As the Russian Revolution rose in 1917, so did a new political force known as Communism. When the Czarist autocracy was overthrown, there was now a need for a new government to rule Russia. After the abdication of the Russian throne and a civil war between the Bolsheviks (Red Army) and the Russian Republic (White Army), the Bolsheviks came out victorious and established themselves as the ruling party of Russia. Bolshevik leader, Vladimir Lenin, preached Karl Marx’s infamous pamphlet, The Communist Manifesto because he believed Communism was the ideal political system for Russia. Despite his beliefs in Marxism, Lenin felt that it had its limitations; therefore he applied Marxism to the extent he felt was necessary in establishing communism in Russia.
News of the Russian Revolution first reached Lenin by word of mouth while being exiled in Switzerland. Upon learning about the February Revolution and Czar Nicholas II’s abdication of the throne in 1917, Lenin made it his mission to return to Russia and be a part of the Revolution. While on a train en route to Russia, Lenin wrote what was to be known as his April Theses: his agenda for the Bolshevik Party. He felt that the February Revolution was just an initial stage of the revolution and now the proletarians needed to be organized in order to remove the bourgeoisie to ultimately place proletarians in power. Organizing the Proletarians would create a revolutionary vanguard party that would rule as a proletarian dictatorship. In Marxists terms a socialists dictatorship would allow for the proletariat to have political control. Marx states in his Manifesto that if the Proletarians were to be organized into a political party they would become a strong political force, “The organization ...
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...tion because he felt they had only two choices: bourgeois or socialist ideology. Taking part in a socialist revolution would be the only reasonable option for the Proletarians because they have strained their backs for the painstaking labor they have performed for the Bourgeois.
Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin were both revolutionaries with their radical views of government and society. Marx intended for his work to be applied to the societies of Western Europe, with no expectations that Russian revolutionaries would use his teachings as an outline for their own Bourgeois overthrow. The extent of Lenin’s use of Marxism was limited because Lenin adapted Marx’s theories towards the Russian proletarians he would rally support from. By adding the dimension of Leninism into Marxism, Lenin ignited the spark that would lead cause Imperial Russia to become the Soviet Union.
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.
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
A communist revolution is inspired by ideas of Marxism whose main purpose is to replace capitalism with communism also considered socialism. “Marxists believe that the workers of the world must unite and free themselves from capitalist oppression to create a world run by, and, for the working class (Britannica).” The Russian Revolution began in 1917 and consisted of two periods of revolts; the February Revolution and the October Revolution. It has been said that the 1905 Russian Revolution prompted the February Revolution due to “the massacre is Saint Petersburg, Russia known as Bloody Sunday. A council of wo...
From the very beginning Lenin felt that Russia did not need to participate in World War I because it was the main cause for Russia problems Lenin`s belief were developed from Karl Marx, the father of communism. Lenin believed that a government should really represent the people of Russia, therefore he aimed to overthrow the Russian government because it was said to be the cause of misery in Russia. After being put in exile for sedition, Lenin returns to Russia after news of the February Revolution. The revolution was created from built up tension and Russia being under repression and unrest for a long period time. As a result the Tsar abdicated from the Russian Empire and the making of a Provisional Government. This made Lenin's plan to overthrow the government much simpler.
In 1905 , Russia had a prerevolution that was put down of the Czar. Instead of learning from this prerevolution, Czar Nicholas II, made a very big mistake by in not introducing some reforms to correct the problems. So because of his actions, the situation grew worse. In 1917, the Russians were fighting in World War I. A good majority of the Russian people were weary and uncontent with the way the war was going and with the Czar's rule. This uncontent along with economic hardships caused riots and demonstrations to break out. The Czar called for the army to put down the revolution as they did in 1905. But the army joined the revolt and the Czar was kicked out of power soon afterwards. A temporary government was set up to decide on what kind of government Russia was gonna set up. Two political parties were set up. The Bolsheviks were one of the two. The leader of the Bolshevik party was a man named Lenin. Lenin was a firm believer of the theories and ideas of Karl Marx. So with his slogan of "Bread, Peace and Land", Lenin gained the support of the peasants and gained control of Russia and setup a communist state.
