4.5 Leninism and Stalinism

Leninism


Karl Marx had expected the communist revolution to strike in the industrial heartlands of Britain, France, and Germany. However, these countries avoided a Marxist revolution by reforming classical liberalism into modern liberalism. The first successful communist revolution occurred, surprisingly, in Russia.

Bad leadership, shortages of food, and Russian losses to the Germans in World War I contributed to the downfall of Tsar Nicholas II. Among the various groups competing for power in Russia, was a group led by Lenin called the Bolsheviks, an extremist socialist group. Lenin was a Marxist who saw in the turmoil of the Russian revolt an opportunity to form a communist government.


Vladimir Lenin (1870-1924)

Lenin came from a wealthy intellectual family. About 1890, Lenin encountered Marx's ideas and began his revolutionary activity, for which he was expelled from university. After being arrested and spending a year in prison, he was exiled from Russia. In 1917, he was smuggled back into Russia by the Germans with the hope that he would lead a revolution that would pull Russia from World War I. He led the Bolsheviks in the communist October Revolution, 1917, and seized power by force from the provisional government in Russia.

A popular Bolshevik slogan was "Peace! Land! Bread!"

  • Peace was about getting Russia out of World War I.

  • Land was about taking land from wealthy landowners and distributing it to the peasants.

  • Bread was about getting food to the people because they were starving due to WWI.

After Lenin was in control of Russia, he pulled Russia out of World War I.

Please watch the following video explaining Vladimir Lenin:

 


Lenin was the founder of the Communist Party and the Soviet Union

He took Marxist ideology (Marxism) and put it into practice. Leninism is Marxism applied to the political and economic systems of Russia. Lenin overthrew the government of Russia, established an authoritarian dictatorship, and introduced socialist economic principles.

One of Lenin's major contributions to Marxism was the importance of the Communist Party. Whereas Marx believed the proletariat would come collectively to realize the need for revolution, Lenin believed an elite group would have to rally the people. These elite revolutionaries would be members of the Communist Party.


In the beginning, Lenin seized all the means of production in the name of the people. He took the land from the wealthy landowners and gave it to the peasants. He also took control of the railways, banks, and all foreign trade.

With that completed, Lenin faced the problem of rebuilding the economy. He pushed for organized control of production and distribution of goods. He called on the workers to increase productivity, to develop large scale industries, and to be more disciplined and efficient.

To the bright future of communist society, universal prosperity and enduring peace.


In the spring of 1918, those opposed to Lenin's policies started a civil war with the aid of forces from America, Britain, France, and Japan. This civil war led Lenin to impose a drastic policy known as War Communism. Under this policy, peasants were forced to give up surplus crops to feed Lenin's Red Army. Factory workers were told where to work. Factories employing more than ten workers were nationalized; that is, they became the property of the government.

Lenin's communist Red Army was successful, but the cost was high. Millions of people were killed and millions more faced starvation. The economy was devastated. Most factories were not in working order, the railway system had collapsed, and there were shortages of materials everywhere.


Out of NEP there will be a socialist Russia.

Lenin saw the need for drastic action. He put into operation the New Economic Policy, or N.E.P. The plan called for for a temporary retreat from socialism and a return to some capitalist principles, such as individual incentive and profit-making.

Peasants were encouraged to grow more food. The surplus crops could be sold in private markets for a profit. Entrepreneurs were allowed on a small scale. Factories employing less than twenty workers were put back into private ownership.

Lenin saw these moves as only temporary setbacks to socialism. He kept government control of the large factories, heavy industry, banks, railways, and foreign trade.
By 1924, food and industrial production had risen dramatically. Unfortunately, in 1924, Lenin died and the Soviet Union was again thrown into turmoil.

Please watch the following video explaining The New Economic Policy:

 




What do you think?

  • Was Lenin's rejection of liberalism justified?

  • Was his version of communism for Russia a valid one?   



Read "Understandings of Leninism" on pages 164-166 of your textbook, Understandings of Ideologies. These pages will further your understanding of the concept of Soviet communism's rejection of liberalism.

You should make notes, either on paper or on your computer, about what you have read. You may want to read the tutorial How to Make Notes. When you are finished the tutorial, return here to continue this unit.