In 1848, Marx and Engels their political pamphlet that eventually challenged the

predominant capitalism at their time. Both political thinkers theorized that as the time

goes by the continuous oppression of the bourgeoisie towards the proletariat will

contribute to the ripening consciousness of the latter. If this happens, revolution that aims

to topple the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie will be inevitable, and each local revolution

will create a ripple that will led to a world revolution against the capitalists, or as what we

now recognize as one of the famous socialist slogans “Workingmen of all countries

unite!” (Curtis, 2008) At the end of the day, what the Manifesto aims is to annihilate the

bourgeoisie and create a classless society.

In the dawning stage of the first world war, Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (Lenin)

shook the world when he led Russian revolution that ended the millennial rule of

Romanovs. That single event paved way for the creation of the Soviet Union in 1922.

Lenin interpreted Marx’s ideas and works in a way that would fit the current state of

Russia. As a backward agricultural country, Lenin agreed with Marx that Russia was not

yet fit for a proletarian revolution. In order to rectify this shortcoming, Lenin proposed

the idea of a Vanguard Party – a congregation of intellectuals and revolutionaries that

will temporary represent the working class for their fight with the bourgeoisie society and

the tsarists. By examining the work of Marx, the representation suggested by Lenin

should only be temporary for their main role is to educate the proletariat and to transfer

the sources of the production for the disposal of all. However, in the case of the Soviet

Union, Lenin’s vanguard party or the Bolsheviks became another class.

 The irony that existed in USSR is palpable as the creation of the Vanguard Party is

to help the oppressed fight their oppressors. In the process, the thirst of power of the

Bolshevik officials made the liberator to become the new oppressor, after they defeated

their opposition – mesheviks.

Curtis, M. (2008). Great Political Theories. A Comprehensive Selection of the Crucial

Ideas in Political Philosophy. New York: Harper perennial modern classics.

Readings:

http://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/education/study-guides/russian-revolution-and-

bolshevik-dictatorship-and-labour-theory-value

https://www.biography.com/people/vladimir-lenin-9379007 -

http://www.sparknotes.com/history/european/interwaryears/section4.rhtml - “In 1917,

Vladimir Lenin seized power in the Russian Revolution, establishing a single-party

dictatorship under the Bolsheviks.”