On April 22, 1870, Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, or as history would come to know him, Lenin, was born in the town of Sibirsk in the Volga. A historical figure of the world communist movement and one of its founders. It is no coincidence that his name was added next to that of Marx and Engels, now calling this worldview Marxism-Leninism.
The first years:
His hometown was characterised by the intense exploitation of the peasants and the difficult living conditions. In a general context, a characteristic feature of Russia at that time was the large extent of the primary sector of production, especially agricultural production. In particular, a huge part of the Russian population was employed in the peasantry under miserable conditions. At the same time, capitalist relations of production in Russia were strengthening very rapidly. As Lenin noted, “If we compare the pre-capitalist era in Russia with the capitalist era… then we shall be forced to admit that the development of the social economy under capitalism is extremely rapid“1 . Characteristically, after the abolition of serfdom in 1861, Russia underwent an industrial boom that over a period of twenty years (1887-1908) led to
doubling of industrial workers (from 1,300,000 to 2,700,000). The working class was concentrated in the large urban centres in the industrial cities and lived under miserable social and economic conditions. For the most part the workers worked for 13-14 hours a day, although in 1897 there was a law limiting the working hours to 11.5. Wages were extremely low, at levels that could simply ensure the reproduction of the working class on the worst possible terms. Most workers still lived in basements, shacks and factory chambers, and even the organs of the regime press admitted that their lives were little different from those of people living in sweatshops.
Lenin from his youth was recruited to revolutionary action and Marxism. In the early stages of the maturation of his thought he was mainly concerned with studying and simplifying it in a way that workers could understand it, but also with disseminating it. The dominant ideological current of the time was Narodnism2 , which in short advocated individual terrorism as a form of struggle for the liberation of the peasantry, which it regarded as the driving class (especially in the early years before the development of the working class in Russia).
At this point we must clarify the argument that Lenin pursued his revolutionary action because of the execution of his brother by the tsarist regime. Essentially this argument aims to convince that he joined revolutionary action and acted
1 V.I. Lenin: “The Complete Works” vol. 3, p. 630
2 from the word “narad” which in Russian means people
In 1900 he leaves as a political exile to Switzerland and from there, in December of the same year, he proceeds to publish the newspaper
“Iskra“4 , which played a decisive role in creating a unified leadership across the party. Under its title the newspaper, had the saying:
“From the spark the flame will be lit.”
In 1902 he published the pamphlet “What to do” in which he reveals opportunism, not only in Russia, but as an international phenomenon.
The second congress of the SDEKR was held in 1903. During the congress (pre-congress and congress) there was an intense ideological debate about the organizational constitution, about who
can be called a party member (agrees with the party’s tactics and policies, supports the party financially and must participate in a party organisation). It is during this period that Lenin is most intensely concerned with the question of the Party. From exile he leads the ideological struggle within the party and largely succeeds in prevailing the ideological and organizational principles defended by the Bolsheviks5 against the positions of the opportunist Mensheviks6 . Under Lenin’s guidance, the SDERK takes the form of a proletarian party of a new type, which will operate on the basis of conscious discipline with the basic principles of democratic centralism and will lead the working class in its historic goal of liberating the workers from exploitation by capital and building a socialist society.
The bourgeois-democratic revolution of 1905-1907:
From 1904, class antagonisms were sharpened, exacerbated by the Russo-Japanese war. A strike movement broke out in Russia with mainly economic demands, but under the leadership of the Bolsheviks, political demands were already being put forward by 1905. In these acute conditions of 1905 Lenin returned to Russia. With the intervention of the clergy, through Father Gapon, and the authorities, they set up the “Organization of Russian Factory Workers of Petersburg” with the aim of defusing the mobilizations in favour of the employers and the tsar and ultimately
4 “Iskra” = Spark
5 are named after the word majority
6 named after the word minority
undermine the labour movement. When Gapon realised that conditions were continuing to deteriorate, he called the workers, accompanied by the police, to a peaceful march outside the Winter Palace to present a memorandum to the Tsar. The memorandum stated:
“Your Majesty, we, the workers and inhabitants of Petrograd, have come with our wives, our children and our elderly parents to you, to find justice and protection (…) You are the last hope of our salvation. Do not deny help to your people. Take him out of misery and ignorance, help him to better his lot. Free them from the oppression of the organs of state. Tear down the wall that stands between you and your people. Your aim is the happiness of the people, but this happiness has been taken away from them.”
