From Stalinism to Leninism
The question of whether or not Stalinism was a logical continuation of Leninism is a difficult one. Stalinism did take significantly more drastic measures than Leninism did. There were differences in policy. But in spite of these, Stalinism still found its basis in Leninism. Even Trotsky, a friend of Lenin and a staunch opponent of Stalin, grudgingly admits that "Stalinism did issue from Bolshevism" (Trotsky). Stalin's policy of socialism in one country, his use of terror to eliminate opposition, and his suppression of democracy and the soviets were all characteristics of Lenin well before they were characteristic of Stalin. Although some of Stalin's policies were different from those of Lenin, what difference Stalinism did show from Leninism were either policies which Lenin had called for but never put into action, or logical continuations of Lenin's original principles, but modified to suit the demands of the time. One of Stalin's main focuses was on the concept of "socialism in one country" - that is, the focus on the betterment exclusively of his own country rather than on the international communist revolution. "Socialism in one country" began with Lenin. I
Another feature common to both Stalin and Lenin was their attempts to eliminate any democratic or representative forms of government. This too was a continuation of a long-standing Leninist policy well before Stalin was in power. Starting in 1918, in elections for factory committees, an approved list of candidates was created beforehand, and voting was done by a show of hands while a member of the Communist cell read the names and armed Communist guards watched on. Voicing opposition to the proposed candidates would result in wage cuts ("How Lenin Led to Stalin"). In addition, other actions taken by Leninism were far more drastic. In a Cheka raid in Moscow in April 1918, 26 Anarchist centers were raided, killing or injuring 40 Anarchists and imprisoning over 500 more ("How Lenin Led to Stalin"). As the government gained more and more control over the economy, Lenin felt it necessary to defend his actions. He published an article in April of 1918 in which he stated that "Unquestioning submission to a single will is absolutely necessary for the success of the labor process...the revolution demands, in the interests of socialism, that the masses unquestioningly obey the single will of the leaders of the labor process" ("How Lenin Led to Stalin"). In addition to demonstrating the Leninist ideal of state capitalism, it also shows that Lenin viewed absolute governmental authority as necessary, a policy that would be further instituted during the totalitarian rule of Stalin. Trotsky, Leon. "Stalinism and Bolshevism." Online. Available http://www.internationalist.org/stalinism%26bolshevism.html. Lenin's suppressions were not limited to non-communists. As Stalin would later do, Lenin also worked to eliminate any possible sources of dissention within the Communist party. In 1918 there was a faction within the party that was critical of the new policy of Taylorism, a system used to measure the outputs of the workers in the country. This faction was centered around the journal Kommunist. At a Leningrad party conference, the majority supported Lenin's demand "that the adherents of Kommunist cease their separate organizational existence" ("How Lenin Led to Stalin"). Three years later, the 1921 party congress issued a ban on all factions within the Communist party. Speaking regarding one of these factions, the Workers Opposition, Trotsky said they had "placed the workers right to elect representatives above the party. As if the party were not entitled to assert its dictatorship even if that dictatorship temporarily clashed with the passing moods of the workers democracy" ("How Lenin Led to Stalin"). We can see the dark motivations behind Leninism's banning of factions: to keep the democracy fro
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Approximate Word count = 1846
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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