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Vladimir ilyich lenin 2 (Click to select text)
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin "No one nowadays has any reason to doubt the enormous significance of the events connected with the name Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, though for some people these amounted to a catastrophe, or the beginnings of one, whereas for others they created the hope that a new and just society might one day be created." (Medvedev, pg. 12) Lenin was the leader of the first socialist revolution in the world. Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was and still is a very important figure in the Socialist movements across the world. His name is synonymous with the 1917 revolution in Russia, which has many implications for Modern Western Intellectual history. Lenin was born in central European Russia on April 22, 1870. He was born into the nobility with a cultured family. He had an early love for literature and a serious attitude toward study. Lenin had five brothers and sisters, one of whom would shape Lenin's attitudes and actions throughout his life. Sasha, an older brother to Lenin, was executed when Lenin was finishing high-school. Sasha was involved in a plot to kill the Tsar. Lenin changed from, "an apolitical schoolboy into a radical to be reckoned with." (Reddaway and Schapiro, pg 40) His brother's death influenced his tactics and thoughts about revolution throughout his lifetime. Lenin was admitted to the University of Kazan but did not stay long. He was expelled for having his name on a petition of grievances. The school authorities looked up his background, and the connection with his brother was made, he was kicked out of school because of it. Not only did they expel him he was exiled from the city too. His mother tried desperately to get him back into school with no avail. (Wolfenstein, pg 104) During this time Lenin continued to study law and political science. In the summer of 1890, three years after his exile he was allowed to take the bar examination. He passed with the highest possible grade. (Wolfenstein, pg106) At this point in time it is unclear why Lenin entered into law at all. He did work on small cases for a short period of time but what he spent most of his time trying to do was find a sure method of revolutionary success. He needed assurance that the method would work without any doubts in his own mind. This need was influenced by his brothers execution. "Marxism seemed to promise a solution: [Capitalism is progressive because] it AWAKENS THE MIND OF THE WORKER, converts dumb and incoherent discontent into conscious protest, converts scattered, petty, senseless revolt into an organized class struggle . . . a struggle which derives its strength from the very conditions of existence of large-scale capitalism, and therefore can undoubtedly count upon CERTAIN SUCCESS." (Wolfenstein, pg 117) Lenin studies Marxism and only experiments with it with his family and closes friends. He did not rush into any of the new concepts he learned until he fully understood them. (Wolfenstein, pg 110) He had to remove any doubts from his own mind before he applied them in debate or speech. This would make him look completely under control and more powerful in the public eye. In 1893 he moved to St. Petersburg to enter himself into the revolutionary centre of thinking. He expected action and organization and was disappointed. However, he was still productive and wrote his first works: New Economic Developments in Peasant Life and On the So-Called Market Question. Both of these books discuss Russia as a developing Capitalist country. He also attended the Social Democratic gatherings and became involved in teaching workers. He was able to study the workers as well as educate them. As Lenin became more and more involved in revolutionary activities, he became a threat to the state and the Tsar. He was arrested repeatedly and exiled to different places. He used his time effectively in prison and could even escape some of the pressure of the outside world. He could study and write more in prison because he was limited in the organizational process of the movement towards revolution. Lenin had cleared his doubts about whether or not Marxism would be the sufficient tool for revolution, it was a time for action. In 1900 a small, secret group organized by Lenin started a newspaper called the Iskra or the "Spark." The paper was designed as a "propaganda organ for the Social Democrats throughout Russia." (Wolfenstein, pg 175) The Spark had two purposes the first of which was to protect Lenin from his foes and to make himself look stronger for the purposes of attacking the Tsar and other opposition. The second was "instilling greater consciousness of the ‘objective' into the workers." (Wolfenstein, pg 182) In 1903 there was a setback in the unity of the movement. There was a split between Lenin and other leaders of the Iskra and Social Democrats. This split led to the emergence of two groups: the Bolsheviks, the group with which Lenin sided, and the Mensheviks. To be a Bolshevik means to be the majority and Menshevik the minority, Lenin had named the groups on his belief that he would lead socialist revolution. As the civil unrest gained momentum the Bolsheviks, contrary to their name, was a minority group. The demonstrations of January and February 1917 that culminated in the overthrow of the Tsar provided an opportunity for the Mensheviks to set up a provisional government. This government was much like the bourgeoisie government we have today in which the Mensheviks and the Social Democrats held most of the seats. The belief of the Mensheviks was one of a "stagest" theory of history. (Whiteman, interview) A bourgeoisie democracy must be established before the socialist revolution can occur. Lenin and the Bolsheviks believed that the time was conducive to revolution. (Whiteman, interview) Much to the dismay of the Mensheviks and Social Revolutionists in October of the same year backed by overwhelming support the Bolsheviks took control. "The October Revolution was the most mass, representative and popular of all the revolutions ever experienced by mankind. Not only did it not infringe the will of the people, on the contrary it reflected this from start to finish . . . The Party of Lenin first declared its aims in the political struggle, in an open and unambiguous manner, and then proceeded to armed insurrection relying in particular on the will of the electorate which had returned it with a majority . . . Yes, it is true that the Bolsheviks had recourse to suppression by violent means, but this was not violence against the people's will, but violence backed by the people, not going against the majority of the workers, peasants and other members of the toiling population but against the minority of the overthrown classes opposing the majority of the people." (Medvedev, pg 140) Lenin up to this point has been considered for the most part a pure practitioner of Marx's theories. After the fight for freedom from oppression was over Lenin had to switch from overthrowing a government to trying to keep a socialist government. "In a speech in January 1918 Lenin declared: ‘We know very little about socialism . . . We are not in a position to give a description of socialism . . . The bricks of which socialism will be composed have not