Lenin Essay, Research Paper
Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, later known as Lenin was a key figure in European history. Lenin led the Bolsheviks (which later became known as communists) to overthrow the Russian Tsar, and to bring socialism to Russia. Lenin introduced Communism to Russia. This changed the history for Russia as well as the rest of Europe, and to this day has had a huge effect on the Russian economy. Lenin?s impact on Europe and Russia consisted of him applying Marxist ideas, which later led to complete Communism, and a threat to Europe and the rest of world.
In developing his plan of socialism in Russia, Lenin followed the examples of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, the original developers of the communist theory. The main aspect of any kind of government, and especially socialism, is its economic structure. Lenin explained that in his economic theory, called Imperialism, the first step was to gradually move into a joined monopoly – capitalist phase, which later would become communism. Lenin went on to say that based on the disproportion between economic development of the monopoly stage, which is the beginning of full socialism, and capitalism, which is the meaning of a private life and freedom from others. The only problem with that theory is that a Monopoly and Capitalism are complete opposites of each other, and were bound to cause problems.(http://venus.spaceports.com/~theory/economy_1.htm) Lenin knew of this problem, but considered it a stepping stone in the right direction. He predicted problems, but thought in due time his economic machine would operate with great success, and make Russia into a world mega power.
Lenin?s plan of communism for Russia was supposed to be great. People were supposed to get free education, free medical care, everybody makes the same amount of money, working equally as hard, and everybody was supposed to get the same advantage in life. But it would never work out quite as planed.
On October 25, 1917 (November 7th according to the new Gregorian calendar), Lenin led the Bolsheviks in a Socialist Revolution that would lead Lenin in charge of Russia. Everything that had been set in stone about the life and culture of Russian over the past centuries, would change during the course of one night. People were expecting great things, Lenin and others associated with his party, made Karl Marx?s ideas about Communism sound great. Once Lenin came to power and tried to execute his plans towards his nation things went terribly wrong for the people of Russia.
The problems started with the working class or the proletariat, the people that Lenin put in charge of the nation. As common knowledge, proletariats are not the most educated people, with no knowledge of how to help run a Socialist government. So the proletariats started making decisions that would hurt the common man in Russia. Decease, hunger and even cannibalism struck over some parts of the nation, where as before in the Monarchy rule under Tsar Nicholas II, Russia was as rich in agriculture as any other country in the world.(Shinskaya) Another promise that Lenin kept was that he gave the peasants more land. Also, he forced the peasants to move to collective farms, called ?Kalhoz? (Russian). The peasants didn?t have any privacy, all their personal belongings were taken and put to public use in their collective farms. An example of the changes going on in the work force, on socialistic collective farm, was farmers, one farmer has two cows, the other had none. In a communistic government, where everybody is completely equal, Lenin would make the two farmers coexist and work with each other, and make the farmer with two cows share with the farmer with no cows at all. Allowing the farmer with no cows to free load off the farmer with two cows. That is Communism; unfair, but too bad, you can?t do anything about it. The peasants became outraged and started to strike. Bolshevik at first sight of resistance began to shoot down innocent people fighting for their freedom, all by the order of Lenin.(Isayevich 98) The problems didn?t end there.
Back in the old days of Monarch Russia, the Russian people had a great belief of the church. In one of Karl Marx?s publishing?s about communism, he replies ?Religion is opium for the common man.?(Isayevich 135) When Lenin took over he forbid religion, destroyed all the churches, and murdered all the priests, turning great national landmarks built by the blood and sweat of the Russian man into rubble. Anybody who tried to believe in something besides communism was murdered with out justice or a right to a trial by the authority of Vladimer Ilyich, Lenin.
Lenin didn?t want anyone to try to bring back the old Monarchy ways of Russia. He had the Bolshevik army murder Tsar Nicholas II, his wife, all his children and anybody who was associated with the Tsar.(Service 78) Lenin?s Bolshevik army, also known as the Red Army, went to a civil war with the peasants and the opposers of the socialist regime, which was the White Army. Russia was going through a turbulent time, fighting opposing nations, and a civil war that happened for eight months in the year 1918, and going through hunger, despair and decease.(Liberman)
The plans of a world wide socialist revolution was now wide spread among neighboring nations. Based on their conclusions from Russia and how they handled the change and the horrible crimes that were committed against humanity on the part of the socialist party. Other countries around Europe wanted no part of communism, and considered it a serious threat to their existence.