In the February Revolution, it was decided that the Czar's rule was hindering the nation of Russia. The people rose up against the Czar and critiziced his every action. The people decided that it was in their best interest to overthrow the Czar and replace him with a new form of government. They were hoping that "under new management" would help turn the tides of the country and lead them into more prosperous times. The government they put into place was the Provisional Government. Unfortunately, the Provisional Government was not much of a solution at all. There were many flaws in this Provisionaly Government and it was angering the people of Russia. At this point in time, Lenin, realizing that the country was practically begging for someone to step into power, decided it was time to act and create the "Utopia" he had imagined.
The Provisional Government was not the solution that the people needed. It had almost as many flaws as the Czar himself. The biggest issue was that the Provisional Government failed to make peace with Germany (Book Source). The Provisional Government relied heavily on the concept of Patriotism. They refused to pull Russia out of the war even though its troops were being ground to dust (Book Source). This severely angered the people. They wanted out of the war. There were Russians dying and they felt like the tides of the war were set in stone and that they were bound to lose the war.
The failure to pull Russia out of the war was enough to anger the people of Russia. They needed a solution. They needed someone who could satisfy their needs. This is when Lenin comes. Lenin was a Russian citizen who over the years had accumulated a stance as a revolutionary with extremist Marxist beliefs. In 1897, Lenin was arrested and sentenced to "administrative exile" (Book Source). He was shipped off to Siberia. However, Germany took notice of the happenings in Russia and took interest. They took notice of the instability of the Provisional Government. At this point in history, Germany had the largest Marxist Party out of anyone. They took interest in Lenin due to his Marxist beliefs and invested that he could rise to power in Russia which would, as a result, benefit the country of Germany. They paid for his secret return into Russia to begin his quest to become ruler.
Lenin began his quest by first appealing to the people. He told them exactly what they wanted to hear. The first thing that he concentrated on was getting Russia out of World War One. This was the biggest of the peoples' concerns. He addressed this in the first of his points in the April Thesis. The second thing he focused on was dividing the power among the poorest strata of peasantry. These first two things gained interest of him in the people. The people, after this, were now interested in what Lenin had to say. Lenin, in a way, "captivated" the interests of the people. With their interest captivated, he then exposed the errors of the Provisional Government. He denounced its name and challenged the people with the task of rising against this Government and to accept him as the new leader. The next six points in his April Thesis deal with how his government would benefit the people of Russia. He proposed giving them more land and promised to listen to the voices and opinions of the poorest of peasants. He painted the image of this perfect "Utopia" for the citizens of Russia. With these images painted into their brains, the people of Russia invested in Lenin and the October Revolution which overthrew the Provisional Government soon was to follow.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
You have some interesting points, I did not know that Germany had a large Marxist party. It makes sense now that Germany would want Lenin to come into power, that part of his uprising was always confusing to me, so thank you. You said that Lenin told the people exactly what they wanted to hear, but was it only for the sake of his partys' cause? Obviously, he would need the support of the people to be able to lead them (the Provisional Gov't and Czar proved that they needed the people behind them in order to stabilize), but do you think his reasons to lead Russia were utterly selfish? I'm not Lenin, but I think that after he went through all of the trouble to make himself heard, put into exile, and making amends with the people (concerning their attitudes towards the gov't) he would want more than just the establishment of his party. I'm not denouncing his intentions of establishing it as well, but more that he cared about Russia. As you said, he wanted to create a Utopia. I think he had good intentions, and sincerely thought that his party would have the best things to do for Russia. Maybe not the people as much, though. It was more about what he thought than what they wanted. His desire to "paint pictures" for people as he sees it would later on cloud his judgement.
ReplyDeleteWilliam, I agree with the fact that Lenin came back to Russia at a very good time. He definitely planned his return to his advantage because the Russian people were very upset with the Czar and Provisional Government. And you did clear up the reason why Germany was behind Lenin, I was confused about that as well. But Jeanine, I disagree with the point you make about Lenin having good intentions. William it is unclear to me if you think he did or not but I definitely do not think Lenin was for the good of the people. Lenin wanted to be a dictator which is why he established a communist dictatorship. I believe the reason why he threw in the communism part was just so that he would not look like the Czar. I think everything Lenin did was to make himself look better in the eyes of the people, but not necessarily because he wanted what was best for the people.
ReplyDeleteI am with Jeannine that you have made some interesting points. However, you do not mention anything about Lenin's TRUE desires in taking over Russia. He promises his people this, but he turns out to be more of a tyrant and a terror to the people than the czar or provisional government. We learned in source 3, the book source, that Lenin enstated concentration camps and forced labor camps that killed off his people. Was this a desire of the people?? And in his April Theses, he again made promises that he did not keep. So, neither the provisional government nor Lenin gave the people what they wanted, but which was worse?? A provisional government that did not give the people what exactly everything they had hoped for?? Or Lenin who gave the people some of what they wanted, but gave them no other option but to follow him and still terrorized and killed them??
ReplyDeleteExcuse me being unclear.
ReplyDeleteIf there are any doubts, I will plainly state that my intentions are to point out the fact that Lenin used the tactic of saying what the people wanted to hear ONLY to get himself into power. He had very selfish desires. Jeanine you mention the fact that he was exiled for his actions. I think this furthers my point by providing a motive for his anger against the previous government and a quest to put himself into power.
I think you incorrectly state that Lenin wanted a Utopian society. "Utopia" comes from a political ideaology established in the 1500's. Although we commonly accept this term as the perfect society, which is what it typically means, in this case, the definition does not fit. In "Utopia" the purpose was that every person had a distinct job; all would contribute a service at the acceptance of the service of another. Together, the people would rule, without a definite leader. Somehow, it would all work out. Perfection was seen as the abolishment of a central authority; it most closely resembled communism, or even Marxism.
ReplyDeleteLenin did not work on this system; he wanted an autocratic government, with him holding the major sources of power in the country (1). He wanted to control the national (and single) bank, make economic decisions, and stamp out civil liberties to accomplish this (4).
I fail to see how you prove that Lenin and the Bolsheviks were extremist. Given that he gave them "what they wanted" could this not be interpreted as the actions of any politician? After all, did President Obama not claim in his campaign speeches that he was going to "End this war"? You have not clearly defined the difference between Lenin and other politicians. Also, if Lenin were really Marxist, wouuld he not want to eradicate the central authority? The Bolsheviks were not extremist as one might think, given that Lenin was similar to a Czar. Extremists would have completely changed the system of Russian government, and if they were truly acting on Marxist beliefs, they would have not allowed Lenin to rule in such a way. Marxism eliminates social caste systems, not create large rulers. Was Lenin really an extremist, was he really that different from the rest of the previous governors? I don't think so.
P.S. I believe (but am not certain) that Lenin was sent to Switzerland, not Siberia. If he were in fact still in Russia, how would Germany have known of his intentions, and thereby helped him get back to Russia?
Your argument has gaps in logic.
William, I see your point. Maddison, I was more referring to him wanting to create a wonderful communist society where everyone worked hard and everything was just swell. This was the end result that Lenin was working towards, but he definitely did not go about doing it the right way, as Jennifer said. He did not have the people's desires in mind, so much as the idea of a functional Russia.
ReplyDelete