The Bolsheviks, who from the beginning had maintained a consistent pro-workers’ attitude, both in the factories and in the SEDC, tried to warn the proletariat of the adventurist character of the march. Nevertheless, the march took place. Bourgeois attitudes were readily apparent in the march, since many of the demonstrators who participated were carrying icons, crosses and photographs of the tsar, and most hoped that the Russian tsar would understand them. The Bolsheviks took an active role in the march while warning the workers with a proclamation that:
“We must not plead with the Tsar, we must not humble ourselves before our implacable enemy, but we must overthrow him from the throne. The liberation of the workers can only be the work of the workers themselves. Expect freedom neither from the priests nor from the tsars.“
Developments vindicated the Bolsheviks. The demonstration was bloodied by the army and the police. More than a thousand demonstrators were killed, while thousands more were injured. That day, January 22, 1905, has gone down in history as the “Bloody Sunday” of the Russian working class, but also as the beginning of the Russian Revolution.
In the following period, conditions become more acute. More workers join the struggle and strike after strike is declared. Armed workers’ sections clash with the army. Lenin’s Bolsheviks come forward again with the slogan “Down with the Tsar“. The revolution spreads throughout Russia and with it the soviets7 (elected councils). The climax of the revolution was the uprising of the Moscow workers. In December the Bolsheviks persuade the Moscow Soviet to declare a general strike, with the intention of developing into an insurrection. Which is what happened.
7 Councils created by popular initiative
despite all the heroic battles of the workers, the uprising failed to spread to the rest of Russia and was defeated, along with the whole 1905 revolution.
Later Lenin writes about this period:
“Years of the 1905-1907 revolution. All classes appear openly. All opinions on program and tactics are checked by the action of the masses. The strike struggle takes on a breadth and acuteness unprecedented in the world. The economic strike is transformed into a political strike and politics into insurrection. The relations between the leading proletariat and the leading, wavering, unstable peasantry are tested in practice. In the spontaneous development of the struggle the Soviet form of organization is born… The alternation of parliamentary forms of struggle with non-parliamentary ones, of the tactic of abstention from parliament with the tactic of participation in parliament, of legal forms of struggle with illegal ones, as well as their interdependence and connection – all this is characterized by an amazing richness of content. Each month of this period was equivalent, in terms of learning the basics of political science – both from the masses, and from the leaders, and from the classes, and from the parties – to a year of “peaceful” “constitutional” development. Without the ‘general test’ of 1905, the victory of the October Revolution of 1917 would have been impossible.” 8
With the defeat of the revolution Lenin is forced to go into exile in Geneva. Despite the defeat, this revolution shows that the world revolutionary centre is moving to Russia. The following years are marked by a strengthening of the reaction. Oppositions within Russia continue to affect the people. Popular discontent intensifies as despite the reforms of 1905, they failed to modernize the antiquated social, economic and political structures. The mistreatment of the peasants by the landowners intensified while the working class was increasingly oppressed by the industrialists. The Bolsheviks, under Lenin’s guidance, formulate their strategy with the aim of leading the whole people (working class, peasantry). Under the slogan “together with the whole peasantry against the middle class” they set as their goal the common struggle of the peasants with the working class.
The entry of Tsarist Russia into the First World War (1914-1918) further aggravated social contradictions, with very negative consequences for the country and its people. The workers and peasants suffered from the ravages of war. The shortage of ammunition, the discontent among the lower officers and soldiers from the constant defeats, the lack of food caused discontent among the entire people of Russia (even the bourgeoisie who understand that their interests are not being served).
