Vladimir Lenin

Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin was born on April 22^nd 1870, and died on January 21^st 1924. He is the practical founder of communism and was the first to implement communism in a nation-state. He was heavily influenced by Karl Marx and expanded on his ideas heavily. He started the Bolshevik revolution and managed to take over the Russian government overnight in the October Revolution of 1917. Lenin’s legacy was global. Some call the Bolshevik revolution as the most influential event of the 20^th century. He is misunderstood by western society, as many view him through the lens of the Cold War. In reality, he opted for a dictatorship of the political party, selflessly making himself less powerful for the benefit of the others. Stalin, however, changed it to a dictatorship of the one, essentially ruining Lenin’s nearly perfect system.

Before Lenin’s rise to power, Russia was enduring the hardships of modernity. The Tsar was barely holding onto power, and the people did not trust the government. Lenin’s older brother was a revolutionary and highly influenced by the aristocratic ideas, and Lenin himself wanted to follow in his brother’s foot steps. His older brother was executed for being a revolutionary, and this changed Lenin’s views from moderate to radical, as this even shaped Lenin’s path as a full-time Marxist revolutionary. Marxism is from the ideas of Karl Marx and Fredrich Engels in the pamphlet The Communist Manifesto and was a highly distributed piece of literature in Lenin’s time, and as a young man he studied this work almost religiously. It outlined what the proletariats (the working class) must do to overthrow the bourgeoisie (the middle working class). Lenin interpreted this work and joined many circles and political parties in which he would write and speak about the work of Marx. Later in life, when he decided to become a full time revolutionary, he formed a group of supporters known as the Bolsheviks, who were made predominantly of Marxist and other communist support groups. Lenin even created propaganda aimed at outside powers to spread his influence on a global scale. His propaganda appealed to the soldiers, farmers and factory workers of Russia who were, as he read in Marx and Engels book, extremely powerful as a political army. After building up so much support he returned to Russia during WWI as Russia was being decimated by the 2^nd Reich, who in turn was funding Lenin to undermine Russia’s exterior war efforts. When he returned he lead the Red October Revolution, the 2^nd of a pair of revolutions in 1917, this one would end up being an overnight coup d’état, literally walking into the government buildings and claiming they were the government. It somehow worked, and Lenin was now the first communist leader of Russia.

This revolution did not sit well with supporters of the Tsarist government, causing the Russian civil war shortly after the takeover. It was between Lenin’s Red Army and the monarchical supportive White Army. This war lasted 6 years and ended in a decisive Russian victory, creating the USSR, all under the rule of Lenin. It is impossible to talk about Lenin without thinking of his so-called partner Joseph Stalin, who was highly influential during the civil war. He forged military alliances, including a triumvirate against his rival Leon Trotsky. Lenin and Stalin’s relationship was almost purely political, as their characters seemed to clash with one another. Lenin died shortly after the civil war, and did not want Stalin to become the leader of the USSR, but ultimately, he was put into power.

When Lenin died in 1924 his legacy lived on well past his life, and will possibly even outlive those of the next century. Historians view him as one of the most influential figures of the 20^th century, and as the 100-year celebration of the October Revolution just behind us, it seems appropriate to reflect on the impact of Lenin and communism itself. Lenin created the first working communist state and in doing so started a legacy carried on still today by democratic-communist countries such as China, North Korea, Vietnam, Laos and Cuba. Communism is alive today because of Lenin and his Bolshevik Revolution, and the legacy he created shaped the world as we know it now, from the Cold War to the current relations the West have with Communist countries.

Torre Spina

Works Cited

Krupskaya, Nadezhda. “How Lenin Studied Marx.” Marxist Archives, Marxist Writers Archive, http://www.marxists.org/archive/krupskaya/works/howleninstudiedmarx.htm.

Luxemburg, Rosa. The Russian Revolution, and Leninism Or Marxism?. University of Michigan Press, 1961.

Resis, Albert. “Vladimir Lenin.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 30 Sept. 2016, http://www.britannica.com/biography/Vladimir-Lenin.

