How far do you agree with the view that Lenins leadership was the main reason for Bolshevik success in October 1917?

        Lenin was the ultimate strategist of the October Revolution, making his party look stronger and more organised than the other parties, meaning that they were more likely to gain support because of how strong their party looked. However, when it came to the actual revolution, Lenin had little idea of what was going on, and his confusion was almost detrimental to the success of Bolsheviks in October 1917. This suggested that there was a lack of organization and communication with the party, and presented potential supporters with a contradiction, which may cause them not to support the party.

        There are a number of other reasons to suggest that Lenin was not, in fact, the main reason for the Bolshevik success in October 1917. He was in exile for the majority of 1917, meaning that other party leaders, particularly Trotsky, had a major influence over the party politics. Some sources suggest that Lenin had little control over the party at this time, because these leaders began to adopt policies which Lenin fundamentally agreed with, suggesting that it was not actually Lenin who was responsible for the success of the party, but Trotsky and other such leaders.

        The failure of the other political parties was also a major contributing factor to the Bolshevik success in October 1917. These parties all accepted February as a genuine revolution, meaning that they co-operated with the Provisional Government. This gave the Bolsheviks a powerful propaganda (also a major contributing factor to the Bolshevik success which Lenin did not pilot) weapon; the other parties had abandoned the people in favor of the Bourgeoisie. The Mensheviks strongly supported the Provisional Government, as , as committed Marxists, they believed this feudalism as a key stage before the Proletariat revolution. They worked with other parties as they recognized that the Proletariat were not yet ready to head this revolution. The Bolsheviks were also strengthened by their position on Russia being in the war, as they were the only party who were fundamentally opposed to the war (however, it was ultimately Lenin who used this strength to it’s full advantage).

        There are several other reasons for the success of the Bolshevik party which individually appear to have little to do with Lenin. The Kornilov Revolt made the party look like national patriots, and gained them much support in time for the October revolution. The temporary nature of the Provisional Government was also a contributing factor , who were essentially just ‘looking after’ the country until a constitutional assembly could be established meant that it was weak. This meant that the ruthless Bolsheviks could easily overthrow this government. It was also the first instance of democratic rule in Russia, which increased the chances of power going to the most flexible and ruthless party; the Bolsheviks.

        In Conclusion, I feel that Lenin is the ultimate reason for the Bolshevik success in October 1917, despite the fact that there were a large number of contributing factors which he was not responsible for. He was able to make the party seem accessible to the majority of Russians, and took advantage of every possible factor which presented itself to the Bolshevik party, making them look as strong and reliable as physically possible.