Lenin and his Achievements.
Lenin and his Achievements
Vladimir Ilich Lenin was born in 1870 and died in 1924. Eventhough his life was fairly short and his time in power even shorter, throughout these years he has managed to make himself one of the major factors of Russian history. However, there are mixed views on whether or not his achievements were good. For example the quote from source A that follows which was written at the time of Lenin's death is very much for Lenin. "Lenin was a grate leader yet most humble of men. For his achievements in the October revolution, in defeating foreign invaders and destroying the Whites, in bringing peace and prosperity, we are forever in his debt." 1I agree partially with this quote and think it is fairly accurate, but not completely. The person who wrote this quote must have been one of Lenin's admirers who have overlooked some of the negative sides of Lenin's rule.
The first part of the quote in source A is, "Lenin was a great leader"2. I generally agree with this quote and think in is accurate. Of coarse not all of Lenin's actions and decisions were good, in the end he did give the people what they wanted and slowly lead the country to a better future. On one hand he was a very intelligent person especially if you take into consideration his revolutionary skills. For example during the October Revolution when he managed to overtake power with a very small number of people, just 6 people died during this uprising. Only a grate leader could organize and direct his forces so well that they manage to take power in such small numbers. However during the civil war some of his actions were not very positive, fore example the fact that many people died because a famine caused by war communism. A good leader would take care of his people better, but there was a civil war going on and the food was needed for the army. Lenin in the end did manage to defeat the Whites, which gives further tribute to his good leadership skills, especially because the Whites were supported by Britain and France who were angry with Lenin for pulling out of the First World War. To be a good leader you have to have an ear of the common person in the street, and Lenin had that. His campaign was to bring bread, land, and peace to the people, and that's exactly what the average Russian wanted. Therefore when he saw that his war communism policy was causing a famine, after the civil war he introduced the N.E.P. (New Economic Policy). In this policy the peasants were allowed to sell any produced surplus. He also gave all factories, which had less then 20 workers back to their owners3. Lenin gave the people what they wanted and managed to stay in power. If his leadership skills were bad than he would have been replaced a long time ago, but he stayed, which shoves how god he was. However Lenin's greatest achievement was that he brought Russia from feudalism into socialism. He took the country a step further by introducing a more modern and efficient system.
The second section of the quote in source A is "yet most humble of men"4. I don't thing this in entirely accurate. I partially agree with this section and partially don't. I couldn't find enough information to form a set opinion. He was humble because he was aware of his setbacks and tried to fix them. But on the other hand he was not humble because he always wanted to be seen as powerful as the grate leader, strong and fearless. For example Lenin didn't like listening to Beethoven's music because it made him feel week. A humble ...
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The second section of the quote in source A is "yet most humble of men"4. I don't thing this in entirely accurate. I partially agree with this section and partially don't. I couldn't find enough information to form a set opinion. He was humble because he was aware of his setbacks and tried to fix them. But on the other hand he was not humble because he always wanted to be seen as powerful as the grate leader, strong and fearless. For example Lenin didn't like listening to Beethoven's music because it made him feel week. A humble man doesn't show his power and doesn't advertise it to make other people like or obey him. There four, considering these facts I was not able to form an opinion on Lenin's humbleness.
The thirst section of the quote in source A is "For his achievements in the October revolution...we are forever in his debt"5. I think this statement is accurate and I agree with it. Eventhough Trotsky organized it, the revolution was Lenin's idea and he was the one who led and pushed it forward. Lenin's achievements during the October revolution were truly ingenious. This is because he managed to take power with the minimum amount of people and with fast direct and very well organized attacks on key strategically targets. In a short amount of time the Bolsheviks managed to take over the parliament, telegrams, newspapers and other organizations needed to run a country. With these takeovers he got into power. The greatest thing about Lenin's actions during the October revolution was that there was almost no bloodshed. Only 6 people died during the whole uprising. 6
The fourth section of the quote in source A is " in defeating foreign invaders...we are forever in his debt"7, and I think it is accurate and I agree with it. By foreign invaders the writer means to say the Germans during World War I. Again here Lenin had done a very smart thing. He saw that the county could no longer stay in the war because too many people were dieing, too much money was being lost and there were no signs of improvement. Also if he had stayed in the war the Bolsheviks would have lost power because the Russian people wanted peace. Therefore the Bolsheviks led by Lenin signed a treaty with the Germans. They met with the Germans at Brest-Litovs a town behind the German front line. There Lenin gave the Germans almost all the land they wanted in return for peace in Russia. Eventhough the peace of land given away was Russians key industrial region it was a smart thing to do. This is because Lenin thought if the Germans won he was going to lose the land anyway, and if they lost Britain and America would return the entire lad back to Russia. By signing the treaty at Brest-Litovsk Lenin brought peace to his people with out loosing much.
