The Disagreement Between Lenin and Zinoviev/Kamenev
The disagreement between Lenin and Zinoviev and Kamenev was that Lenin
believed that Russia was ready for a Bolshevik revolution, whereas
Kamenev and Zinoviev did not. Zinoviev said that ' to stake on one
card not only the fate of our party … Russian and international
revolutions.' Here he is saying that a revolution attempt at this time
would in fact fail and that its failure would cause the Bolshevik and
Marxist movement, not only in Russia, but also across the world to
collapse.
Lenin on the other hands says that ' they wish to secure … one half of
the votes plus one. Such a guarantee history has never proffered,'
Lenin is suggesting that Zinoviev and Kamenev's view that the
Bolsheviks had to have a majority of the publics votes before
attempting a revolution was too cautious. He believed that they would
have to risk a revolution failure to have any chance of gaining power
because to have a majority of public support would not be possible.
Lenin goes on to say that 'the majority of people began quickly to go
over to the side of the Bolsheviks.' The Bolsheviks were becoming more
popular after the 'July Days' revolution and Lenin states that the
election results for Petrograd and 'borough councils in Moscow'
demonstrated this. Lenin believed that the Bolsheviks were already
popular enough for a revolution to be successful and that a majority
vote of fifty-one percent was not needed for the revolution to occur.
Zinoviev and Kamenev advised against this risk-taking, saying that '
Against this perilous policy we raise our voice in warning.'
2. Would you call Z/K's attitude 'cowardly'?
Z/K's opinion on revolution was that it was a risk and that to 'stake'
the 'fate of our party' on a revolution before a majority backing was
gained, could destroy the chance for a revolution ever again. Lenin
believed that to gain a majority vote was not necessary for a
successful revolution, and that in fact the support that the
During the 19th century, Russia was experiencing a series of changes with its entire nation and society overall. The government was trying to adapt themselves to them at the same time. It was not an easy time period for Russia whatsoever. Vladimir Lenin helped change this.
Joseph Stalin said, “Ideas are far more powerful than guns. We don 't let our people have guns. Why should we let them have ideas?”. Stalin was a dictator of the USSR from 1929 to 1953. Under his dictatorship, the Soviet Union began to transform from a poor economy to an industrial and military based one. While still a teen, Stalin secretly read Karl Marx 's book the “Communist Manifesto”, and became more interested in his teachings. When Stalin gained power, he ruled his nations using terror and fear, eliminating those who did not comply with his governance.
In order to establish whether Lenin did, indeed lay the foundation for Stalinism, two questions need to be answered; what were Lenin’s plans for the future of Russia and what exactly gave rise to Stalinism? Official Soviet historians of the time at which Stalin was in power would have argued that each one answers the other. Similarly, Western historians saw Lenin as an important figure in the establishment of Stalin’s socialist state. This can be partly attributed to the prevailing current of pro-Stalin anti-Hitler sentiments amongst westerners until the outbreak of the cold war.
The Russian Revolution occured in two stages/times, February nd October of 1917. As cited in document 1, "Tsar Nicholas II was overthrown and a liberal democratic government came to power." What lead to the Febraury Revolution was the peasant agriculture to the Russian population, autocracy, and the outbreak of WW1. A long-term cause was the peasant agriculture to the Russian population. As said in document 1, "For all of its history before the 20th cwntury, 80-95% of the population were poor pasants, farmers just barely scratching a living form the land. For most of that history (between 1694-1861) the majority of these peasants were enserfed." to enserf means to be aprovd of liberty and personal rights. Before 1917 peasants recieved sympathy from
... middle of paper ... ... “ The constitution promised the Soviets freedom of speech, consciousness, press, assembly, and demonstrations in conformity with the interest of the working people and in order to strengthen the socialist system. ”20
Trotsky's Contribution to the Success of the Bolsheviks Up to 1922 1.a) Trotsky’s contribution to the success of the Bolsheviks up to 1922 was mainly through the military; Trotsky was a close friend of Lenin which helped Trotsky get the place at the head of the Military Revolution committee of the Petrograd soviet. Under Trotsky’s leadership, the military revolutionary committee was actually planning to seize power of the government in 1917. Trotsky was placed in a very powerful position in the Military and he desperately wanted to take power of the government. Trotsky then helped the Bolsheviks take power, and then an anti-communist group known as the whites had formed an army to fight against Trotsky.
