By Lt Col. Eric Vogel, USAF ret, USAFA ’73
This is a book review of Alexander G. Markovsky’s Liberal Bolshevism: America Did Not Defeat Communism, She Adopted It.
“The Marxist doctrine is omnipotent because it is true.”
—Vladimir Lenin
“We are five days away from fundamentally transforming the United States of America.”
—Barack Hussein Obama, late October, 2008
“[T]he worst advertisement of Socialism is its adherents.”
—George Orwell
American tragedies follow a pattern. We remember where we were when the tragedy occurs, our nation mourns, and a commission or board is appointed to find answers. Sometimes the results are unclear or controversial—and the “investigation” continues. Oftentimes, the tragedy is repeated.
November 22, 1963: JFK is assassinated. The news is heard over the loudspeaker in Mrs. Puccini’s seventh grade classroom, Wooster Junior High School, Stratford, Connecticut. The nation grieves. The Warren Commission investigates; the findings are questioned, even 62 years later. Eighteen years after Dallas, John Hinckley Jr. attempts to assassinate President Reagan. Thirty-three years after that attempt, former President Donald Trump, campaigning for a return to the White House, narrowly escapes death from a rifle shot.
January 28, 1986: the Space Shuttle Challenger explodes on liftoff. As the workday ends, the Defense Attaché Office, U.S. Embassy, Paris, receives the news over the embassy public address system. The nation is in shock. The investigation finds fault with design flaws, decision-making and the NASA culture. Seventeen years later, the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates on reentry, a wing having been damaged by foam insulation breaking off during liftoff. The Columbia Accident Investigation Board finds that the accident “was likely related in some degree to NASA’s…history, and programs culture…politics, compromises…”
November 4, 2008: The election of the 44th President of the United States, Barrack Hussein Obama, (campaign slogan: Change!), followed by his first term in office. “We the people” are here, there and everywhere in location, opinion and division for four plus years. Many are ecstatic; others–while not yet in mourning–fear for the future of their country. The latter group witnesses–and endures–a White House of arrogance, authoritarianism, and lies. Race relations clearly deteriorate. No government investigation takes place, but these critics are onto something.
According to Karl Marx, “History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce.”
November 6, 2012: History does, indeed, repeat itself–the President is reelected, with a campaign slogan of Forward! (Note: History would then repeat itself for the second time, as “farce,” in 2020 with the election of Joe Biden. Many believed that Obama was still in control.)
Once again, many citizens are ecstatic; others are now mourning, sensing further attacks to come on the American Creed. The latter group perceives the White House as an enclave of superciliousness and vindictiveness. Over the next four years, identity groups proliferate, division increases and societal relations deteriorate.
While the JFK assassination and the Space Shuttle tragedies were followed by formal inquiries, the previously mentioned critics of Obama’s eight years in office needed no commission to determine that something was amiss.
From the very beginning of his presidency, their keen observations led them to know what was wrong, even though they did not have a label for their distress. Then—as Obama’s second term was ending—a Soviet émigré provided a brilliant summary and explanation.
Alexander Markovsky’s Liberal Bolshevism, published in 2016, provides deep and extensive insights into the beliefs, character and intentions of Obama, as well as the orientation of the Democratic Party.
Markovsky was raised in the Soviet Union. Earning degrees in economics and political science at the University of Marxism-Leninism and an MS in structural engineering from Moscow University, he emigrated from the U.S.S.R. in 1975. Initially settling in Israel, he then moved to the U.S., living in Houston and owning an engineering consulting firm.
The son of a high Communist Party official, Markovsky inherited classic Russian cynicism from his father, a high Communist Party official: “One should never underestimate the boundless power of demagoguery and lies. It moves nations.”
After an informative summary of his personal background, Markovsky addresses the chameleon-like character of Obama. “The genius of Obama has been in his ability to hide his ideology behind a veneer of ambiguity—to rally for a cause he never defined.”
Perhaps more than any other President in history, Obama–for those who favored him–became the leader, man, or politician each individual envisioned him to be. He fooled many, even pundits; in particular, those who had not been fans of his predecessor George W. Bush now swooned over this new man in office, finding him so “sophisticated” and “smooth.”
Markovsky sorts through political labels, recalls his own life experiences in the Soviet Union, reviews Russian history, cites Obama’s words and then clarifies the enigma.
Obama is a Liberal Bolshevik.
According to Markovsky, the Bolsheviks, led by Lenin, had “deeply rooted contempt for what they considered bourgeois democratic institutions…and believed that they were the intellectual elite destined and capable of changing the tempo of history at their discretion…”
Markovsky compares Obama and Democrats to the Russian Bolsheviks, noting that their common goal is the “same Marxist-Leninist socialism, and they want it now.”
The difference in approaches is that Obama’s “ideological paradigm involves a benevolent approach…[replacing] the dictatorship of the proletariat with the dictatorship of government bureaucracy, and the expropriation of private property with statism… [resulting] in domination of the economic and political life of the citizenry.”
Slower, less violent–perhaps with a more “liberal” approach than the original Bolsheviks–the long term goal of the “Liberal Bolshevik” is the same. Markovsky calls this “Bolshevism with ‘kid gloves’…founded on dependence.”
