Abstract
Lenin was a mercurial mixture as a political leader. He was an ideologist, a class warrior and a party boss. Contradictions and uncertainties as well as plainly-spoken simplicities were characteristic of him. No wonder his career eludes easy definition. And yet such a persona was not without its parallels. Muhammed, prophet of Islam, frequently took decisions seemingly based on considerations of prudence; and his ideas were not without their confusion. Yet a believer he was. His interests and understandings were transformed as he registered the impact of circumstances. Another example is Oliver Cromwell, who constantly surprised his followers by the shifts in his ideas but was a man of deep Christian belief. The elusiveness of a Muhammed, a Cromwell or a Lenin is among the factors which enable them to dominate political life around them.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Notes
L. D. Trotskii,O Lenine. Materialy dlya biografa (Moscow, 1924), p. 111.
See V. Brovkin, The Mensheviks after October. Socialist Opposition and the Rise of the Bolshevik Dictatorship (Cornell, 1987), pp. 177–8.
See V. M. Fié, The Bolsheviks and the Czechoslovak Legion. The Origin of their Armed Conflict, March to May 1918 (New Delhi, 1978), pp. 20–1, 26–7 and 80–91.
See Yu. G. Fel’shtinskii, Bol’sheviki i levye esery, oktyabr’ 1917–iyul 1918. Na puti k odnopartiinoi diktature (Paris, 1985), pp. 127–8.
G. A. Solomon, Sredi krasnykh vozhdei (Paris, 1930), p. 83.
V. D. Bonch-Bruevich, Vospominaniya o Lenine (2nd edition: Moscow, 1969), p. 309.
G. Hilger and A.G. Meyer, The Incompatible Allies. A Memoir-History of Soviet-German Relations,1918–1941 (New York, 1953), p. 7.
See B. Pearce, How Haig Saved Lenin (London, 1987), chap. 1.
See E. Mawdsley, The Russian Civil War (London, 1987), p. 61.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 1995 Robert Service
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Service, R. (1995). Merciless Retreat. In: Lenin: A Political Life. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-05594-4_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-05594-4_1
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-05596-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-05594-4
eBook Packages: Palgrave History CollectionHistory (R0)