Lenin’s Legacy
“History will not forgive Revolutionaries for procrastinating when they could be victorious today, while they risk losing much tomorrow, in fact, they risk losing everything” (Vladimir Lenin. Call to Power). Lenin was a persistent Russian ruler who wished to instill his communist views in Russian society at all costs. He was influential in motivating his followers to rise up and overthrow Russia’s weak government which lead to the reformation of Russia’s weak economy. Although Lenin faced opposing forces from the West, he was able to institute a number of reforms which boosted Russia’s broken economy and led to the transformation of Russia from a war-struck country into an economically stable power, prior to his death.
Prior to Lenin coming into power, Russia’s corrupt government was stuck in a state of war with Germany along with other Western European powers which ultimately led to the revolts of angry Russians due to famine and political issues. The Russo Japanese war began the first Russian revolution in 1905 when Russia suffered a tragic loss on the battlefield (Vladimir Lenin. World History). The Russian loss to Japan forced the government to give up on its expansionist policy resulting in the government losing its followers. This was the most devastating defeat Russia has ever faced to a non-European force and proved Czar Nicholas unfit to rule the nation. To restore order within the society, Czar Nicholas instituted the October Manifesto, which
Lenin defined his movement by the slogan “all power to the soviets” Lenin believed he could make a new revolution in a way the old one happened by starting large street demonstrations. The soviets were giving lenin little support, but lenin believed he could manipulate them for his own purposes. Lenin tried to sieve power for the bolsheviks
During the 1900’s the Russian Government made it extremely hard for the Bolsheviks to progress which made them revolt against the government making this a prime matter for the start of the Revolution. The Czarist government was ostracized by the common people of Russia so Tsar Nicholas II was overthrown by the Provisional Government, whom later on were overthrown by Lenin and shortly after the Bolsheviks took control over Russia. Russia was hard to develop because of the major leaders who had control; Lenin, Stalin, Trotsky. Almost overnight an entire society was destroyed and replaced with one of the most radical social experiments ever seen. Poverty, crime, privileged and class-divisions were to be eliminated, a new era of socialism
Over the period from 1855 to 1964, Russia saw various reforms and policies under the Tsars and the Communist leaders that had great impacts on its economy and society both positive and negative. Lenin definitely implanted polices that changed society and the economy for example with war communism. However whether his policies had the greatest impact is debatable and in this essay I will be assessing the view whether Lenin had the greatest impact on Russia’s economy and society than any other ruler between the period from 1855-1964.
According to the History.com Staff, “The October Revolution began on November 6 and 7, 1917 (or October 24 and 25 on the Julian calendar).” (Russian Revolution”). The October Revolution has also been called the Bolshevik Revolution since the Bolshevik Party played a crucial role in the revolution. The leader of the Bolshevik Party, Vladimir Lenin was a big supporter of Karl Marx. Another Marxist who leads this revolution was Leon Trotsky. In an article by the History.com Staff, “Lenin had created an, almost, bloodless coup d’état against the provisional government.” (“Russian Revolution”). The Bolshevik revolution started when, Alexander Kerensky, rather than follow an order. On October 24th, Kerensky ordered troops that were loyal, to act against the Bolshevik. Encyclopædia Britannica tells us that, “Kerensky was a socialist revolutionary who served as head of the Russian Provisional Government.” (“Aleksandr Kerensky”).
Lenin grew up in a middle class family but was never fond of the political party and the class system. Having a Marxist political belief system, Lenin wanted the government to own and control everything. After taking control of the Soviet Union, Lenin wanted supreme power for himself and the government, with hopes to make all of the citizens’ equal. Throughout his reign, the Soviet Union was crowded with war, disease, and destruction. His idea of a perfect communist society was anything but
Lenin became one of the most powerful and influential tsars in Russian history. He led Russia into a one-party communist country. Lenin fell when Joseph Stalin had him assassinated. This caused a serious uproar and led to a new form of communism. Finally, when Stalin came to power, he
The question of whether or not Stalinism was a logical continuation of Leninism is a difficult one. Stalinism did take significantly more drastic measures than Leninism did. There were differences in policy. But in spite of these, Stalinism still found its basis in Leninism. Even Trotsky, a friend of Lenin and a staunch opponent of Stalin, grudgingly admits that "Stalinism did issue from Bolshevism" (Trotsky). Stalin's policy of socialism in one country, his use of terror to eliminate opposition, and his suppression of democracy and the soviets were all characteristics of Lenin well before they were characteristic of Stalin. Although some of Stalin's policies were different from those of Lenin, what difference Stalinism did
The 1917 Bolshevik Revolution was the seizure of power by the radical Marxists led by Vladimir Lenin and was one of the pivotal moments of the 20th Century. The ramifications of the event, and the subsequent establishment of the world's first Communist regime were immediately obvious, but also had continuing repercussions for decades. This essay will argue that although Lenin and Stalin seemed to have conflicting views, in reality they shared very similar policies; Stalin just took these policies to an extreme.
