How Did Lenin Contribute To The Rise Of Orthodox Communism

Vladimir Lenin’s Bolshevik party seized control of the Russian state in November of 1917; the cascade of events that occurred from this single moment shaped the course of modern history. The foundation of Lenin’s revolution was in Marxist theory, a radical new political ideology that swept across Europe and took hold in Russia, but not for lack of trying in other European countries such as Germany and France. What sets Russia apart in this time period was that according to traditional Marxist thought, Russia had several transformations to go through before Communism could take hold. In fact, the opinion of orthodox Communists was that a capitalist revolution needed to occur first, similarly to the French Revolution that overthrew the aristocracy. The issue in their minds was that Russia was far too underdeveloped industrially, and the proletariat, or working class, was too small in number. In 1907 when Czar Nicholas ordered the creation of a parliament, the Bolsheviks were fairly small compared to other political parties such as the Mensheviks, Social-Revolutionaries, and Kadets. The Bolshevik appeal was limited in part by their radical ideology, but also because of the

The party was extremely authoritarian, with Vladimir Lenin at the top. Up until November 1917, the Bolsheviks were the smaller of two communist parties. The other party being the Mensheviks who had more relaxed party rules and were more moderate communists. What created the divide between the two parties was when power should be seized. The Mensheviks being more moderate, believed that power could only be seized in Russia once capitalism had fully developed and a large portion of the population was made up of industrial workers. The Bolsheviks believed that in order to create a communist state, they needed to take control as soon as the opportunity was