The fifth section of the quote in source A is "destroying the Whites...we are forever in his debt"8. I do not think this is entirely accurate, but I do not have a fixed opinion on this subject. It is true because he defeated the feudalists and prevented Russia from going a step back by returning to an archaic system. However even though Lenin defeated the Whites his war communism policy, which he introduced, caused a famine form 1918 to 1921 and 5 million people died during this time period.9 War communism said that all agricultural surplus produced was to be given to the army. The people did not like this so they started producing less food and the famine started. However later Lenin introduced the NEP (New Economic policy) which gave the surplus back to the people so they could trade and sell it. This way Lenin helped his people to come out of the crises.
The sixth section of the quote in source A is "for bringing peace and prosperity...we are forever in hid dept"10. Again I do not completely agree with this quote. This is because Lenin did bring temporary peace by coming out of World War I, but then there was a civil war in Russia. During this civil war again there was no peace. He did bring some prosperity to the people with his NEP policy, but all throughout the civil war the people were starving and living in horrible conditions. Even when the Russian people could trade and make money their lives were till very hard and ruthless. Also many people feared Lenin and could not live in peace because of the secret police the Checka. Between 1917 and 1934,the Checka killed 250 000 people.11
Finally the seventhly section of the quote in source A is "we are forever in his debt"12. I think that this statement is accurate. Eventhough during Lenin's rule there was a famine and a civil war and the fact that he was not elected into power but forced his way there I still agree with this section of the quote. This is because in my opinion Lenin knew what the people wanted and he tried to give it to them. But mostly because he helped Russia start its journey towards modernization and economical improvement. He led Russia out of feudalism and czarism into Socialism a more modern, more economically efficient and more people friendly system. He started Russians reformation and for that he should be respected.
In conclusion I would like to say that the quote in source A is fairly accurate. Not all of it I agree with but the majority are correct. Lenin was more successful as a revolutionary rather then as a statesmen. However he was an extraordinary man who had an impact on Russia and the world. He introduced Socialism and got Russia out of feudalism, and that is his greatest and most positive achievement. He helped the country move forward. Eventhough not all of his actions were positive; he will be remembered as a revolutionary and the leader of a country, not as a brutal tyrant.
Bibliography
. Author unknown, "biography." The World Book Encyclopedia, World Book incorporated. 1991, Chicago
2. Author unknown, Source AU, 1924
3. Author unknown, "biography." The Encyclopedia Americana. Grolier incorporated. 1988 New York
4. "Lenin, Vladimir Ilich," Microsoft(r) Encarta(r) Online Encyclopedia 2001
http://encarta.msn.com (c) 1997-2000 Microsoft Corporation.
5. Richard Radway, Russia and the USSR 1900-1995, Stanley Thorn, publisher LTD 1996, Cheltenham, England
Sandra 10L
Work Experience Evaluation
I enjoyed my work experience week. It was a good experience and I would like to do it again. I went to work at the Istanbul Olympic Stadium. I stayed there the full five days from about 8:15 to 6:00. I did several different jobs. I made checklists for damaged furniture, and also made lists of the amounts of furniture in each room on each level. I also made lists of damaged pipes or paintwork on walls, and I tipped up some letters. I also went onto the sight a few times to check the different furniture if it was fixed jet or not. When I was on the sight my supervisor explained to me all the different parts of the stadium and how they were made. I found this very interesting and useful.
My supervisor was an architect at the sight called Ozge. She tolled me how what to do and how. I also asked her a few questions about being and architect, because that in the profession I am interested in. She answered all my questions and was very helpful. I think that the chance to ask questions about the profession you are interested in is very good. That way you find out more about it and you become more clear about whether or not it is good for you.
I did not find the work I was given exceptionally difficult but it did take a fair amount of time for me to complete it. I was happy with what I produced and I think my supervisor was as well. I would be able to do this type of office work, but I don't think it is for me. I would much more prefer to have a more creative job. Such as an architect who designs and creates the buildings. I would recommend this work experience week to anion e because I think it is very useful. It gives you a taste of working life and prepares you a little bit on what to expect. I hope to do more of this type of thing in the future, but in different profusions so I it would be easier for me to chose later in life a profession for me. If I were to do this work experience again, I would prepare some more questions to ask the people working there.
Author unknown, Source A, 1924
2 Author unknown, Source A, 1924
3 Richard Radway, Russia and the USSR 1900-1995, Stanley Thorn, publisher LTD 1996, Cheltenham, England
4 Author unknown, Source A, 1924
5 Author unknown, Source A, 1924
6 Richard Radway, Russia and the USSR 1900-1995, Stanley Thorn, publisher LTD 1996, Cheltenham, England
7 Author unknown, Source A, 1924
8 Author unknown, Source A, 1924
9 Richard Radway, Russia and the USSR 1900-1995, Stanley Thorn, publisher LTD 1996, Cheltenham, England
0 Author unknown, Source A, 1924
1 Richard Radway, Russia and the USSR 1900-1995, Stanley Thorn, publisher LTD 1996, Cheltenham, England
2 Author unknown, Source A, 1924
