Abstract

The present article explores the impact of the Russian Revolution on El Salvador, with a specific focus on the extent to which it shaped Salvadorans’ subjective consciousness. El Salvador was far away and of little interest to the Russians, and Salvadorans, for their part, watched from a distance as Russia underwent dramatic changes. The Revolution incited anticommunist views, which prevailed in the Salvadoran media, as well as pro-revolutionary sentiments, which manifested themselves in more clandestine settings. Ultimately, Russia was a distant and diffuse example to follow, and it had limited direct impact on Salvadoran affairs. Nevertheless, for those Salvadorans who believed in the need for transformative change in their society, the Revolution, or at least the idea they had of it in their mind, motivated them to action.

Keywords: Revolution; Russia; El Salvador; Anticommunism; marxism