How does Lenin’s personality affect the Bolshevic triumph

Question by About a girl ~ Shell: How does Lenin’s personality affect the Bolshevic triumph of Otober 1917?
How do Lenin’s personality traits affect the Kornilov affair?

Answers and Views:

Answer by Spellbound
Lenin was absolutely vital for both the success of the October Revolution and the Bolshevik’s maintenance of power.

Before the revolution Lenin laid out his ideas in the pamphlet – What is to be Done. This outlines the need for a “vanguard party”, that is an ideological party that could lead the working class until they developed “class consciousness”. It also outlines the need for “democratic centralism” i.e. the Politburo would discuss an idea, and once it had decided on a policy there was to be no more discussion on the subject. He also outlined the nature of the new regime in State and Revolution. This is more of a programme of how to deal with the other radical parties and how to eliminate class divisions once in office.

In office Lenin instituted many changes, from the structure of the army to the ownership of land. The main reforms were:
Reformed the political system of the country – creating a socialist state.
Reformed land ownership, previously the peasants held land from aristocratic landlords – Lenin gave the peasants the land.
Industry. Factories were either owned by the state – like the huge armaments and textiles factories in Petrograd or owned by very rich (often aristocratic) men – Lenin nationalised industry, i.e. the state took ownership of the factories.

After the revolution the Civil War broke out, so Lenin had to change tack as the war caused great hardship, especially in the cities – the Bolsheviks brought in the policy of War Communism. This was requisitioning grain from the peasants – often at gunpoint.
When the Civil War was more or less over Lenin brought in a new policy to kick-start the economy – the New Economic Policy. This allowed small enterprises to open up and for people to sell goods on the open market.
See:
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/RUSnep.htm
http://www.marxists.org/index.htm
http://www.marxists.org/index.htm

Lenin was a driven individual, who was daring politically. He knew the risks taking on Kornilov and his army: the Bolsheviks may not have been able to persuade Kornilov’s men to turn back, and he, and the other Bolsheviks may have been arrested on their return by Kerensky.

Lenin was, as a child, an exceptional student. He finished top of his class at the Simbirsk Gymnasium – the best school in the city of his birth. After his brother’s execution for an attempted assassination he devoted his intellect to the cause of a revolution in Russia.
After he was exiled from Russia, he wrote many books, tracts, newspaper articles on Marxist theory, on Russia’s problems and, mostly, on his political rivals on the political left.
He was also thoroughly dedicated to the revolution, willing to sacrifice everything for the cause – he nearly drowned in the frozen sea as he fled Petrograd in June 1917.
Finally, he was a ruthless leader – he demanded, and got, total devotion to his cause – he allowed debate, but once his mind was set, if anyone deviated from the party line they would receive a severe dressing down, or, if their transgression was too much for him, expulsion from the party.
All three attributes combined to make him a successful revolutionary – along with being the right man for the right time – i.e. he was lucky that Russia was ripe for his brand of revolution when it was.

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