Who was Lenin? and What was his role in the Russian Revolution of 1917?

Who was Lenin? and What was his role in the Russian Revolution of 1917?

(i) Lenin was the leader of the Bolshevik Party. He was a committed revolutionary, and prepared to take desperate measures to defend the revolution.

(ii) When the Mensheviks under Kerenskii lost popular support, Lenin on his return from exile organised the Bolshevik Party to take over the reins of the government.

(iii) He put forward clear policies to end Russia’s participation in World War I, transfer of land to the tiller, and popularised the slogan ‘All power to the Soviets’.

(iv) He proclaimed the right of all peoples, including those under the Russian empire to self-determination. On November 7, 1917, with the fall of Kerenskii’s government, Lenin becomes the head of the world’s first communist state.