Leninism

Leninism is a political, economic, and social ideology developed by twentieth-century Russian politician and revolutionary Vladimir Lenin. The system borrows heavily from Marxism, the social and economic theories of German political philosopher Karl Marx.

In its most basic form, Leninism opposes the profit-centric economic system of capitalism and instead calls for the revolution of the proletariat, the working-class commoners, to bring about socialism. Socialism is a political system in which all people share equally in the property of a state. Leninism was the ruling political system in Russia, and later the Soviet Union, from 1917 until the early 1990s, when the country became a federal republic.

Historical Background

Leninism was so named only after Vladimir Lenin's death in the early 1920s. However, Lenin had developed the philosophy itself in the late 1800s and early 1900s as what he believed to be a necessary replacement for the imperialist system then in place in Russia. Imperialism is a form of government in which emperors, or absolute monarchs, rule their countries with total power and attempt to overtake other countries by force.

The passion Lenin felt in leading the Russian Revolution against the tsar, or emperor, of Russia in 1917 and subsequently installing a Leninist government in the country can be traced to his early years.

Born in 1870, Lenin had become interested in revolutionary politics while a law student in the late 1880s and early 1890s. His brother had been executed in 1887 for planning to assassinate Emperor Alexander III, tsar of Russia at the time. Russian politics, therefore, became a personal issue for Lenin, and, while at school, he started reading a variety of radical literature.

The writer whose works exerted possibly the most influence on the young Lenin was the German political philosopher Karl Marx. It was Marx who had conceived of the political ideology known as communism, a social and economic system in which the people of a country share in collective national profits and do not own private property. Marx believed communism would make societies classless and, therefore, equal.

One of the central aspects of communism is what Marx called the dictatorship of the proletariat. Marx envisioned this as government rule by the working class. In Marxist thought, the proletariat would come to power only by staging revolutions against their imperialist leaders and ultimately establishing communism.

Lenin declared himself a fervent Marxist in 1889. He moved to St. Petersburg in the 1890s and subsequently began colluding with other Marxists to organize a revolutionary movement against the tsarist government. The process would take until 1917, as movements to unseat Tsar Nicholas II earlier in the century had failed.

Nicholas was finally overthrown in the February Revolution, one part of the larger Russian Revolution of 1917. Lenin, with his Marxist forces known as the Bolsheviks, then led the October Revolution later that year, which completed the Russian Revolution and ended with Lenin taking over the government. For the next seven years of his rule, Lenin installed his own brand of Marxism into Russian government and society. His ideology later came to be called Leninism.

Aspects of Leninism

Leninism was essentially Marxism put into actual practice. It was a system consisting of various elements that Lenin believed were crucial to achieving the kind of perfect society Marx had envisioned. However, at no time during his tenure as leader of Russia did Lenin refer to his policies collectively as Leninism, for the term was applied to his ideology only after his death in 1924.

Dictatorship of the Proletariat

To Lenin, the most important characteristic of a Marxist society was the dictatorship of the proletariat. Lenin agreed with Marx that the proletariat could never attain this dictatorship without a revolution that overthrew the people's imperialist leaders. This had been the purpose of the Russian Revolution.

However, Lenin's proletariat dictatorship never fully developed. The Bolshevik takeover of Russia in 1917 led to the outbreak of a bloody civil war between Lenin's forces and those loyal to the deposed tsar. Lenin quickly became a tyrant simply to defend his own position as leader. Meanwhile, the actual proletariat was suffering. Under Lenin's government, millions of peasants across Russia became afflicted by extreme poverty and starvation.

Socialism

Leninism also ushered socialism into Russian government and society. Lenin's leadership saw the country begin to employ soviets, or councils, of peasants and other working poor to allow the commoners truly to govern themselves.

In theory, socialist self-government by councils such as these would have worked like any other democracy in the world at the time. However, the politics and conflicts of Lenin's tumultuous few years in power prevented the soviets from operating as theorized. In reality, Lenin's Communist Party, made up of his loyal Bolsheviks, controlled all aspects of Russian society.

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.), or Soviet Union, was founded in 1922, with Lenin serving as its first head of state. After Lenin's death in 1924, Joseph Stalin became general secretary of the Soviet Communist Party. The Soviet Union thereafter became a totalitarian state. Stalin first applied the term Leninism to the communist government that would be practiced in the Soviet Union until the 1990s.

Rejection of Capitalism and Religion

Leninism at its core wholly opposed capitalism, which Lenin considered another form of imperialism. Capitalism was the opposite of socialism in that it allowed individuals to accumulate great wealth through their labors and perpetually hold power over the poor. To Lenin, this was no different from the detested monarchy of the former Russian empire.

Leninism also rejected religion. Soon after the Russian Revolution, Lenin began ordering that churches be demolished or converted into grain storage buildings. The purpose of this was to replace the ideology of religion with that of Marxism. Stalin continued this practice with even greater enthusiasm after becoming Soviet dictator, as he sought to increase the power and influence of the Communist Party.

Bibliography

"An Introduction to Lenin and Leninism." Socialistworker.org. International Socialist Organization. 3 June 2015. Web. 29 Feb. 2016. http://socialistworker.org/2015/06/03/an-introduction-to-lenin-and-leninism

Maniratnam, Nandan. "Democratic Dictatorship." The Contours of Leninism. Chennai, India: Bharathi Puthakalayam, 2008. 13–14. Print.

"Of Russian Origin: Marxism-Leninism." Russiapedia. TV-Novosti. Web. 29 Feb. 2016. http://russiapedia.rt.com/of-russian-origin/marxism-leninism/

"Vladimir Lenin." History. A&E Television Networks, LLC. Web. 29 Feb. 2016. http://www.history.com/topics/vladimir-lenin

"What Is the Leninist Approach?" Socialistworker.org. International Socialist Organization. 17 June 2015. Web. 29 Feb. 2016. http://socialistworker.org/2015/06/17/what-is-the-leninist-approach