Authoritarian and Totalitarian Experiments in Europe - The Bolshevik Seizure of Power (November - December 1917) - Lenin's relevance to today's world

The aim of this essay is to link Lenin and the early Bolshevik era of Russia to Asia and the modern world. It also aims to explain how Lenin's policies regarding internationalism bear weight in today's world and how his actions had repercussions on the world at large and how these effects live on today.

The document covers four main areas, World War 1 and the ensuing Bolshevik revolution and overthrow of the provisional government in Russia; followed by the effects and policies implemented by the new Bolshevik government, including a government that was meant to be one of the people and for the people, a secret police force and stringent censorship laws. The last two points went completely against the communist and Bolshevik pre-revolution rhetoric which could have been a significant reason in communism being relatively short lived in most parts of Asia with the exceptions of China and Vietnam, and even then being practiced in an altered manner.

Lenin, otherwise known as Vladimir Ilich Ulyanov was the 'germ' that the Germans secreted into Russia towards the end of World War 1 to topple the existing political scene. The leader of the Bolshevik party spent the majority of his time in exile until 1917 when he was secreted back to Russia from Switzerland. Russia had overthrown the Czarist system in February 1917 and a provisional government of liberal Duma leaders, led by Alexender Kerensky had been installed. However this government was still rooted in the 'mindset' of war and supported one 'last' offensive in the summer of 1917, the failure of this offensive toppled the government. With his rhetoric of “land, bread and peace”, Lenin reached the masses and addressed their most basic needs instead of espousing Marxist theories to them. This united the people and with 'generally brief' fighting, the 'never strong' grip of the provisional government was broken. The Bolshevik revolutionaries, led by Lenin, formed the new government.

The bulk of Lenin's time in power was spent battling bloody wars with various factions all trying to topple the communist Lenin government. As one American journalist commented, “it took more like five years than then days” for the Bolsheviks to master Russia but “it was the retention rather than the seizing of power that earned the Bolsheviks their place in history”. By Lenin's demise in 1924, the communists were finally in control of Russia.

Communism preached a classless society and equality, however in practice, Lenin's rule of Russia was far from classless and equal. The document very clearly shows how he ruled Russia with an iron fist. Nonetheless, in one of his speeches on Marxism, Lenin had justified that before a classless society could be formed, in the transition from a capitalist society, there had to be a period of authoritarianism to restore stability after the workers' revolution.

However, invoking a secret police and enforcing extreme censorship was not in his rhetoric. It created on the world outside Russia a warped view of communism that today is called Leninism. In most parts of Asia, communism took off very well because it posed a way of managing a very large and divided country very well, with complete power in the hands of one leader. China, Vietnam and Laos are some examples that succumbed to communism whereas Malaya, Indonesia and others fought hard to prevent it.

Lenin used Marx's ideals as a base but he changed his concept slightly in that he while he did believe the workers had to rise up against the government in order to overthrow it, he also felt that the 'educated' had to play a leadership role in the bringing about of the revolution. Lenin himself was the son of a school administrator and began his political career as a student demonstrator, being one of the relatively well educated. Lenin saw communism as something all countries would have to resort to eventually, which is something that has relevance even in today's context as Francis Fukuyama mentioned in his “The End of History”, communism being the last major political change the world would see. "Experience has proved," Lenin wrote in 1920, in speaking of both the Russian revolution and the post-October development of the world revolutionary process. ''That, on certain very important questions of the proletarian revolution, all countries will inevitably have to do what Russia has done." In his book 'Left-wing' Communism - an Infantile Disorder' Lenin examined the Russian experience from the standpoint of the pressing problems relating to international Communist tactics, and of applying to the work and the policies of the Communist Parties of other countries "whatever is universally practicable, significant and relevant in the history and the present-day tactics of Bolshevism." In Lenin's writings one finds the most profound analyses of the economic, social and political development and the revolutionary movement in such countries as the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Japan. Many of his articles deal with the national liberation and revolutionary movements in China, India, Indonesia and the Middle East. In his writings, Lenin did not just focus on the political scene of the Soviet Union but also devoted a large part of his writings to drawing up a number of important, often programmatic, documents for the international working-class and communist movement.

One of the greatest divides in post-Lenin Russia ensued between Lenin's real right-hand man, Trotsky and Stalin, who made out that he was Lenin-s right0hand man. Stalin wanted Russia to focus on building itself up whereas Trotsky wanted to continue Lenin's work of looking at the world and working towards global communism. That Lenin wanted to influence world politics and bring up communism was indisputable looking at his writings and speeches that focused on world issues. Lenin saw Russia to be the base of world communism and wanted to extend aid to nations fighting to establish communism, namely china and Vietnam at that time. The Socialist Revolution in Russia had opened up a new era in the worldwide proletarian struggle for emancipation. Soviet Russia did indeed become the base and stronghold and a catalyst of the world revolutionary process. "Our socialist Republic of Soviets," Lenin said with fervour in one of his speeches, "will stand secure, as a torch of international socialism and as an example to all the working people.

It was Lenin who set up the Third Communist International (Comintern) which played an important role in promoting the liberation movement of the working masses, in facilitating the forming and strengthening of Communist Parties, in evolving working-class tactics and strategies, and in bringing to the fore and training outstanding leaders of the communist movement.

Ho Chih Minh of Vietnam and Mao Zedong of China were both avid participants of the Comintern and received significant amounts of aid to pursue the proletarian revolutions in their own countries. The Malayan communist party and Indonesian communist party also worked very closely with the Comintern. Before and after Comintern congresses, Lenin would take the time to interact with individual leaders of various communist parties and learn about their problems. These interactions aided the world communist movement greatly and provided a window for non-soviet communists to feel closer to the 'comradeship' of communism.

At a time when many nations were waging nationalistic battles, Lenin's suggestions, such as those in his book “Left-Wing Communism - an Infantile Disorder”, and his success in the formation of a communist republic in one of the largest European countries spurred on the eastern nationalists and also provided them with a model to work towards, however skewed that model might have been in terms of economic and social practices. It was on the model of the Soviet Union that communist China was founded, picking up many of its policies, including severe censorship of the press, even attempting in later years to censor the Internet. The formation of secret police forces in Russia and later in China went against the basic communist theory of classlessness. The secret police were endowed with unchallenged power and could arrest and censure without trial or justification other than mere suspicion of being a defector or planning to defect.

Communism has spread like wildfire throughout the world and largely so in Asia. Even in 'democratic' nations , the control practiced by Lenin in terms of censorship and economy is practiced. To take Singapore as an example, the press is under stringent controls as is the economy. However, the growing power of America is affecting the world at large and economies everywhere, including
China are opening up.

Lenin's set up of a communist country that wielded significant power in the world is a lasting legacy that still has repercussions on the world today, especially because of the way he chose to control that state. Russia being under Lenin's authoritarian rule not only affected Russia but true to Lenin's dream, his actions affected the modern world, including Asia at large.