The Life and Impact of Vladimir Lenin Essay

Vladimir I. Lenin was a driving force behind the Russian Revolution of 1917 and became the first great dictator of the Soviet Union. After his brother was executed in 1887 (for plotting to kill the Czar), Lenin gave up studying law and became a full time revolutionary. He studied Karl Marx and formed workers' groups, but was arrested and exiled to Siberia in 1895. In 1900 he went to Europe, and in 1903 he led the Bolsheviks in the split of the Russian Social-Democratic Workers' party. When revolution broke out in Russia in 1917, he led the Bolsheviks to control the government. Lenin had complete political control over the Union of Soviet

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

The Marxists in Russia divided into two different political parties: The Mensheviks and Bolsheviks. Lenin led the Bolsheviks, they believed that the only way Russia would prevail was if it where to be governed by a small elite core of revolutionaries. February of 1917, workers gave protesting another try and actually had the soldiers side with them. The Tsar finally admitted defeat and stepped down from the throne and a provisional government was put into place. The leader of the provisional government was Andrew Kerensky, and when he decided to continue fighting World War I many soldiers deserted him and everyone turned to the Bolsheviks. The only political party to be completely against the provisional government as well as World War 1.

According to History.com Staff, “The provisional government had created a group of leaders from Russia’s bourgeois capitalist class. Lenin would alternatively call for a Soviet state that would be controlled directly by councils of workers, peasants, and soldiers.” (“Russian Revolution”). Both decided that the Soviets was going to be a useful instrument in the next revolution. They didn't want the Soviets to have all the power until they could control them. In the book, Rise and fall of Communism 2009, Archie Brown shows us that, “On 12 October, according to the old calendar, Trotsky took command of the Military Revolutionary Committee of the Petrograd Soviet and on 25 October...the Bolsheviks seized power in Petrograd” (Brown 51). Insurrection was to start, but there were complications with the date set. In the book, The History of the Russian Revolution 1960, Leon Trotsky says, “At a session of the Petrograd Soviet on the 18th, Trotsky, in answer to a question raised by the enemy, declared that the Soviet had not set a date for an insurrection, in the coming days, but that if it became necessary to set one, the workers and soldiers would come out as one man” (Trotsky 162). There were forty thousand workers in the army of Petrograd.

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

The effects that Lenin’s arrival first had on the Bolsheviks party began with the weakening of the provisional government, primarily ending Russia’s fight in the war. Lenin had been gathering supporters since the 1890s with those apart of the forces in the war, alongside other supporters, travelling worldwide and spreading his word of Marxist ideals and a Russia that was no longer wrapped up in World War One. It wasn’t long before he garnered enough manpower to seize control and caused a great deal of uproar when he had turned the Russian Army against the Russian provisional government to completely wash Prime Minister Kerensky out. After seizing railroad stations, telegraph lines, and government offices, and subsequently sending out the people-elected provisional government, Lenin was able to intimidate the elected government out of office and have control.

Trotsky in 1918 became the war commissar and he created the red army, and was a major figure in the Bolshevik victory in the Russian Civil War 1918–20. He was a great public speaker and war tactician. However many Bolsheviks were afraid that he would become a military dictator such as Nicholas 2nd was. Also he had a reputation for being arrogant which made him unpopular within the party, also after Lenin died the triumvirate group established this group was made up of Kamenev, Zinoviev and Stalin their aim was not to get Stalin into power but to keep Trotsky out of reach of power.

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.

1.Lenin and Stalin were in control of the Bolsheviks party. The beginning of the Bolsheviks’ Revolution Lenin’s words were yelled throughout the streets, “ All power to the soviets, Peace, Land, and Bread.” With the support of many city soviets, Lenin began to take power. The first thing Lenin does while in charge was distributing all farmland amongst the peasants. He let factories be controlled by the workers. The Bolsheviks party was all about helping the lower class. When people want to kill the czar, Lenin sees his opportunity to seize all power. The Russian Civil War ensues and the Bolsheviks take over. Lenine enforces the New Economic Policy which allows peasants to sell their surplus crop instead of handing it over to the government. When the Bolsheviks party was renamed the Communist Party, Lenin declared established a dictatorship. Lenin led the Communist party very successful, but as he got older he retired his position to Joseph Stalin. By 1924 Joseph Stalin received total control of the Communist Party. Stalin turned Russia into a police state, and turned against the Communist Party members. He concealed total control Soviet government. Lenin and Stalin transform Communist Party and Russia completely during their rule.

