The year 1917 brought momentous change to Russia. Mass upheaval in the cities and the countryside, derived in part from suffering associated with World War I, led to the destruction of key elements of the old order: The Romanov dynasty and the landlord class, each of which had deep roots in Russian history, were swept away forever. These changes alone are important enough to place the Russian Revolution in the same category as the French Revolution. But the events of 1917 had an added significance, for the victorious Bolshevik revolutionaries did not seek to establish a Western-style middle-class society. Instead, they proclaimed socialism and communism as their goals.If the meaning and legacy of the Russian Revolution have engendered much controversy, there is, nevertheless, widespread agreement on the central role played by Lenin (Vladimir Ilych Ulyanov), the indefatigable leader of the Bolshevik party and the first head of the new Soviet regime. Lenin’s leading role in the Russian Revolution is traceable to the force of his ideas and his organizing ability, illustrated in the documents I would like you to read from his works (you can read them all by clicking here). In reading the following excerpts from Lenin’s writings, note the way in which his thoughts embrace various tensions. Do you see elements of realism as well as utopianism in Lenin? Does his commitment to class struggle mesh with his desire to modernize Russia? Can Lenin’s desire for democracy be reconciled with his belief in the necessity of authoritarian rule?
After reading the excerpts, I would also like you to consider and discuss the following: According to Lenin, what were the main features of Marxism? Why was it a potent revolutionary doctrine? What were Lenin’s organizational contributions to revolutionary Marxism? What specific issues did Lenin face as leader of communist Russia? How did they relate to Marxist goals? How and why did Lenin approach the task of industrial and technological development? What was Lenin’s view of the place of Russia’s revolution in the larger international context? What did he think need to happen internationally to secure revolutionary gains? Do these documents provide evidence about Lenin’s individual qualities as a leader? Do they help explain why he played such a decisive role in Russian history? Your thoughts…
8 comments:
Didn't you say that Marxism is only focusing more so on the working class? It begins as a compelling paragraph that states millions of homeless people are being enslaved by a handful of capitalists. Carl Marx seems like he respects the wise men( the ones ruling the country ) quite a bit. He understands the power they have, and he knows it is going to be hard to take them down. The works he have written are very well-rounded. He puts down where they are and what they have to do to get what they want basically, and to do that he needs lots of support, which he gets easily.
Lenin must have been an amazing speaker because even reading this got me to see through the eyes of someone in the working class about how having communism wouldnt be THAT bad. wow.In the paragraph where he names basically reasons why Russia needs a revolution, they all make sense and apply to the main idea of Marxism. unlike the chinese revolution however, he is using it the way Marx wanted it to be (workers against employers instead as in china where it was peasants against government)
He focuses on Marxism very much. Since the peasant class is the working class, he probably gains a ton of support since they make up a majority of the population. He says that there is a stronger economic base for a capitalist country as opposed to a communist country. He says that in order to undermine the small scale production of the country is to put the economy of the country onto a new technological basis for a new modern large scale producing country. He tells how the West has tried to keep them back from there potential but they were failures since socialism starts.
Lenin feels it necessary to get rid of Capitalism and become socialist/communist. He repeatdly speaks of russias large peasent population which needs to be transformed into a larger working class. He feels that Russia needs to get out of WWI and improve their technology. Unlike China he wants to work against the employers of the peasents rather than the people working against the government.
I can see why he was such a good leader. He promised the majority of the people change, and he was delivering on those promises.
Lenin knows that every economy that was thriving at the time was capitalist. He also sees that capitalism is still in Russia (but there's probably more in Russia than he realizes). These facts are hindering Lenin's communist advancement, but by pointing them out the few "wise men" can approach the problems to get rid of them.
hmmm i dont like the tension building between socialism and capitalism type governments. Lenin clearly states that he wants to destroy capitalism. I can see why the united states had all those witch hunts to take down all the communists. that was a direct threat to the united states and we had to do what we needed to to defend ourselfs
wow i never thought i would believe that communism was that bad until i read this, he is a really good speaker and knows how to persuade people to think communism isnt that bad. every single reason he states that russia should have a revolution is right and they all make sense of why they should
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