Describing Lenin " A cruel tyrant, bloodthirsty and ruthless in his determination to seize and hold on to power" " He devoted his whole life to the interests of working people and to the building of a better society." Which of these two descriptions of Lenin do you think is closes to the truth. After several uprisings, demonstrations and a coup attempt, finally by mid October 1917 the Bolshevik movement gained pace and the Bolshevik revolution began between 25-27 October,as a result; the Provisinal government ministers were arrested and the 2nd Congress of the Soviets was announced. Lenin, appointed …show more content…
It would on the other hand, be untrue to suggest that Lenin did not wished to take power. He certainly did, but only till a worker's state was created, where individuals would contribute to the best of their ability and the profits would be distrubuted according to need. Lenin's life time has not allowed this to happen and with Stalin in power this was not possible. So, although it needs imagination to say that Lenin was bloodthirsty and ruthless it is clear and not deniable that wanted power and therefore he had the control of most things . This is to say he was the 'top man', next came the seven members of the Polikburo than the Central Committies with 40 people, than the Party Congress, followed by the party with 8000 members, the Soviets which would lead itself to the working class which finally ended with the whole of society. Looking at this system, it may be suggested that Lenin basically controlled the society, all by himself, however if looked at in long-term this wasn't true, as Lenin's aim was to create a classless and a society where no leader would be necessary. Nevertheless, it can not be declined that during Lenin's time a lot of terror and cruelty took place, although not directly under his command. This terror was probably the result or maybe
Furthermore, throughout the film Wolfgang Becker also uses Cultural aspects of East Berlin and West Berlin. Wolfgang Becker also shows the differences between East and West living. In Goodbye Lenin Alex found it difficult to keep the reign of GDR alive, as East Berlin was becoming into West Berlin. Alex’s mother Christiane was making things more difficult for Alex as the supermarkets were emptied and it was almost impossible to find the food Christiane wanted e.g. Spreewald Pickles and Globus Peas (00:42:10). Alex uses old bottles and bottle labels that were found in the rubbish dump and fills them up with western food he buys from the supermarket (00:41:31) one reason behind this is so Alex’s mother Christiane does not find out about the changes
Lenin was able to consolidate Bolshevik rule in Russia by combining popular policies and repression: To what extent do you agree with this statement.
With the October revolution in 1917, Lenin managed to execute a successful coup d’état against the provisional government of Russia and with the death of the constituent assembly early 1918; Lenin and his Bolsheviks had finally control over Russia. However this was just the beginning of various problems he would be facing. This raised the debate on whether Lenin could deal with these problems or not. Many of the quarrels originated from the Tsar’s regime and the provisional government such as Russia’s participation in WW1 as well as economic underdevelopment. Immediate problems such as the raging civil war existed as
Set at the end of the Cold War in East Germany, the movie Goodbye Lenin is the story of a young man, Alex, trying to protect his mother, Christiane, who just spent the last eight months in a coma. Christiane is a personification of the values and ideology of socialism. She carries them out in her interactions with society, and is very hopeful towards the success of the regime. During her absence, the fall of the Berlin Wall and of the German Democratic Republic leads to a radical and turbulent change in society: the fall of socialism and the triumph of capitalism. Because of the shocking effect of such information and the danger of another heart attack, Alex creates for Christiane an ideological form of socialism. Fundamental themes in the movie are the difference between ideal and reality of socialism, as well as the positive and negative aspects of the transition to free market capitalism. Such themes are carried out through a juxtaposition of an ideal society and its reality in the form of a constructed reality of socialism. This idealized version of socialism served as an oasis from the chaotic transition from a problematic socialist regime to free market capitalism.
|had to be passed to someone else. Being |government. He also depended upon strength |
controls he had over his victims, to the point of death , and even after."
Karl Marx (1818-1883) was one of the most influential thinkers and writers of modern times. Although it was only until after his death when his doctrine became world know and was titled Marxism. Marx is best known for his publication, The Communist Manifesto that he wrote with Engels; it became a very influential for future ideologies. A German political philosopher and revolutionary, Karl Marx was widely known for his radical concepts of society. This paper give an analysis of “The Manifesto” which is a series of writings to advocate Marx ‘s theory of struggles between classes. I will be writing on The Communist Manifesto, published in 1848, which lays down his theories on socialism and Communism.
Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Lenin was the Bolshevik leader. He was a clever thinker and a practical man; he knew how to take advantage of events. When Lenin arrived in Russia, he issued a document called the April theses, promising ‘peace, bread, land and freedom’. He called for an end to the ‘Capitalist’ war, and demanded that power should be given to the soviets.
According to the humanities based themes, autonomy and responsibility are defined as “the individual person has the ability to make choices; with those choices comes a responsibility for the consequences of those choices.” [i] This can be related to the Communist Manifesto, which was written by Karl Marx in the 1800’s. Even deeper though, it correlates the class struggles that were apparent in Europe in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Marx knew there was a division of classes; the bourgeoisie was the wealthy upper class and they proletariats were the lower working classes of Europe. This is where the theme of autonomy and responsibility steps in and
Compare and contrast the ideologies and the political and economic practice of Lenin and Stalin.
once this was a very silly idea as they would not be able to pull it
Because the first printing of the Communist Manifesto was limited and the circulation restricted, the Manifesto did not have much impact on society after it was written in 1848. This meant that there were not many people who had access to the document. It wasn’t until 1871, when the Paris Commune occurred, that the Communist Manifesto began to have a huge impact on the working class all over the world.[i]
Ten years in exile had not swayed Lenin?s determination to create and direct a powerful revolution. Lenin returned to Russia from exclusion in February 1917, believing that the time was ripe to seize power. The Russian economy was in ruin after the army was nearly defeated and the people exhausted as a result of the First World War. The country was in an unstable state, suitable for a revolution (Levinthal 119). Around October 20, Lenin, in disguise and at considerable personal risk, slipped into Petrograd and attended a secret meeting of the Bolshevik Central Committee held on the evening of October 23. Not until after a heated 10-hour debate did he finally win a majority in favour of preparing an armed takeover. Now steps to enlist the support of soldiers and sailors and to train the Red Guards, the Bolshevik-led workers' militia, for an armed takeover proceeded openly under the guise of self-defense of the Petrograd Soviet. Even at great personal risk, Lenin was adamant in spurring a successful revolution.
Lenin was able to consolidate his power because of the weakness of his opponents. Find evidence to support or refute this statement.
only had the firm support of 15 of 25 members on the 15th of October.