After hearing about the recent coup, throwing out the czar, Lenin came back to Russia from his exiled in Switzerland. Using his charisma and status, he helped kick start another revolution which knocked out the makeshift democracy. This made a place for the Bolsheviks (communists) to place themselves in a position of power in the government. (Rashid, Aatif). Lenin came to be an influential person in the Bolshevik party and used Karl Marx’s ideas to make Communism in Russia blossom. Two major things he did were make private industry and agriculture public and redistributed the land of wealthy proprietors to peasants. This went well for a few years, until the Russian Civil War ended in 1920. While they came out victorious, Russia was left in disaster. The economic productivity was insufficient and the people were starving and unhappy. Because of this, Lenin was desperate for a new change to benefit the people, so he announced the New Economic Policy. The state took control of large industries again, but people were encouraged to have private and individual businesses. Soon after this was out in place, another major change was about to occur in the Russian government. This occurred after Lenin died in 1924. Joseph Stalin took over his place and became the leader of the Communist Party. He began intimidating and doubting his rivals while also claiming to see spies everywhere. He cleared the party and general population of Russia or these so called “spies.” By executing or exiling rebels to Siberia, he struck fear into those who remained after his purging. Everyone lived in fear of Stalin’s secret police and he ruled over Russia with an iron fist from that point on until his death (Dagger,

People were becoming restless and beginning to question the authority of Czar Nicholas II. The events of Bloody Sunday forced the czar to allow some reform through his October Manifesto. The changes were not enough, the new Duma lacked power and could be easily disbanded by the czar. Finally, when Russia’s involvement in World War I used the remaining resources that were still available, the czar was overthrown and a provisional government put in place. A power struggle arose between the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks. During this time Lenin had already begun to rise in the ranks of the Bolsheviks. On the 4th of April, 1917, he issued his April theses in which he denounced the provisional government and stated his plans for the proceedings of the Bolsheviks and the Socialist future of Russia. Once he assumed total control, he began his rule with the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. The treaty allowed the Soviet Union to withdraw from World War I and in return it must give up a large amount of its territories in Europe. This allowed Russia to focus on its internal

Following this uprising, various socialist groups surfaced, with political views rooted in Marxist views – the main two being the Mensheviks and the Bolsheviks. The Bolsheviks were led by Vladimir Lenin, a radical who had spent most of his life abroad, studying socialist ideals and building a following. The Mensheviks, with a majority of workers and intellectuals, favored an electoral system with European-style reforms. When Lenin returned to Russia in 1917, the Bolsheviks were bolstered, in both quantity and motivation. The war was dragging on and the Russian public was frustrated and desperate. A power struggle developed between the provincial government and the Bolshevik party. This lasted for several months until Lenin and his supporters overthrew the government in Petrograd, capturing the Winter Palace, former home of the Russian monarchs.

In 1917, he seized control of Russia. He used the slogan " peace, bread and land " to gain support. Lenin believed in the model of communism. He felt capitalism was unfair because it created a very large poor class and a very small wealthy class.   Lenin saw that taking place in Russia. Early in his life, Lenin read a lot on Karl Marx. He looked to a book titled "The Communist Manifesto" written by Marx and Friedrich Engels. The focus of this work was on the unfairness between the rich and the poor. Lenin shared this vision of equality. He believed in a society controlled by the people where everyone was equal. This included ideas like no more private property , government control of education, and government owns and controls all communication and transportation. Lenin took Marx's views and further developed them. His one goal was to place Russia under Bolshevik control as quickly as possible. Although he gained support, it was a confusing time for Russia. Lenin's radical positions caused even greater division.  At times, he had to change his extreme positions just to get some support back and secure power. Lenin was smart and a great thinker, and did what he felt necessary to reach his

Vladimir Lenin was born on April 22, 1870. He was born in Simbirsk, Russia. Lenin was the third child of six. Lenin was the founder of the Russian Communist Party, and led the Bolshevik Revolution. Lenin’s goal was the reform Russia under communist control, and get rid of the Czar. He was the leader of the Bolsheviks during the Revolution. The Russian or Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolt to overthrow Czar Nicholas the II of Russia after World War I. The revolution started because the people noticed corruption in the government, and the economy was terrible. Lenin’s party led a coup d’etat against the government, and overtook the government, with Lenin as leader.

only had the firm support of 15 of 25 members on the 15th of October.