The Bolsheviks were explaining what this war is and who benefits from it. The vast majority of the working class and peasants supported the Bolsheviks. At the same time the conditions for the rise of the revolutionary movement in Russia were slowly being created, culminating in 1917. Ο
8 V.I. Lenin: “Leftism is the childish disease of Communism”, All, vol. 41, p. 9
Lenin takes up Marxist philosophy and studies the imperialist stage of development of the capitalist system. At the same time he develops the tactics of the Bolsheviks up to their strategic goal.
1917:
In February 1917, and in the midst of World War I, a bourgeois-democratic revolution broke out, leading to the replacement of the Tsar by a provisional bourgeois government. This period saw the dual power (of the bourgeois government and the Soviets) in Russia. The Bolsheviks led by Lenin played a decisive role in this revolution. From the very first days of the revolution the bourgeois government betrayed the slogans of the revolution from which it emerged and exploited power for the interests of its class (bourgeois) at the expense of the working people. Lenin defends the position of continuing the revolution under the leadership of the proletariat until its final victory. This is followed by Kerensky’s persecution of the Bolsheviks and the simultaneous majority
of the Bolsheviks in the Soviets. In the interval between February and Red October and the victorious outcome of the Socialist revolution, Lenin returned to Russia and accelerated developments by defining the orientation of the Bolshevik party in the April Theses. The tasks of the proletariat now change, setting the immediate goal of workers’ power so that the Bolshevik Party can prepare and successfully carry out the Socialist Revolution in Russia. This was followed by the confrontation within the Soviets between the Bolsheviks and the Esher-Mensheviks, which led to the Bolshevization of the Soviets. By October 1917 the Bolshevik Party managed to gain a majority in the Soviets, but also to graft revolutionary ideas onto a large part of the soldiers. In November (new calendar) Lenin arrives in Smolny to take over the leadership of the revolution, having already put it on the agenda of the Bolsheviks and the Soviets and supported it. On November 7, the Winter Palace is occupied. The Great October Socialist Revolution is now a fact.
Lenin, wishing to emphasise the decisive role of the masses in the victory of the socialist revolution, mentioned among other things at the 3ο congress of the Communist International:
“We won in Russia because not only was the undisputed majority of the working class with us (in the 1917 elections the overwhelming majority was with us and against the Mensheviks), but also because half the army immediately and 9/10 of the peasant masses within a few weeks after the seizure of power were on our side.”9
9 V.I. Lenin: All, vol. 44, p. 30
The building of Socialism in the midst of the civil war of 1918-1920:
This is followed by the building of socialism in Russia amidst civil war and the intervention of 14 countries in the then young Soviet Union. On the very next day of the revolution, the 2ο Pan-Russian Congress of Soviets met in its appointed session. Lenin, taking the podium of the Second Pan-Russian Congress of the Soviets, proclaimed: “The socialist revolution of which the Bolsheviks spoke has been accomplished” and decided on the Decree on the establishment of Soviet power. He signed the “Decree on Peace” which took Russia out of the imperialist alliances and out of World War I and the “Decree on Land” which abolished – without any compensation – the ownership of land by the tsiflaks, including imperial and monastic land.
Furthermore, the “Bill on Labour Control in Industrial, Commercial and Banking Enterprises” is signed. A few days after the Revolution, Lenin had already signed the Law on
“Nationalization of the Banks”, the “Nationalization of the Merchant Fleet”, as well as the
“Decree for the Cancellation of all Internal and External Loans” signed by the Tsarist and the previous bourgeois government.
Lenin leads the foundation of the first working class state in human history. The first socialist state in the world which, in conditions of international isolation and exclusion, not only endured for 70 years, but gave such rights to the people that for working people in capitalist countries remain elusive even today. It has promoted pioneering positions in the fields of science, culture, social welfare, health, education, art and sport. He made a decisive contribution to the anti-fascist Victory against fascism and Nazism. Despite all the mistakes, omissions and distortions of socialism, which led to the reversals and the dissolution of the USSR and the socialist countries in 1991, the course of socialist construction is a beacon and a legacy for the struggles of the peoples today for freedom from the exploitative capitalist system.
