Vladimir Lenin passed away on this day in 1924, yet his ideas and legacy remain immortal. Here are some of his most notable quotations which are critical for understanding the world today:

“Democracy for an insignificant minority, democracy for the rich, that is the democracy of capitalist society.”

“A handful of rich states live by robbing the colonies and oppressing the majority of the world’s population.”

“Freedom in capitalist society always remains about the same as it was in ancient Greek republics: freedom for slave owners.”

“The bourgeoisie of the imperialist ‘Great’ Powers bribe their workers with crumbs from the superprofits they obtain from the colonies.”

“Imperialism is not a policy but a stage of capitalism.”

“The concentration of production and capital has developed to such a high stage that it has created monopolies which play a decisive role in economic life.”

“Finance capital is such a decisive force in all economic and international relations that it is capable of subordinating, and actually does subordinate, even states enjoying the fullest political independence.”

Muhammad Ali’s famous denunciation of the Vietnam🇻🇳 War, where he explained his refusal to be drafted to fight:

‘My conscience won’t let me go shoot my brother…some poor hungry people in the mud, for big, powerful America…they never called me n*****, they never lynched me.’

One of the worst atrocities of the Vietnam🇻🇳 War was the My Lai massacre, where US soldiers killed up to 500 unarmed villagers.

Here’s Seymour Hersh on Going Underground explaining and detailing the horrors of the massacre.

Tariq Ali on the World Economic Forum in Davos 2026:

‘After this year’s events, we may be closer to the death of Davos as an institution.’

-Renowned writer, filmmaker, and activist Tariq Ali joins us for the season premiere of Going Underground this Saturday, to discuss the crises that have kicked off 2026 including Venezuela, Iran, Greenland, and more.

Don’t miss it, follow our Rumble channel: https://rumble.com/v74qomk-2026-begins-in-crisis-tariq-ali-on-venezuela-regime-change-looming-war-on-i.html?e9s=src_v1_ucp_a

SATURDAY’S SEASON PREMIERE OF GOING UNDERGROUND:

-The aftermath of the US’ kidnapping of Venezuela’s🇻🇪 President Nicolas Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores

-Potentially looming regime change war on Iran🇮🇷

-NATO in crisis with Trump’s threats on Greenland

Don’t miss it, follow our Rumble channel: https://rumble.com/v74qomk-2026-begins-in-crisis-tariq-ali-on-venezuela-regime-change-looming-war-on-i.html?e9s=src_v1_ucp_a

"Here, I am not a Negro but a human being for the first time in my life…I walk in full human dignity."

-Paul Robeson on his visit to the Soviet Union in 1934. The legendary concert bass baritone, actor, and civil rights activist died on this day in 1976.

His journey to Marxist-Leninism started after his experience proved that the American Dream was a lie. He was a top student at Rutgers University, an All-American athlete, a Columbia educated lawyer, and a world famous singer and actor…

And yet he still faced racism and employment discrimination, with white law firms refusing to hire him.

His visit to the Soviet Union made him feel like a ‘full human being’ for the first time, experiencing equality that he had not experienced in the USA. The Spanish republic’s fight against Franco’s fascist armies solidified his support for the communists, who fought valiantly to stop the rise of fascism.

At home in the USA, he was persecuted in the McCarthyite hysteria, having his passport revoked, concerts cancelled, income cut off, and being under constant state surveillance.

Paul Robeson’s experience proved that America’s ‘freedom’ only applied if you stayed within the acceptable confines of debate, and did not challenge the system of elite power.

Paul Robeson, who passed away on this day in 1976, defending himself in the McCarthyite anti-communist witch hunt:

‘In Russia, for the first time I felt like a full human being. No colour prejudice like in Mississippi and Washington, where I did not feel the pressure of colour as I feel it in this committee today.’

HUAC: Why did you not stay in Russia?

Robeson: ‘Because my father was a slave, and my people died to build this country, and I’m going to stay here and have a part of it just like you. And no fascist-minded people will drive me from it. Is that clear?’

Paul Robeson, who passed away on this day in 1976, singing what would become China’s🇨🇳 national anthem, the revolutionary resistance song ‘March of the Volunteers’.

Paul Robeson burying the McCarthyite House Un-American Activities Committee:

‘Wherever I’ve been in the world, the first to die in the struggle against fascism were the communists. I laid many wreaths on the graves of communists. That is not criminal.

The reason I am here today, from the mouth of the State Department itself, is I should not be allowed to travel because I have struggled for the independence of the colonial peoples of Africa.

The other reason I’m here today is because when I’m abroad, I speak out against injustices against the Negro people in this land. That is why I am here. I’m not being tried for whether I am a communist. I’m being tried for fighting for the rights of my people.’

Muhammad Ali on why he refused to be drafted to fight the Viet Cong in the US’ imperial war on Vietnam🇻🇳:

‘I’m not gonna help nobody get something my negroes don’t have, if I’m gonna die I’ll die right here fighting you. You my enemy, my enemy is the white people, not Viet Congs, or Chinese, or Japanese.

You my opposer when I want freedom. You my opposer when I want justice. You my opposer when I want equality. You won’t even stand up for me here in America for my religious beliefs, and you want me to go somewhere and fight when you won’t even stand up for me here at home.’

