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European History in Perspective
Lenin: The Practice and Theory of Revolution
This political and intellectual biographical study of Lenin focuses on aspects of his thought and political activities that had a bearing on the accession of the Bolsheviks to power in Russia in 1917 and the creation of the Soviet state. The book places Lenin in the context of his times and shows his relationship to other socialist thinkers. In particular, it locates Lenin within the development of Marxist thought in Russia. Its historiographical chapter reveals the political factors that influenced the way biographies of Lenin were written in the Soviet Union. The book makes extensive use of first-hand materials including sources from the Russian archives.
262 pages, Paperback
First published March 13, 2001
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January 9, 2015
A valuable contribution to the study of the Russian revolution, for a number of reasons. It seeks not just to present Lenin's actions and theorizing in equal balance, but to spell out the interactions between them. While not shying away from depicting Lenin as the petty, mean-spirited polemicist and ruthless practitioner of terror that he certainly was, it does not read like yet another of the innumerable hatchet jobs on Russian revolutionaries. On the contrary, an attempt is made to understand his motives, in particular his murky relationship to his brother's death, and to place him in the context of his times.
Most importantly, though, the book sets out to dismantle the idea of the Bolshevik party as having had a separate existence since 1902, a dogma that has obscured Lenin's long-lasting and ultimately futile struggle for unity under his leadership in the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party . Furthermore, it goes some way to dispel the notion that the Russian revolution was uniquely "self-conscious" and a streamlined application of Bolshevik theory in practice; instead, it seems most of Lenin's theoretical work up to that point proved quite irrelevant to the actual tasks of seizing and retaining power, and his improvisations and compromises in 1917 and beyond are thoroughly outlined. The concluding chapter, which acts both as a call for further research and a mini-bibliography of the twists and turns of the Lenin cult's formation, provides an excellent conclusion to a stimulating study.
Most importantly, though, the book sets out to dismantle the idea of the Bolshevik party as having had a separate existence since 1902, a dogma that has obscured Lenin's long-lasting and ultimately futile struggle for unity under his leadership in the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party . Furthermore, it goes some way to dispel the notion that the Russian revolution was uniquely "self-conscious" and a streamlined application of Bolshevik theory in practice; instead, it seems most of Lenin's theoretical work up to that point proved quite irrelevant to the actual tasks of seizing and retaining power, and his improvisations and compromises in 1917 and beyond are thoroughly outlined. The concluding chapter, which acts both as a call for further research and a mini-bibliography of the twists and turns of the Lenin cult's formation, provides an excellent conclusion to a stimulating study.
Displaying 1 of 1 review