There are many people who have lived through and within the Bolshevik Revolution, so there are a multitudinous variety of perspectives, thoughts, and insights about the revolution. The Bolshevik Revolution is known for many things; some say that the revolution helped women become free of control, and others proclaim that it did nothing but continue to hold women captive of their desired rights. The Bolshevik Revolution article states the side of a history professor Richard Stites, who argues yes the revolution benefited the women whilst the other side is declared no the revolution did no justice for women at all, which was argued by a Russian scholar, Lesly A. Rimmel. The opposing arguments both create an effective view on the revolution, and
On March 3, 1918 Russia lost 1/3 of its fertile farm lands, 1/3 of its
Isaac Murrin Mr. J. Pharion Freshman English 20 February 2013 The Similarities and Differences between Lenin and Stalin Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin were similar in what they claimed to be, but in actuality they were very different people. Although Stalin claimed that he followed Leninism, the philosophy that Lenin developed from Marxism, he often distorted it to follow what he wanted to do. While Lenin wanted to make a unified society without classes, with production in the hands of the people, while Stalin wanted to make Russia into a modern industrial powerhouse by using the government to control production. Lenin accomplished his goals through violence, because he thought achieving the Communist revolution was worth using violence, with a ‘The ends justify the means’ mentality. Stalin also used violence to accomplish his goals, however Stalin used much more violence than was often necessary to accomplish his goals.
Stalin put forward an opposite theory - the theory of Socialism in One Country. He argued that the USSR must always come first in the government's plans. The rest of the world must take second place. The Communists should concentrate on building up the economy of the USSR, not waste money on helping revolutionary groups abroad....
Lenin’s pragmatic leadership was the most considerable factor in helping to fortify Bolshevik power. His willingness to take power in October/November 1917 and the successes of the move, through his right-hand man, Trotsky, was critical as it helped give him unquestioned authority within the party despite members of the Central Committee i.e. Zinoviev and Kamenev who suggested industrialisation needed to occur first. This highlighted Lenin’s communist ideology in practice which was essential to the Bolsheviks maintaining power. Following the failure of the Provisional Government, Lenin recognised that it was the Bolshevik’s priority to legitimise their government. As a result, issues of ‘Peace, Bread and Land’ were addressed through the issuing of a number of decrees in late 1917 including decrees on land, peace, Workers’ Rights as well as reforms to marriage and religion. ...
The Rise of the Bolshevik Party On the night of October 25, 1917, the Bolshevik Party of Russia seized control of the Winter Palace in Petrograd without firing a single shot. However, this silent successful opportunity had been in the works for many years. The Bolshevik party rose to power in Russia by giving in to the needs of the people, having superb organizational skills, and their ability to take advantage of a weak provisional government, especially after the Kornilov Affair took place. The combination of all of these conditions enabled the Bolsheviks to take control of Russia and keep her in its iron fist for years to come.
“Lenin called them "useful idiots," those people living in liberal democracies who by giving moral and material support to a totalitarian ideology in effect were braiding the rope that would hang them. Why people who enjoyed freedom and prosperity worked passionately to destroy both is a fascinating question, one still with us today.”
...was alone, Lenin’s leadership that enabled the Bolsheviks to seize power in November 1917. On the other hand, if we consolidate the facts we have covered in the essay we can identify key points that were capitalised on by Lenin such as the weakness of the provisional government and using his influence to motivate the Bolshevik Central Committee, we cannot deny that these were some of the more crucial factors regarding the Bolshevik seizure of power and without them a November Revolution may not have happened. A result of that would be a legitimate leadership within Russia and the Bolsheviks would then be seen as the aggressors. Concluding this we can make the decision that it was not Lenin alone who was the reason for the success of the Bolshevik coup rather an overall period of instability within the Russian leadership and the Bolsheviks offered an alternative.