I first read this footnote in the summer of 1998 and it never left my mind. Describing the Bolsheviks’ printshop in 1905, Tony Cliff writes:

This was by far the largest underground printing press in Russia and was literally underground – in a cellar. The printers were seven self-sacrificing party members. They worked 10 hours a day and unlimited hours in emergencies. The cellar was without heat or ventilation. To avoid detection, no one was ever allowed to leave it during the day. At night the printers took it in turns to spend a couple of hours in the open air.

Heroism, self sacrifice, dedication to the cause… that’s what Bolshevism has always stood for.