Assess Lenin's strengths and weaknesses as leader of Russia from 1917 to 1924.
by
olliep (student)
Oliver Perretta
Assess Lenins strengths and weaknesses as leader of Russia from 1917 to 1924?
During the period lasting from 1917 to 1924, Vladimir Lenin remained in full power of Russia through the communist Bolshevik party. Throughout, from his rise to power to his death, Lenin made many decisions. The first major events which Led to the Bolsheviks rise to power were the revolutions in February and October, both to which Lenin were absent from. Once the Bolsheviks had gained power, Lenin was determined to ensure that the Bolsheviks ruled to the exclusion of other socialist parties. Throughout their consolidation, Lenin made the decision to abolish the constituent assembly, end the war with Germany, effectively start the civil war, introduce ‘War Communism’ to control the lives of the Russian people and then changed his tactics by going against his beliefs and introducing the New economic policy as well as using political repression. On top of this, Lenin also had a considerable amount of luck which was evidently shown by his survival after being shot in the neck leading to his decline. In many ways then, Lenin’s decisions could either be described as being reflective of a good leader or a bad leader.
In many ways, the actions of Lenin could suggest that he was a weak leader which was first apparent before the Bolsheviks even gained power. One of the problems with Lenin’s leadership was his punctuality; Lenin was certainly not a punctual leader. He completely missed the February revolution, as did other Bolshevik leaders, at the time he was living in Sweden in exile. With so many of the leading Bolsheviks out of the country for so long before 1917, their knowledge of the situation in Petrograd in was unreliable. Following the revolution, the Bolsheviks rushed to Petrograd and both Stalin and Kamenev became the leading voices in the Bolshevik Party, this was not good for Lenin, as compared to his aim of international revolution, they wanted a socialist revolution. Lenin gained access to Russia through Germany, and arrived on the 3rd April. Although Lenin was absent from the revolution, It can be argued that his determination to regain control of the Bolsheviks was a major strength. As stated by his wife, once Lenin had heard of the February revolution and the situation, he had no sleep; he spent his nights building improbable plans on how he would achieve his goal. There was no doubting the significance of Lenin’s arrival, before this, Stalin and Kamenev had accepted the events of February leading to the dual authority and were willing to work with other parties. Lenin changed all of this, in his speech he declared that February had not been a genuine revolution as it was far from giving Russia political freedom. He condemned the provisional government and called for its overthrow in a second revolution. The following day, Lenin then introduced the April theses, Lenin made promises to the people on what was to be done, and what the provisional government were not doing. This gained the Bolsheviks mass support from the soldiers, workers and peasantry. However, although this was a major strength, it can be argued that his failure to deal effectively with the July Days was a weakness as it gained support for the provisional government. It can also be argued then that Lenin was strong in the sense that he was determined, able to regain power of the Bolsheviks and unify them, however it can also be argued that he was weak, as he was not a punctual leader and failed to deal with the July Days.