On January 21, 1924, Lenin’s heart stopped beating, but it did not cease to radiate the greatness of his work. By many this work is described as Marxism in the era of the imperialist stage of capitalism. What is important about this personality is not only his genius and uniqueness, but also the fact that he turned these characteristics on the one hand to understand Marxism as a living ideology and on the other hand managed to “x-ray” the real conditions of society in the period in which he lived.
“Precisely because Marxism is not a dead doctrine, not a finished, ready-made, unchanging theory, but a living guidance for action, precisely because it could not but reflect the astonishingly abrupt change in the conditions of social life.”10
The news of Lenin’s death was broadcast on Soviet radio in the Soviet Union and throughout the world on January 22, 1924, at 6 o’clock in the morning. The Central Committee of the Bolshevik Party, after an extraordinary meeting, issued an appeal “To the Party, all workers”, stating that since Marx the history of the liberation movement had not produced such a giant figure as Lenin. “What is truly great and heroic is the proletariat’s fearless mind, will of iron, unbending, tenacious will that tames everything, holy hatred, hatred deadly against slavery and oppression, revolutionary passion that moves mountains, unlimited faith in the creative powers of the masses, immense organizational genius, all these found their magnificent embodiment in Lenin, whose name became a symbol of the new world from West to East, from South to North.”11
On 27 January Lenin’s body was taken to Red Square and placed in the Mausoleum.
10 Β. I. Lenin: “Peculiarities of the historical development of Marxism”, Everything, vol. 91-92.
11 Academy of Sciences of the USSR: “World History”, vol. 41
Lenin on the New Press Proletarian Party:
Lenin throughout his life was concerned with the dialectical connection between theory and practice. By extension, he could not but be concerned with the organization of the working class and seeing its vanguard into a party. Especially considering the crisis that erupted in the Second International and in the Social Democratic parties of the time. Thus he developed and consolidated the theory of the New Type Party (NTP). New type because it distinguished its entity and structure from the old social democratic parties of the Second International and the bourgeois parties.
For the development of the CMT he took into account the experience of the then revolutionary movement both in Russia and in other countries of the world. The main concern was to unite all revolutionary elements into a single nationwide party that would be a monolithic, rallied, organised and disciplined party. He set as a key element of the new party the existence of an expressive organ “…which would come out regularly and be in close contact with all local groups”.
The party must be the unity of theoretical, political and organisational principles and must be able to bring about social change. It should be able to fight battles on three levels: economic, political and ideological. Lenin stressed that the third category (that of ideological struggle) with both the bourgeoisie and opportunist currents is the most difficult and long-lasting struggle. The theoretical weapon of the party for this struggle is the knowledge and understanding of the revolutionary worldview of Marxism-Leninism.
At the same time he worked out the organisational principles of the party, the rules of party life and the principles of party leadership. The quintessence of the functioning of the Communist Party is democratic centralism. It essentially implies full democratic debate in the process of making and adopting a decision and at the same time collective and monolithic in its implementation through the personal responsibility/obligation of the party member to take part in the action for its implementation (regardless of the position during the debate). At the same time, criticism and self-criticism has an important place in the party, which on the one hand helps to overcome difficulties and solve weaknesses, but at the same time helps to educate party members.
As far as its organisational structures are concerned, their essence is the ability of the party to ensure organisational relations that embody a certain level of consciousness and that there is a systematic raising of this level. There must necessarily be a single guiding centre (Central Committee) to ensure uniform guidance. In addition, Party Base Organizations are necessary to be the link between the party and the entire working class and society in general. In between there are also other guiding bodies which are adapted according to the conditions (Provincial Organisations, Cluster Organisations etc. in the Cypriot context).
The working class in its composition in terms of its level of consciousness is not homogeneous. The party is the vanguard of the working class, therefore its members should be the
more conscious and pioneering elements of the working class and society. The member should agree with the party programme and admit a minimum threshold of organisation. So personal membership of the member in a party organisation is required as well as discipline in making collective decisions.
Imperialism, the highest stage of capitalism:
Imperialism is usually understood as the aggressive tendencies, both politically and militarily, of the big capitalist states towards the smaller states in the sphere of international relations. This perception is completely wrong and misleading. In reality, imperialism represents a specific historical epoch of capitalism that embodies particular characteristics at various levels (political, economic, ideological, etc.).
