Vladimir Lenin (1870 - 1924)
Leader of the 1917 Russian Revolution
© Anup Mukherjee i3pep.org
Part 1 (This Page) Part 2
[A version of this essay was published in the Encyclopedia of Leadership (Sage, 2004)]
Among the world’s great revolutionary leaders, Lenin is recognized for his efforts to put Marxism into actual practice and for creating the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, which survived for over seventy years. He was diligent, passionate, and original in his approach to achieve his objective. Born Vladimir Ilich Ulyanov in Simbirsk (now Ulyanovsk), Russia, he was much influenced by the fate of his elder brother, Sasha, who was caught in a conspiracy to kill the Czar and sentenced to death. Vladimir later adopted Sasha’s nickname, Lenin, and would sign documents Ulyanov (Lenin). Lenin was drawn to the social and economic theories of Karl Marx (1818 - 1883). In 1893 Lenin joined the revolutionary movement in St. Petersburg; in 1895 he was arrested and in 1897 deported to Siberia for three years. After return from this exile in 1900, he led a life of material hardship but prolific literary output, in such cities as London, Munich, Geneva, Brussels, Paris, Stockholm, and Zurich. From 1903 he was the leader (from Europe) of the Bolshevik party. He published several revolutionary magazines through which he aimed to win factory workers over to his vision of a classless, worker-led society. Lenin accepted Marx’s thought unaltered and was proud to be an orthodox Marxist. He opposed revisionism.
Lenin returned to Russia in April after the political revolution of March 1917 when the czar had abdicated. Technically, Czar was not “overthrown” because the Czar abdicated in favour of his brother - it was only after his brother Grand Duke Michael refused, that monarchy came to an end. Once back in Russia, Lenin took up the leadership of the country’s revolutionary movement. The March revolution had ushered in freedom of the press and amnesty for political prisoners in Siberia, it was the second phase of the revolution - the social revolution - that changed the very structure of society. It was this phase that was characterized by Lenin’s strength of personality. His thought and will matched the revolutionary potential in Russia at that time. He opposed reform-minded groups categorically, and refused to compromise on socialist principles. As a leader, the most important thing that he did was to create a team of dedicated followers who shared his dreams, ideas, and objectives. Among them were Leon Trotsky (1879 - 1940), Lev Kamenev (1883 - 1936), Grigory Zinovyev (1883 -1936), Joseph Stalin (1879 - 1953), Vyacheslav Molotov (1890 - 1986), and Nikolay Bukharin (1888 - 1938).
He did not believe in parliamentary republics or a bourgeois democracy. This was because in such a political system, it was the rich who got represented. Rather, he envisioned a republic of soviets (elected councils) of industrial and agricultural workers whereby such under-classes would get representation. He faced many obstacles in trying to realize this dream, however. First, his ideas were shared only by his fellow party members. Moreover, many thought his plan represented too hasty a rush from feudal to socialist society, as it skipped the intervening capitalist stage that Marx had postulated was necessary. At one stroke Lenin was trying to eliminate the historical stage of capitalism.
When Lenin returned to Russia in April 1917 from Switzerland, he had two clear tasks: to organize the Bolsheviks and to see to it that the Bolsheviks represented the majority in local soviets throughout the country. These were daunting tasks, as the Bolsheviks were in the minority in the soviets that had formed during the March revolution, and many of the party’s leaders were in exile or custody. After his arrival, Lenin put forth his ideas clearly in his April Thesis (April 4). His ability to communicate well with his audience was one characteristic of his leadership. He came up with the slogan “Peace! Land! Bread!,” and his idea that power should lie with the local soviets worked magic. People everywhere demanded peace for the soldiers, land for the peasants, and bread for the workers - thus radicalising the discontented classes.
Having established his authority, Lenin convened the RSDLP (Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, also known as the Bolshevik Party) in end April. Meanwhile, Trotsky organized the Red Guards. While in April 1917 Lenin’s slogan had been “All power to the soviets,” by June, when he had consolidated his party, his slogan changed to “All power to the Party.” The Bolsheviks were able to bring the peasants and the proletariat (industrial workers) together by providing a common platform against the bourgeoisie. Under Lenin’s leadership, the centrality of the land question was emphasized. As most of the soldiers were peasants, the issues of land rights and peace was linked.
Lenin refused to compromise or work with other political parties, adopting a policy of total opposition to them. Consequently, while more-powerful rival political groups became increasingly compromised by the unpopularity of the government, the Bolsheviks could claim to be more representative of people’s wishes and also to have an independent program.
In July 1917 Lenin suffered a setback when a group of Bolsheviks tried to take control of the government by force a move Lenin had opposed and were unsuccessful. The Bolshevik leaders were arrested or had to go underground. Those who were opposed to Bolsheviks even claimed that the Bolsheviks were German agents. However, eventually the documents that led to the charges of being German agents was found to be forged, and the Bolshevik leaders were released without trial on nominal or no bail.
In July 1917, a military offensive launched by Russia’s Gen. Aleksey Brusilov (1853 - 1926) failed, and the army was faced with large-scale desertions. In August Brusilov was replaced by Gen. Lavr Kornilov (1870 - 1918), who subsequently attempted to overthrow Russia’s provisional government. In this chaotic situation the provisional government appealed to Bolsheviks for defense of Petrograd (present-day St. Petersburg) and also gave arms to the Red Guards. At the end of September, when elections to the soviets were held, Bolsheviks won a majority in local soviets all over the country, as well as majorities in the Petrograd and the Moscow soviets for the first time. Once these majorities had been won, Lenin pressed for immediate action. He saw it as the right time for the Bolsheviks to seize power by force. Interestingly, he was opposed by his colleagues in this. They thought that while it might be possible to take over the twin capitals of Moscow and Petrograd, it would be difficult to hold on to power, given that they were unsure of their support in other regions. Lenin persuaded with reason that once in power, land would be given to the peasants and consequently peasants would come to their support. Again it was a chance turn of events that helped Lenin’s view prevail.
Part 1 (This Page) Part 2