Russia had lost the Russo-Japanese War in 1905 which caused major dissatisfaction in his rule, afterwards the Russians proceeded to go into World War I where Russia faced millions of casualties. With multiple major military failures and the tyrannical autocratic rule, the people of Russia seeked another type of rule because the Tzar was proven to be incompetent in both political and military leadership. Another reason for the communist takeover in Russia was the February Revolution in 1917 which many consider the rise of communism in Russia. After this revolution, the Tzar had abdicated and a temporary government led by Kerensky was created, this provided Lenin with an opportunity to overthrow the government of Russia. Many months after this event came October Revolution where Lenin has officially overtaken the government of Russia. Reasons for Lenin’s successful takeover was the creation of the Bolsheviks and his political
Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Lenin was the Bolshevik leader. He was a clever thinker and a practical man; he knew how to take advantage of events. When Lenin arrived in Russia, he issued a document called the April theses, promising ‘peace, bread, land and freedom’. He called for an end to the ‘Capitalist’ war, and demanded that power should be given to the soviets.
Following the Second World War, complications arose centering on the shifting of international power. The Soviet Union wanted to acquire additional territory, while the United States attempted to limit the gains desired by the soviets. This battle of ideology has resulted in an increase in National security, Diplomatic tension and Proxy wars between the two powerful nations.For over three hundred years, Russia had been controlled by an autocratic government known as the tsarist regime. This empire was ruled by a series of tsars who had absolute dictatorship over the country. (BBC, 2014). From around the time of Peter the Great 's reign, the empire began to impose its will on the people with absolute disregard for their lives and liberty. This incorporation of force caused repression and unrest amongst the people and the Russian Revolution was essentially an outburst from this. (Columbia Encyclopedia, n.d). The Russian Revolution consisted of two separate strikes in 1917, the first of which overthrew the imperial government and the second strike which placed the Bolshevik party in power. The Russian Revolution evidently brought a drastic transformation to the government, society and economy of Russia. The communist party who took power over Russia did evidently improve the economy and reshape the military forces which proved vital for Russia in WW2. (Quizlet, 2015). Overall, the Russian Revolution was beneficial to the country 's development. Today, in modern history we
Russia had been an autocratic government for 300 years under the Romanov Dynasty before the revolution of 1917. When problems started in the early 1900’s most people were serfs that had been freed about 20 years before. In 1914 during World War One, Czar Nicholas II decided to stay in war with Germany despite what the rest of his country thought. Nicholas posed a distraction from the countries problems. His plan was to keep his soldiers minds off of the horrible living conditions of Russia by staying in war with Germany and starting a war with Japan in hope that he would lead his country to a victory; both wars were lost, giving Russian citizens more to be upset about. Russia’s Army was extremely weak, made mainly of peasants, and the cost
Vladimir Lenin has proven to be a difficult figure to place in history. Some choose to view him as one of the most influential political leaders in history, while others allow him to fade off into the past. Lenin’s image also greatly depends on where one lives. In the western half of the world, Lenin is viewed as a man of destruction, and Winston Churchill called him “The Grand Repudiator.” In other parts of the world, he is viewed as a man who tried to make the best out of a failing situation.
There were many different equally important reasons why Lenin and the Bolsheviks were able to hold on to their power. For Lenin, and the Bolsheviks, winning political power was relatively easy, compared with retaining it. They had many different objects to overcome, such as; Russia was in chaos, politically and economically, and normal government had broken down in large areas, yet despite all these problems Lenin was able to consolidate his power – and create the world’s first communist state.
only had the firm support of 15 of 25 members on the 15th of October.