denying Eastman's version of the events. In other essays, Eastman described conditions for artists and political activists in Russia. Such essays made Eastman unpopular with American leftists of the time. In later years, his writings on the subject were cited by many on both the left and the right as sober and realistic portrayals of the Soviet system under Stalin.

Eastman's experiences in the Soviet Union and his studies afterward led him to change his view of Marxism as practiced in Soviet Russia under Stalin. However, his commitment