How Did Vladimir Lenin Contribute To The Rise Of Communism In Russia

Vladimir Lenin, founder and leader of the Bolsheviks, failed the Soviet Union with his New Economic Policy (NEP), which was designed to bring more money to the USSR and help their economy flourish. This was introduced with the idea of “War Communism.” War Communism started during World War I and dealt with the economic and social problems facing the USSR during the war. With most resources going to the military, grain production was low and forced millions of peasants to move and turn to cannibalism. Peasants tried to revolt for change but were killed. Because of this, the Bolsheviks lost their main supporters (working class, peasants, etc.) This led Lenin to bring about the NEP. Many in his party saw the Capitalistic ideals of the NEP as a

From the initial seizure of power in 1917 until 1924, the Bolsheviks were confronted with a series of crises that threatened their ability to control and govern in Russia. The response and resolutions to these crises included Initial Reforms, Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, Civil War, Red terror, War Communism and the NEP. Under the leadership of Lenin, the execution of these responses were made possible and the Bolsheviks were able to maintain and expand their power. The Civil War however was the direct consequence of the Bolshevik’s actions as they tried to maintain their grasp on power. The victory in the Civil War was extremely pivotal for the Bolshevik consolidation of power as it brought control and power but more importantly it eliminated

His “Socialism in One Country” policy said that although revolutions in other countries had failed, Russia could still build socialism by using Lenin’s NEP. Stalin and the Centre allied with the Right and Bukharin over the NEP policy, wanting to continue with it. This gave Stalin someone to help him and keep him popular and powerful.

Lenin and the Bolsheviks assumed power in Russia, in 1917 because of many reasons. Lenin promised to take farmland away from the rich and give to the poor. He promised and end to the war with Germany if he came to power. He demanded all over Russia, control of cities should be given to the Soviets councils of workers. Septembers 1917, is when the Bolsheviks won the election for control of the Soviet in the city of Petrograd (council made up of workers). Then in October, 1917, Lenin ordered the Bolsheviks to violently take over the Tsar’s winter palace, which was the new meeting place for the Provisional Government.

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

Socialism is a economic and political system in which the means of production operate under public political ownership, sometimes called common ownership. Common ownership under socialism may take shape through technocratic, oligarchic, totalitarian, democratic or even voluntary rule. All legal production and distribution decisions are made by the ruling class.

In October 1917, there was enough opposition for Lenin to take power as leader of the Bolsheviks. The Provisional Government provided him with no majority support, with the Bolsheviks winning 24% and the SRs gaining 54% of votes. The Liberal period consisting of keeping workers and peasants happy left them with little power. Decree on land gives noble land to peasantry so that they have legal title to it, did it to stop rebellion and get peasant support in the civil war. 2. War Communism- Summer 1918 (civil war)- more authoritarian. 3. 1921- New Economic freedom for peasantry Economic policy- less authoritarian.

Socialist governments have a similar structure to the U.S. government: the people vote, laws are made by a legislator, there is a constitution.

The first section of Fitzpatrick’s essay discusses how Marxism was such an important part to creating classes during the Bolsheviks rule in the beginning of the 20th Century. She notes that this western belief system was popular with Russian intellectuals, especially on revolutionary left. (173) However, around the 1890’s industrialization was starting to catch up with the Marxist dreams, and the first soviets were founded in Moscow and Petersburg in 1905 helped bring down the tsarist regime in February 1917 (Suny 173).

Socialism in America began in Chicago IL, June 15-21, 1897. This ideology was founded at a joint convention of the new combined American Railway Union. This was due to the two Railway Industries combining with each other, Eugene V. Debs and the Brotherhood of the

Many countries have had a socialist government before, but have since abandoned it, including the former USSR, East Germany, and Czechoslovakia. The Cold War is a good example of the differences and tensions between socialism and capitalism. The Cold War happened immediately after World War two between the Soviet Union and the United States, and ended in the early 1990s, after the falling of the Berlin Wall. There was never any large scale fighting between the two sides, but there were nuclear threats and several regional wars fought by allies of the two sides. The Cold War began when the Soviet Union attempted to enforce socialism or communism into Eastern Europe, and the United States, a capitalist and traditionally anti-socialist/communist nation, tried

Socialism must be implemented, according to Marx, in the wake of a successful and vast capitalistic structure. Russia was without such a structure, so Lenin and the Bolsheviks, insistent on their socialist dreams by any means necessary, turned to force to institute their version of socialism. The atrocities committed by the newly coined Soviets, their Red Army, and the Cheka or police force, against their enemies and those who resisted came to be known as the Red Terror.

Lenin thought the idea of a revolution, and the planning of it was effortless and simple to carry on. He believed the attack had to be made in three key places, including Petrograd, Moscow and Baltic Fleet. He believed the Petrograd soldiers were able to obtain the Winter Palace, the General Staff Building and other important buildings adding that this would cause Alexander Kerensky to surrender. Notwithstanding, the Bolshevik Central Committee did not accept his ideas, leading to an ultimatum sent by Lenin, in which he resigned to the Committee, and stated that he would have the right to issue propaganda to those other members of the party.

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”).

The Bolshevik party was based on Marxist ideals, ideals which sought to rid society of class conflict and create an egalitarian society. After the fall of the provisional government, the Bolsheviks were now able to implement an economic policy of their own, introducing a form of communism called ‘War Communism’. It was a form of strict communism that, amongst many things, took money out of circulation and banned private enterprise. It should, therefore, seem surprising that the Bolshevik government got rid of this policy, a policy which espoused many Marxist principles of destroying interclass conflict through the abolition of private enterprise, and replacing it with the NEP, a policy which at first glance, may resemble something much more capitalist orientated than would one expect of a party based on communist ideals. The NEP was a policy that reintroduced “a free market and capitalism, both subject to state control” . This may have therefore have been a step back from achieving a Marxist utopia in the Russian State but it can be argued that the continuance of war communism would have ultimately led to the utter economic collapse of the Russian state and the NEP prevented this from occurring.