Lenin took up the study of imperialism because there was a need to study what the overall picture was at the beginning of the 20th century of the world capitalist economy. He states:
“If the economic roots of this phenomenon are not understood, if its political and social significance is not appreciated, not a single step can be taken in the field of solving the practical tasks of the communist movement.”12
On the economic side of imperialism Lenin gave a definition that could be summarised in 5 basic features. To sum up, we could say that monopolies now play a decisive role in economic life. These result from the ever-increasing concentration of production and capital at very high levels. Financial capital is created through the merger of banking and industrial capital. At the base of finance capital the corresponding oligarchy is created. The export of capital now becomes extremely important as distinct from the export of commodities. International monopolistic associations of capitalists are formed, which divide the world, the territorial division of the earth between the major capitalist powers.
“Imperialism is capitalism at that stage of development in which the domination of the monopolies and finance capital has been established, the export of capital has become extremely important, the division of the world by the international trusts has begun, and the division of all the land of the earth by the largest capitalist countries has been completed.”13
After all, Lenin proved the historicity of imperialism as the last stage of the development of capitalism. It leads to the further and more all-round socialization of production. However, the appropriation of profit remains fixed to the very few capitalists who accumulate more and more capital. The general framework of free competition remains, the oppression of the monopolies over the entire population becomes much worse. Although commodity production remains dominant, nevertheless most of the profits go to “the geniuses of the financial machinations…, the speculators“. The military-political interventions of the imperialist states are designed to enable the monopolies to exploit
12 Β. I. Lenin: All, vol. 27, p. 314.
13 Β. I. Lenin. 323.
more peoples in order to expand their markets, control their sources of raw materials and energy and make them bigger to cope with competition. In imperialism, in addition to aggression in military-political interventions, aggression against the workers and the popular strata in general is intensified by forms of intensified exploitation in all sectors of economic and social life.
So it came to the inevitability of wars in the age of world sharing. Taking a step further, he showed that due to the uneven development of capitalism in the imperialist stage and even the uneven development of the workers’ movement in each individual country, the conditions are created, if the subjective factor is ready, for the imperialist chain (weak link) to be broken. Moving on, it determined the tactics of the working class for taking power.
For the National Question:
First of all, we have to make a distinction, a bit crudely, between the national cultures that exist in a capitalist economy. In every (capitalist) national culture elements of democratic and socialist culture can be identified, since it is within these societies that the working class develops with its consciousness. At the same time there is also bourgeois national culture and even as a dominant one since it arises from the dominant economic class.
The bourgeoisie exploits nationalism (its national culture) in order to divide the workers and, after blurring their aims, to wrest people’s rights from them. By putting forward
“national purposes” they try to create wishful thinking among workers and foster enmity among workers of other countries. This has the effect of
“cultivates corruption in the working environment to a great extent” and “does enormous damage to the cause of freedom” and ultimately “nationalism dehumanises, dehumanises and divides the workers in order to drag them into the chariot of the bourgeoisie“.
The proletariat, in addition to not involving itself in such “national planning” for the achievement of the national goals and developments of each nation, must also warn the masses of the danger that such illusions conceal. It must advocate the progressive elements inherent in nationality under capitalism, such as the gathering of fragmented states into a single one, the ability to win democratic rights, the voluntary assimilation of nations, but at the same time oppose the use of force for it by a nation with “privilege” or rely solely on that privilege. On the contrary, it supports everything that helps to erase national distinctions, to break down national barriers, everything that makes the ties between nationalities ever closer.
The basic aim of the workers’ movement is the emergence through participation in the struggles of these democratic and socialist elements with the strategic aim of building internationalism, workers’ democracy, socialism-communism. Characteristically Lenin noted “there is a solution to the national question, … , and that solution is consistent democratism“14 . It should be obvious that communists recognize the cultural characteristics of each people, moreover it is necessary for each worker of each state to utilize these elements of his country to fight in the field of class struggle of his country. At the same time it is obvious that they do not consider anyone inferior or superior to the other.