There is always at least one odd duck, which stands out from the crowd. The same is true when it comes to politics. One of the most controversial political ideas to ever come to power, is communism. Branching from the socialist party, in 1848, extremist Karl Marx expressed his theories in The Communist Manifesto. This is a text that is still debated today. In an article in the Journal of Social Society, William Niemi wrote about Marx’s ideas still present today. “The rethinking about Karl Marx and Marxism continues some 20 years after the fall of the Soviet dictatorship and its satellites.” (Niemi). Within this volume of ideas, Marx expressed many highly debated topics, the most controversial of course, being communism itself. Though many of
On March 3, 1918 Russia lost 1/3 of its fertile farm lands, 1/3 of its
Lenin made a series of policies throughout the beginning of the Revolution and through his short time in public office that came to be collectively known as ‘Leninism’. There were many things that influenced Leninism, such as Karl Marx. Lenin had read Karl Marx and his...
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 Russian Revolution was two revolutions. One was in "March of 1917" (Llewellyn, 2012) and the other one was in "October of 1917" (Llewellyn, 2012). The first revolution happened because "the Russian people wanted change" (Llewellyn, 2012). Tsar Nicholas II, the autocratic ruler of Russia. He clung stubbornly to his power and he believed that the power was to be his divine birthright. The people on the other hand would change the future of Russia, not God. The first revolution started as a peaceful march in Russia’s capital city. The march then grew into a torrent of protest. Within a week of the protest, Tsar Nicholas II had been toppled from power and replaced by an interim government. This government was filled with liberals and moderates. The new government lasted barely six months before the government was overthrown and replaced, this time by radical socialists. "This group, known as the Bolsheviks, struggled to keep their power by suppressing dissent and eliminating their opponents" (Llewellyn, 2012) The Bolsheviks also began planning Russia’s transformation which was from a backward economic state organized on medieval principles into a modern industrial and technological superpower. "This transformation alone made the Russian Revolution one of the most significant events in modern history for all countries" (Llewellyn, 2012).
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov better known as Lenin. Lenin was an important part in Soviet Union history . lenin had a determined goal , he wanted power . Lenin was so powerful , he took the practice communism and made it reality throughout Soviet plus other countries he had an influence on. Lenin believed that communism could solve the problems of society , because his brother was killed by a tsarist regime. He started as a politician and war general , he later became the leader of the Soviet Union. Before Lenin was the leader a man named Stalin Ruled Soviet . Lenin despised Stalin , Lenin then started to take control of the states he created.
Over the next few years, Russia went through a traumatic time of civil war and turmoil. The Bolsheviks’ Red Army fought the white army of farmers, etc. against Lenin and his ways. Lenin and the Bolsheviks won and began to wean Russia of non-conforming parties eventually banning all non-communist as well as removing an assembly elected shortly after the Bolshevik’s gain of power. Lenin’s strict government, however, was about to get a lot stricter with his death in 1924.
...nt the works of Marx. The result became a system where emotion triumphed over practicality, and the central message was blurred by the overthrow of the old regime. Thus, Lenin followed Marx in the general ideas of socialism, where everyone was equal under the law, and worked for each other and the common good. While Lenin’s system did manage to create a proletariat class, it also evoked the formation of the corrupt and power hungry Bolshevik Party. With regard to the Populists and Anarchists, Lenin was transformed into a revolutionary who would not stop at anything in the pursuit of Communism. Furthermore, Lenin followed to a lesser extent the Social Democrats and their views on the threat of the peasantry if they were not properly maintained. It is clearly evident that in following other philosophies, Lenin mutated Communism into a form unrecognizable to true Marxism
Marxism and Leninism According to most historians, “history is told by the victors”, which would explain why most people equate communism with Vladimir Lenin. He was the backbone of Russia’s communist revolution, and the first leader of history’s largest communist government. It is not known, or discussed by most, that Lenin made many reforms to the original ideals possessed by many communists during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. He revised Karl Marx and Friedrich Engles’ theories to fit the so-called ‘backwardness’ of the Russian Empire.
...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.