Vladimir Lenin

(noun)

Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (22 April 1870 – 21 January 1924 was a Russian communist revolutionary, politician and political theorist who served as the Premier of the Soviet Union from 1922 to 1924. A Marxist, he was responsible for developing the political theory of Marxism–Leninism, and as the leader of the Bolshevik Party took a senior role in the October Revolution of 1917.

Related Terms

Examples of Vladimir Lenin in the following topics:

  • Democratic Socialism

    • Specifically, it is a term used to distinguish between socialists who favor a grassroots-level, spontaneous revolution (referred to as gradualism) from those socialists who favor Leninism (organized revolution instigated and directed by an overarching vanguard party that operates on the basis of democratic centralism).
    • Leninism is based on the philosophy of Vladimir Lenin, who advocated organized revolution led by a vanguard party.

  • Marxism-Leninism

    • The socialist state, representing a "dictatorship of the proletariat" (as opposed to that of the bourgeoisie) is governed by the party of the revolutionary vanguard through the process of democratic centralism, which Vladimir Lenin described as "diversity in discussion, unity in action."
    • Leninism was by definition authoritarianism.
    • Within five years of Vladimir Lenin's death in 1924, Stalin completed his rise to power in the Soviet Union.
    • Lisichkin (1989), Stalin compiled Marxism–Leninism as a separate ideology in his book Concerning Questions of Leninism.
    • Vladimir Lenin, leader of the Soviet Union from 1917 to 1924, was one of the most influential figures of the 20th Century.

  • The Bolsheviks

    • The Bolsheviks, founded by Vladimir Lenin and Alexander Bogdanov, were by 1905 a mass organization consisting primarily of workers under a democratic internal hierarchy governed by the principle of democratic centralism, who considered themselves the leaders of the revolutionary working class of Russia.
    • Discontent and the weaknesses of the Provisional Government led to a rise in the popularity of the Bolshevik Party, led by Vladimir Lenin, which demanded an immediate end to the war.
    • The Bolshevik party, led by Vladimir Lenin, and the workers' Soviets, overthrew the Provisional Government in Petrograd.

  • The Socialist Presence

    • After Vladimir Lenin's success in Russia, he invited the Socialist Party to join the Communist Third International.
    • The debate over whether to align with Lenin caused a major rift in the American Socialist party.
    • A referendum to join Lenin's "Comintern" passed with 90% approval, but the moderates who were in charge of the Party expelled the extreme leftists before this could take place.

  • Red Scare

    • Founded by Vladimir Lenin and Alexander Bogdanov, by 1905 the Bolsheviks were a mass political organization in Russia consisting primarily of workers governed by the principle of democratic centralism.
    • In the second phase of the revolution, in October 1917, the Bolsheviks led by Lenin overthrew the Provisional Government and appointed themselves leaders of government ministries and seized control of the countryside.

  • Wilson's Fourteen Points

    • The speech also addressed goals articulated in Vladimir Lenin's Decree on Peace of October 1917, including a just and democratic peace uncompromised by territorial annexations.

  • The Soviet Socialist Republics

    • The Soviet Union had its roots in the October Revolution of 1917, when the Bolsheviks, headed by Vladimir Lenin, overthrew the provisional government that had replaced the Tsar.
    • Following Lenin's death in 1924, a troika and a brief power struggle, Joseph Stalin came to power in the mid-1920s.
    • Stalin suppressed all political opposition to his rule, committed the state ideology to Marxism–Leninism (which he created), and initiated a centrally planned command economy.

  • Origins of the Cold War

    • Leader Vladimir Lenin stated that the Soviet Union was surrounded by a "hostile capitalist encirclement" and he viewed diplomacy as a weapon to keep Soviet enemies divided, beginning with the establishment of the Soviet Comintern, which called for revolutionary upheavals abroad.Tensions between Russia (including its allies) and the West turned intensely ideological.

  • Culture of the Soviet Union

    • Lenin wanted art to be accessible to the Russian people.
    • Communist writers Maxim Gorky and Vladimir Mayakovsky were active during this time, but other authors, many of whose works were later repressed, published work lacking socialist political content.
    • Stalin also began to create a Lenin cult.
    • It should be noted that the early anti-religious campaigns under Lenin were mostly directed at the Russian Orthodox Church, as it was a symbol of the czarist government.

  • Vladimir I and Christianization

    • Vladimir I, also known as Vladimir the Great or Vladimir Sviatoslavich the Great, ruled Kievan Rus' from 980 to 1015 and is famous for Christianizing this territory during his reign.
    • The major player in the Christianization of the Rus' world is traditionally considered Vladimir I.
    • Vladimir fled to his kinsman Haakon Sigurdsson, who ruled Norway at the time.
    • In 978, Vladimir returned to Kievan Rus' and successfully recaptured the territory.
    • Outline the shift from pagan culture to Orthodox Christianity under the rule of Vladimir I