High grade Alevel History (Tsarist and Communist Russia, 1855–1964) essay on 'To what extent in the years did Lenin abandon ideology to gain and consolidate power?'
To what extent in the years 1903-1924 did Lenin abandon ideology to gain and consolidate
power?
• Chronological focus: 1903 (SD split)- 1924 (Lenin dies).
• Analysis: abandon- yes did abandon/ no did not abandon
• Topic: ideology
Lenin’s ideology:
• ‘All power to the soviets’- dictatorship of proletariat to prevent a counter-revolution.
• Creation of a socialist state- destroy capitalism and replace with common ownership.
• International socialist revolution.
• Promote socialist thinking amongst the population.
• Need a ‘vanguard’ to seize power in the name of the workers.
There is evidence of both Lenin adhering to ideology and also abandoning it in order to
consolidate his power. Primarily in accordance with his ideology, Lenin used the Bolsheviks to
act as a vanguard of the proletariat and initiate a socialist revolution whilst promoting a
‘dictatorship of the proletariat’ in line with Marxist thinking. However, due to the economic,
political and social crisis’ in Russia during 1903 to1924, Lenin was forced to deviate from his
original foresight of Socialism, evident in his pamphlet of ‘what is to be done?’ in 1902.
Arguably Lenin adopts a more pragmatic approach towards the end of this period, increasingly
placing priority on maintaining power not sticking to his ideological aims.
At the start of this period, evidence suggests that Lenin did not abandon ideology and
attempted to promote socialist thinking and reject the Provisional Government. The SD split in
1903 was based on Lenin’s belief in a centralised and disciplined organisation of professional
revolutionaries. Lenin carried the vote in the Second party Congress in favour of a centralised
party structure, arguing for professional revolutionaries and promoting his ideological belief of
a dictatorship of proletariats. Furthermore, Lenin’s rejection of the Duma and the Bolsheviks
boycotts in 1906 emphasised his desire to create a socialist state, arguing that the Duma was a
mere illusion of democracy and did not allow people to exercise any power. However, after
previously denouncing the Duma as a ‘sham’, the Bolsheviks became part of the 1907 second
Duma which would not have enabled Lenin to adhere to the establishment of a socialist state,
arguably abandoning ideology. Lenin’s promotion of socialist thinking is evident in the high
circulation of Bolshevik propaganda such as Pravda and Iskra in 1912. Lenin was also involved in
labour organisations, purposely agitating workers, riling them up in order to create his desired
‘vanguard’ of the working classes to lead the revolution. Especially in the Lena Goldfields strike
in 1912, Lenin encouraged workers to demand for food, better working conditions and pay, in
order to build the support, he needed to create a socialist state and destroy capitalism.
However, Lenin’s primary focus was clearly on what the workers wanted not ideology,
portraying a more pragmatic approach and deviating from ideology in order to gain support and
therefore power.
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