yet been made. We cannot say anything further.' " (Cliff: 1978, pg 62) The Bolsheviks had a hard task ahead of them. After a short time the counter-revolution had started. The bourgeoisie and capitalists were acting out to try and sabotage the revolution. In the spring of 1922 Lenin had the first of three strokes that end up killing him. He was only away from his work for a few months but later in the year had his second stroke and was never really the same again. After his second stroke he tried to set up a "system of deputation," so that no one person could be in control when he died or could no longer continue his work. (Wolfenstein, pg 258) Unfortunately for Lenin and his followers counter-revolution had begun. Famine and the war had killed many of the working class people. This left Russia vulnerable to the counter-revolutionary forces. This movement began within the Bolshevik party spearheaded by Stalin. He approved of the bureaucratization within the party and attempted to seize the reins of power from Lenin who had gained this power through his positive influence in the party as opposed to Stalin who wanted power for the sake of control. It became increasingly obvious that the party was splitting into two groups- Stalinists and the Trotskyists. On Lenin's death bed he warned Trotsky of the eminent danger of Stalin and urged him to form an opposition to Stalin. A general consensus of the majority of Lenin's biographers lead to three general assessments of Lenin. (Reddaway, pg6) First, Lenin had a complete dedication to the revolutionary cause. This cause came second to nothing else in his life. His personal life was very much effected by this drive for revolution. He would sacrifice anything and anyone for this cause. This attitude has direct implications on the second assessment. The second assessment is his kind nature to individuals and then ruthfulness to the same or different individuals. This behaviour depends whether or not the cause is involved. The third and final assessment that is agreed upon by his many biographers is the complete lack of personal vanity or ambition which was coupled with an unwavering conviction that he alone was capable of leading his party and that he had the right answer. (Reddaway, pg 6-7) These attitudes made Lenin a very strong leader during and after the revolution. Lenin's major accomplishments are still studied and practised by many radical groups of today. The single most important idea that Lenin put forth is the need for an organization independent of government involvement to lead the revolution. A government based political group cannot overthrow the government that they are a part of. This group, that is attached to the government, would have long term goals to slowly transform society into one that might be considered socialist, this in Lenin's mind is the wrong way to bring about change. The right way to bring about socialist change is action from the working class in the form of revolution. The old form of government needs to be dismantled to be able to lay the groundwork for the new communism. The idea of active membership in the Bolshevik party is also an important fixture in International Socialist groups of today. The Bolsheviks demanded active participation when joining their party, where as the Mensheviks did not. This is why the Bolsheviks were able to succeed in the revolution. The party turned individuals into leaders in their respective communities. The members would actively participate to spread awareness and raise overall class consciousness. (Whiteman, interview) The Mensheviks might have had more members at certain times but many were not active and therefore had no revolutionary wealth. (Whiteman, interview) The greatest contribution made by Lenin to the Modern Western Intellectual world was indirect through the revolution. Since Lenin was the leader of the revolution and the revolution had profound effects on many societies across the world, Lenin must have had at least a small influential effect on these societies. For example, in Germany there was an attempted revolution in 1918. The revolution failed because they were unable to form an organization independent from the government and the leaders capitulated to their class interests leaving the mass majority of people without a party for organization. In 1919 there was a general strike in Winnipeg . This was an important event in Canadian history and was influenced by the revolution in 1917. In the 1920's there were mass strikes in England again influenced by the 1917 revolution. The socialist parties from across the world looked to Lenin and the Bolsheviks to form strategies to suit their own struggles. Many people have said that "Marx is theory, Lenin is practise." but this is not strictly the case. (Medvedev, pg 12) Lenin does have original concepts which, "form the theoretical basis of Bolshevism at that time." (Medvedev, pg 12) Lenin wrote approximately the same number of works that both Marx and Engels wrote. However, he did not condense his ideas into a few books that clearly stated everything he ever thought or said. There were also many contradictions that were not sorted out before his death. He also did not have the time to distinguish between what was vital and what was secondary in importance. (Medvedev, pg 13) This is summed up nicely in Medvedev's book Leninism and Western Socialism. "The theoretical principles, statements and generalizations which Comrade Lenin formulated were mostly - ninety per cent - occasional ones. You will find them scattered throughout the many volumes of his works simply because they are scattered observations, they are not offered to our reading public in compact, nicely wrought, finished form. For this reason there are many people who consider that Lenin the theoretician falls well short of Lenin the practitioner." (Medvedev, pg 16) Vladimir Ilyich Lenin is synonymous with the Russian revolution in 1917. This alone meant that he would have an impact on revolutionary thinking all over the world. However, he was not just the leader of the revolution and a practitioner of Marx he was a leading voice in the development of the first socialist country. His philosophies concerning the need for a separate organization for revolution and active participation are still used today throughout the many International Socialist groups. Lenin was a man driven to succeed in his quest for a successful socialist revolution, he combined fierce leadership with practical application of Marxist theories. The fact that many people still read his works, to apply his ideas to their own situation is testimony that Lenin had an outstanding impact on Modern Western Intellectual History. Bibliography Cliff, Tony. Lenin: Building the Party. London: Pluto Press Limited, 1975 Cliff, Tony. Lenin: All Power to the Soviets. London: Pluto Press Limited, 1976 Cliff, Tony. Lenin: Revolution Besieged. London: Pluto Press Limited, 1978 Medvedev, Roy. Leninism and Western Socialism. London: Verso Editions, 1981 Reddaway, Peter., and Leonard Schapiro. Lenin: The Man, the Theorist, the Leader. New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1967 Whiteman, Harriet. Personal Interview. 16 November, 1999. Wolfenstein, Victor. The Revolutionary Personality. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1967.
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