Lenin's Contribution to the Development of the Bolshevik Party

Lenin's Contribution to the Development of the Bolshevik Party

From 1902 Lenin had been fighting to build a revolutionary workers

party, he was expelled from university for writing pamphlets and

supporting strikes. Even when Lenin worked abroad, he was always

trying to help the revolution along, but without being arrested.

In 1893 Lenin moved to St Petersburg, where he joined a growing

Marxist circle, then 1985 he helped to create a marxist working class

organisation. Lenin was soon arrested and exiled to Siberia until

1900, when he went abroad and helped to create marxist newspapers:

'Iskra' - This helped to unite Social democrats and inspire new

recruits. Lenin was playing a role even then, recruiting members who

would help the Bolsheviks, and the revolution in years to come.

In 1902, in exile, Lenin wrote a pamphlet, 'What is to be done?' in

this he argued that the revolution should be centered on a highly

disciplined party of professional revolutionaries. This led to a split

within the Social Democratic party in 1903, the Bolsheviks and

Mensheviks.

When Lenin arrived back in Russia in 1917, (after being in exile and

coming from Germany) he caused an immediate stir, on his arrival he

made a demanding speech, he stated that: there should be no

cooperation with the Provisional Government, the war should be ended

immediately, land should be given to the peasants, and that the Soviet

should take power, the points made in his speech were written up and

called the 'April Theses' One non-Bolshevik Socialist described

Lenin's speech:

"...Suddenly, before the eyes of all of us, completely swallowed up

by the routine drudge...

... middle of paper ...

...in the second successful

revolution, it would have been better to wait, and not so many

Bolsheviks would have been lost in the first attempt. This was a bad

contribution of Lenin's.

Based on my research into Lenin and the Bolsheviks I have come to the

conclusion that Lenin played a large part in helping the development

of the Bolshevik party, he helped them along, although for much of the

time up to 1917 he was not even in Russia, he did what he could and

was a great help, even in exile. Lenin did have some ideas which even

his supporters did not appreciate, and it would have been better if he

had not rushed starting a second revolution, and failed. Overall I

think that Lenin has made a large, and good contribution to the

contribution to the Bolshevik party up to and including April 1917,

with a few minor faults.