Paltrow's ski crash trial

The 8 most bizarre moments of Gwyneth Paltrow's ski crash trial
Jennifer Aniston: Friends is now 'offensive' to a 'whole generation'