During Obama’s presidency, his American critics did not know or use the “Liberal Bolshevik” label, but had identified him for what he was; in fact, the specific criticisms of the White House mentioned earlier identify several classic characteristics of Bolshevism.
But it wasn’t just a matter of a Liberal Bolshevist President: the Democratic Party, as a whole, supported his ideology–and continues to do so in 2025, with fervor.
For Obama, confrontation and conflict–without resolution–are his modus operandi.
The slogans Change! (2008) and Forward! (2012), while sounding positive, are reminiscent of Communist mottos and concealed a combative, no holds barred stance. “Everything about Obama is absolute,” writes Markovsky.
The “ongoing revolt” of Obama and the Left covers many anti status quo movements: Occupy Wall Street, “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot,” and Black Lives Matter, for example. In these cases, the goal is the weakening of law enforcement and the creation of opportunities for societal upheavals incorporating liberal grievances.
Markovsky describes the three “planks” of the Democratic Party, developed with Obama, in accordance with Liberal Bolshevik Policy:
- the Destruction of Wealth;
- the Replacement of America Self-reliance with Government Dependence; and
- the Replacement of a Capitalist Market Economy with a Government-controlled Political Economy.
Of course, all are designed to promote economic equality while destroying individual liberty.
Markovsky counters with an elegant account of the beauty and benefits of capitalism. His suggestions from 2016 align with the spirit of the current administration. He urges the U.S. to: Privatize Government Assets; Regain Energy Independence; and Redefine Free Trade.
While Markovsky’s entire work is enlightening, there are at least three sections of note.
Under “The Politics of Delusion,” Markovsky discusses, at length, the Islam-immigrant-terrorist connection. He is brutally frank, stating what many hesitate to say or write.
“The West fails to recognize an immutable fact that radical Islam is not just a religion; it is also a political totalitarian movement, just like communism and fascism.”
His warning: we need to be very careful here–this is a world war, whether we realize it or not.
His discussion of energy is broad and comprehensive. The “Church of Global Warming” was formed to consolidate groups of “true believers,” strengthen ideology, and control and dominate the “science.” Money (huge amounts), corrupt politics and many lies are involved. Fossil fuels are here to stay. Nuclear power is beautiful and a good option. Other options need to be investigated; meanwhile, let’s be more rational regarding wind and solar.
His prediction of a Democratic candidate for the 2016 Presidential was wrong, but his logic was interesting. His reasons for thinking that Hilary Clinton would not be the nominee actually did contribute to her election loss: her private server, the Clinton Foundation, her overall lackluster and ineffectual performance as Secretary of State, and Benghazi–“Hillary’s Chappaquiddick.” He reasoned that Michelle Obama would be the nominee. The “self-assured, energetic, articulate and unmistakably ambitious first lady would be a formidable opponent…she is black…she is an Obama!!!”
Unfortunately, Liberal Bolshevism is out of print and cannot be found online. As an alternative, readers might turn to Markovsky’s Anatomy of a Bolshevik.
Readers might also be interested in Balint Vazsonyi’s America’s Thirty Year War-Who Is Winning? Published in 1998, Balint–concert pianist emigré from 1950s Hungary–echoes Markovsky’s themes, even though written some twenty-odd years earlier.
Soviet defector Yuri Bezmenov also sounded an alarm in 1984. Bezmenov, cited in STARRS Supporter Colleen Roberts’ classic work of patriotism, No Surrender, wrote Love Letter to America under the name Thomas D. Schuman. Schuman (Bezmenov) warns: “…believe it or not. YOU ARE AT WAR.”
STARRS NOTE: Read Bezmenov’s book on Unconstrained Analytics: KGB Defector Yuri Bezmenov Warns America of Marxist Subversion
Here we are in 2025, struggling with Liberal Bolshevism.
• “AOC” and Bernie Sanders rant hypocritically against “oligarchy,” as more and more members of Congress go off the deep end.
• After at least four years of the insanity of a completely open border and extreme harm to our nation in so many ways, we face the inability to deport (a more correct term: repatriate) illegal aliens. (Few know or care that entering the U.S. illegally is a felony and that harboring someone who enters illegally is a federal crime.)
• More and more serious criminals are released without bail or prison time.
• We are unable to reign in Federal spending and debt.
• The Rule of Law, a fundamental strength of our country, is under attack.
• The citizenry has lost control of what is being taught in our schools regarding sexuality and gender; meanwhile, children are not being taught the American Creed and the contributions of our Judeo-Christian heritage.
• Although the majority of us favor charter schools and school choice, proposals for their establishment are almost always defeated.
• While we comfort ourselves with limited options to counter the prevalent Main Stream Media, American Pravdas continue to dominate.
• In addition to the overt anti-Semitism of universities and culture, many are unaware of the not so overt anti-Christian prejudices of society and government. And so on.
Yes, we are at war–and we may be dying a slow death. Liberal Bolshevism must be defeated.
The great American tragedy of the eight Obama years–reinforced by the four of Biden–is perfectly summed up in Markovsky’s subtitle: America Did Not Defeat Communism, She Adopted It.
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