“Whoever wants to serve the proletariat has a duty to unite the workers of all nations, fighting steadfastly against bourgeois nationalism, both “his own” and foreign”15 rather than when his own working class is divided, to some extent also because of nationalism. Nationalism is historically necessary for capitalism and capitalism is historically necessary for socialism. In this context, Marxism recognizes and takes the lead in national movements, claiming
14 Β. I. Lenin, “Critical Notes on the National Question”
15 Β. I. Lenin, “Critical Notes on the National Question”
the progressive elements contained in the nation that will provide the necessary for the next step, but obviously without adopting the logic of nationalism but the logic of the progressive elevation of the people, initially to their national limits. Particularly in conditions of oppression “the absolute obligation of every Marxist is to defend the most decisive and the most consistent democratism on all points of the national question” just as it is the obligation of the proletariat “to throw off all oppression of nations, all privilege of one of the nations” to other nations.
Thus, in the early stages of capitalism the working class sets among its aims the nationwide organisation and, at the level of the state, the elimination of the old feudal elements and the achievement of democratic changes at the national level. In cases of national subordination it fights for national independence and in periods of violent national separation it fights for unification. What the working class must do is not to refrain from participating in national struggles but to first recognise and lead national struggles that will benefit the broader popular masses and not the aspirations of the capitalists. At the same time, it must not confuse tactical aims with the strategic aim and ultimately subordinate the strategic aim in favour of the tactical ones.
Particularly on this point when we try to approach the Cypriot conditions we have to be very careful. In Cyprus we are facing a national issue that is preventing the unification of the people. Through the intervention of imperialist powers and the cultivation of superficial nationalist confrontations and irredentism among the people and then a well-organised crime by both sides of the nationalists at the behest of the imperialist powers (coup and invasion) they managed to divide Cyprus and by extension its people.
It is a national issue because of its purpose of uniting into a full entity the divided Cyprus and by extension the unification of the working people of Cyprus. It is not because of the irredentisms that the nationalist concept advocates and the bourgeoisie occasionally reproduces and reinforces. Rather, it is these irredentisms and nationalist hatreds that keep the Cypriot people divided and prevent them from fighting united for the interests of their class. At the same time, different ethnic elements coexist in Cyprus. The communists of Cyprus could not but argue that these elements are secondary and that the common homeland and the unification of the people are paramount. It is the duty of every communist to take part in every struggle that will elevate solidarity between peoples, let alone the solidarity of himself, of the people with each other.
Lenin alive and relevant
Lenin is a guiding beacon for the international communist and workers’ movement, because he developed the revolutionary worldview and practice of the working class, elements that are inextricably linked. It extended Marxism to the “philosophy of politics”, the dialectical connection of practice and thought more specifically within revolutionary conditions, the unity of theory and practice, the practical application of theory to practice and the influence of practice on theory.
He fought a particular battle with the reformist views among the SDCP and the
“Marxist” and “revolutionary” circles of his time. This conflict did not only concern Russia but also other countries (e.g. Germany, with Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht as consistent spokesmen), culminating in the conflict in the Second International, up to the withdrawal of the consistent Marxists and the gradual establishment of communist parties.
The work developed by Lenin is of immense importance for the revolutionary process of socialist transformation of society. He further developed the constituent parts of Marxism, from philosophy, political economy to scientific communism. It laid solid foundations for building the new society and showed the way to conquer it. He was fiercely critical and polemical of any concept that tried to hijack Marxism with the ultimate aim of distorting it, from opportunist to leftist concepts. He developed the theory and practice of working class allies and the necessity of working class alliance with the poor peasantry. He developed and demonstrated the law of the unequal economic and political development of capitalism, the possibility of building socialism even in one country through the development of the theory of the weak link in the imperialist chain. He exalted internationalism through the establishment of the Third International, or Comintern.
Of particular importance and legacy is the creation of the New Press Party, setting out its inviolable principles, the principles of democratic centralism and proletarian internationalism, combined with a revolutionary strategy, setting in its programme the conquest of workers’ power.
It is the duty of modern revolutionaries to study his life and work, drawing from them the necessary tools to respond adequately to modern conditions.