Question by Princess Polly: Why did Lenin think violence was necessary during the Russian Revoultion?
Im doing an essay for school, and it is all about Vladimir Lenin, from the Russian Revolution. I need to know why he thought it was necessary to use violence to control Russia during this period.
Please help 🙂
Also it would be helpful if you could tell me how he came into power 🙂
Thanks 🙂
Answers and Views:
Answer by Josh
Because he wanted to have a revolution and usually, revolutions are such change that only violence could be the necessary mean. Also Lenin was a Bolchevick….Menechevicks shared the same global idea but with less violence and more cooperation. In the state of Old Russia where Tczars had been ruling for centuries and where recent reforms such as the Douma were barely respected by officials, only violence (according to Lenin and his group) could be applied.
Answer by Damien D
Violence is the swiftest course to action, and per this definition, is a common means of influence. While violence is reprehensible, it gets s*it done, plain and simple. That’s why so many people use it. Most often we use violence to get something that, unless we had used violence to get it, we otherwise probably would not have gotten, like liberation from a Tsar. Before the revolution, Russia was a monarchy, ran by Nicholas II and his imperialist family. And, as we all know, people in power are unlikely to just give their power away. It must be taken by force.
Read all the answers in the comments.
Know better? Leave your own answer!
newbay18 says
Basically:
Alot of people hated him and communism, they weren’t going down without a fight so Lenin had to resort to killing them.
imperialpoetpurple says
It was a matter of self-defense. For example, the popular phraseology was ‘that the Revolution would be defended by any means necessary.’ One must realise that to this day there is a lot of prejudice regarding that time period. I have actually never encountered a US classroomwhere the Russian Revolution or Lenin’s biography is taught from a favorable Russian or socialist perspective. The question itself is already framed as if Lenin has already committed some crime. I would for example – to point out the framework – say Why did Benjamin Franklin and George Washington think violence was necessary to use against Great Britain to fight a revolution? I would imagine they too would say that it was necessary and that it was a matter of self-defense to be allowed to achieve their goals. I would also say that Lenin was opposed to WW1 and that it was the Tsar who actually used violence to control the Russian people ie. the Tsar tried to force the people into a war so as to distract and prevent them from reforming their own country.
Also the Tsar had a history of calling out troops to kill unarmed protesters who sought peaceful reforms.