In under a minute, Muhammad Ali destroyed the hypocrisy of white US🇺🇸 politicians demanding African Americans go and fight Washington’s imperial war on Vietnam🇻🇳.

🚨SEASON PREMIERE OF GOING UNDERGROUND

2026 Begins in Crisis: Tariq Ali on Venezuela Regime Change, Looming War on Iran, Greenland, Ukraine

https://rumble.com/v74qomk-2026-begins-in-crisis-tariq-ali-on-venezuela-regime-change-looming-war-on-i.html?e9s=src_v1_ucp_a

Tariq Ali on Venezuela🇻🇪: To Nicolas Maduro’s credit, he REFUSED the US’🇺🇸 ultimatum to leave

‘We now know that behind the scenes, the Maduro government was negotiating quite intensively with the United States, offering deals of one sort or another in order to prevent themselves from being invaded or the country bombed.

And the Americans made it an absolute condition that they weren’t prepared to tolerate Maduro in power any longer.

So he was offered various things. He was offered lots of money. He was offered a semi-palace, a huge mansion in Turkey with all his needs taken care of. God knows what else they offered.

And they offered him Moscow. You can go there if you want to, but to his credit, he refused.’

-Tariq Ali on the season premiere of Going Underground

Watch the full interview: https://rumble.com/v74qomk-2026-begins-in-crisis-tariq-ali-on-venezuela-regime-change-looming-war-on-i.html?e9s=src_v1_ucp_a

🇻🇪Footage mainstream corporate media won’t show you:

Venezuelans took to the streets yesterday demanding the return of their President Nicolas Maduro, 20 days after the Trump Administration kidnapped him.

🚨🇻🇪Tariq Ali SLAMS Western leaders calling Trump undemocratic: ‘YOU WERE PART OF ALL THIS!’

‘Venezuela’s economy was in a mess, largely because of US vetoes and sanctions. And Carney, this Canadian prime minister who’s being hailed as the big saviour and fighter for Europe, was governor of the Bank of England when Boris Johnson said we need to freeze the billions of dollars’ worth of Venezuelan gold entrusted to the bank. So he did it.

And now they say, “Oh, Trump is being undemocratic.” Yeah, he is, and worse than that. But you people were part of all this, trying to squeeze Venezuela, isolate it, sanction it, pretending that absurd characters like Guaidó were actually the legitimate president. This was never the case.

They promised, the former US ambassador promised Machado, this slightly deranged lady who’s won the Nobel Peace Prize for demanding war on her own country. And they agreed to it. And Trump is still not happy with this decision.

It’s a crazed world we’re living in.’

-Tariq Ali on the season premiere of Going Underground

Watch the full interview: https://rumble.com/v74qomk-2026-begins-in-crisis-tariq-ali-on-venezuela-regime-change-looming-war-on-i.html?e9s=src_v1_ucp_a

In the US’ criminal economic war using illegal unilateral sanctions against Venezuela🇻🇪, 40,000 Venezuelans were estimated to have died as a result of the sanctions between 2017-18.

In the following years, former UN Special Rapporteur Alfred de Zayas estimated 100,000 Venezuelans had died as a result of US sanctions.

A 1st term Trump administration official even bragged that the US had a ‘Darth Vader grip’ on Venezuela’s economy.

Here’s Prof. Jeffrey Sachs detailing the brutality of US sanctions against Venezuela.

Tariq Ali: We don’t know the whole truth of what happened in Venezuela🇻🇪, the oil has been HANDED OVER to the US🇺🇸

‘It seems to me the Delcy Rodriguez administration has handed over the oil in their country to the United States. They could not defend Maduro against capture.

The whole world knew something was going on. But it has to be said the army stood back and watched him being taken.

The Cubans who guarded him, thanks to Fidel’s farsightedness, when he saw that Chavez’s own security was very weak after the 2002 coup d’etat by the United States, he said, we have got to get you guards all the time.

That’s when the Cubans first went in. And all these Cubans, you know, dozens of them were shot dead. In what circumstances? We don’t know who shot them.

Well, the Americans are claiming it and it’s quite likely true. But there’s something about this whole episode that makes me feel we haven’t had the whole truth, as yet. And we shall see what happens.’

-Tariq Ali on the season premiere of Going Underground

Watch the full interview: https://rumble.com/v74qomk-2026-begins-in-crisis-tariq-ali-on-venezuela-regime-change-looming-war-on-i.html?e9s=src_v1_ucp_a

Venezuela’s🇻🇪 acting President Delcy Rodriguez on what happened the night Maduro was kidnapped and Venezuela was bombed:

‘Washington gave us 15 minutes to respond and comply with their demands otherwise they would kill us. The threats are constant, the blackmail is constant.’

Whether or not Maduro was betrayed, one thing is clear; the US operates as a mafia state, putting a gun to the head of smaller nations to steal their resources, using every dirty form of blackmail and threats possible to secure their objective.

Did Venezuela’s🇻🇪 Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello admit that Maduro was betrayed?

‘There will be NO MORE betrayal here. The people know that we are all committed to the same project, the Bolivarian project, Chavez’s project.’