Sandvick, Clinton. “How did Vladimir Lenin Rise To Power?” Daily History, 24 Apr. 2017, dailyhistory.org/How_did_Vladimir_Lenin_Rise_To_Power%3F.

The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. “Russian Civil War.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 3 Jan. 2017, http://www.britannica.com/event/Russian-Civil -War.

Tismaneanu, Vladimir. “Leninist legacies, pluralist dilemmas.” Journal of Democracy 18.4 (2007): 34-39.

Weissman, Suzi. “The Legacy of Vladimir Lenin.” Jacobin Magazine, Bhaskar Sunkara, 25 May 2017, http://www.jacobinmag.com/2017/05/dilemmas-vladimir-lenin-tariq-ali-russian -revolution-democracy.

Other Readings

State and revolution – Vladimir Lenin

The Communist Manifesto – Karl Marx and Fredrich Engels

Che Guevara

June 14, 1928 – October 9, 1967

Ernesto “Che” Guevara was born in Rosario, Argentina to a middle-class family. Guevara was a Marxist revolutionary, along with being an author and physician. His countenance has become a symbol for rebellion, due to his involvement, and prominent position in the Cuban revolution. It is also due to his important role in the Cuban revolution that Che Guevara has become one of the most famous and widely known revolutionaries in all of world history. Guevara was named in Time Magazine’s “100 Most Influential People of the 20th Century.” Even a photo taken of Guevara entitled “Guerrillero Heroico” has been called “the most famous photograph in the world and a symbol of the 20th century”. Guevara’s name, ideologies, and also his very image has become a cornerstone for revolutionary thinkers in the modern era; those who believe exploitation and injustices can be cast away through revolutionary means look to Guevara for inspiration. Guevara showed himself to be a very prominent leader within Fidel Castro’s ‘26th of July Movement’ and was also a trusted advisor to Castro, who was the leader of the Cuban Revolution. Guevara was granted Cuban citizenship on January 9th, 1959 and was quickly recognized as one of the most influential members of Castro’s regime. With the support of the new Cuban Government, Guevara undertook many missions, both commercial, and diplomatic. Che Guevara is often regarded as one of the pioneers of Guerilla warfare, however Guevara did not emanate the key points of Guerilla warfare. Guevara merely adopted the principles of Guerrilla warfare to better suit the Latin American environment. The United States even used the principles laid down by Guevara in his book Che Guevara on Guerrilla Warfare as an anti-Guerilla warfare training manual for the American military. Che Guevara and his work have had an immense influence on the development of social and political thought in Latin America. The ideas which Guevara held have inspired many of the radical groups within Latin America to mirror the ‘Cuban Example’ and so they took off into the countryside or mountains, just as Guevara and Castro did. Following his death in 1967, Che Guevara remained a very prominent face and name on a worldwide scale. Admirer’s of Guevara remember him as an idealistic man, dedicated to the revolution; however, critics of Guevara see him as a mentally unstable, bloodthirsty man, who was a failure in all of his endeavours. Arguably the most valuable thing left behind by Guevara were the lessons learned through the example of his unsuccessful campaign in Bolivia. This campaign demonstrated that in order for Guerilla tactics to be successful they must be in

cooperation with local rural communities, and also that Guerilla tactics can be susceptible to “regular troops trained in counterinsurgency tactics.” As a trained physician, author, and Marxist revolutionary, Che Guevara became one of the most prominent figures in the Cuban revolution, and also a symbol for many revolutionaries within Latin America and other places around the globe. To the present day Che Guevara remains one of the most recognizable faces of rebellion, and one of the most widely known faces and names in all of history.

 

Gary Ghag

Bibliography

Crain, David A. “Che Guevara” Salme Press Biographical Encyclopedia (2017)

Harris, Richard L. “Che Guevara: A Biography” ABC-CLIO, LLC (2011)

Scauzillo, Robert J. “Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara: A Research Bibliography.” L atin American Research Review 5, no. 2 (1970)

 

Other Relevant Reading
Jazeera, Al. “Who was Che Guevara?” Cuba News | Al Jazeera. (2017)

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/10/che-guevara-171008111523876.html. James, Daniel. “Che Guevara: A Biography” Cooper Square Press. (2001)