October Revolution. Stages of the history of the USSR

proletarian revolution, the highest type of social revolution, carrying out the transition from a capitalist socio-economic formation to a communist formation. The era of the social revolution of the proletariat began with the October Socialist Revolution of 1917. Socialist Revolution. includes a set of destructive and creative tasks: the taking of power by the working class, the demolition of the old state machine, the establishment of public ownership of the means of production, the creation of a system of conscious management of economic and social processes, the elimination of class and national antagonisms, the exploitation of man by man, the development of socialist democracy, the cultural revolution. Unlike all previous social revolutions, which only changed the form of exploitation, S. r. means a radical turn in the development of society, marks the transition from the prehistory of mankind to its true history.

S. r. in the broadest sense of the word, it covers the entire transition period from the conquest of power by the working class to the building of socialism. In the narrow sense of the word S. r. means the transfer of power into the hands of the working class, the establishment of its dictatorship.

The founders of Marxism-Leninism saw the peculiarities of the proletarian revolution in the fact that it decisively breaks with the past, is characterized by “... the enormity of its own goals...” (Marx K., see Marx K. and Engels F., Works, 2 ed., vol. 8, p. 123). S. revolution, Marx wrote, “...can draw its poetry only from the future, and not from the past... Previous revolutions needed memories of world-historical events of the past in order to deceive themselves about their own content” (ibid. , p. 122). S. r. does not need such illusions and must “... understand its own content” (ibid.). The depth of carried out S. r. transformation requires the conscious participation of the broadest masses. “The time has passed,” Engels noted, “for sudden attacks, revolutions carried out by a small conscious minority standing at the head of the unconscious masses. Where it is a question of a complete transformation of the social system, the masses themselves must take part in this, they themselves must understand what the struggle is for, why they are shedding blood and sacrificing their lives” (ibid., vol. 22, p. 544). Social revolution, Lenin emphasized, “... can be successfully implemented only with the independent historical creativity of the majority of the population, especially the majority of the working people” (Poln. sobr. soch., 5th ed., vol. 36, p. 171).

The deep economic basis of S. r. - the conflict between the social nature of production and the private capitalist form of appropriation. Reaching gigantic proportions and a high degree of socialization under capitalism, the productive forces encounter the narrow framework of existing industrial relations (See Industrial relations) . This basic contradiction in itself does not cause the “automatic collapse of capitalism.” Capitalist relations of production have a certain ability to respond to the objective demands of the productive forces. There is an evolution of forms of capitalist property from private individual to state-monopoly, which creates certain opportunities for the further growth of productive forces within the framework of the capitalist mode of production. The dialectic of this process is such that, while mobilizing all the resources of the capitalist system, it at the same time further intensifies the tension of its contradictions and accelerates the maturation of the material prerequisites of socialism.

In addition to the objective conditions for S. r. the maturity of the subjective factor is necessary (See Subjective factor) - active and conscious struggle of the working class (See Working class) , workers for socialism, the presence of a revolutionary Marxist party among the working class (see Political Party). It introduces socialist consciousness into the labor movement, educates and organizes the masses, develops the strategy and tactics of the class struggle (See Class struggle) , exercises political leadership of the S. r.

The main contradiction of capitalism manifests itself in the field of class relations as the antagonism between labor and capital, the proletariat and the bourgeoisie. S. r. grows out of the class struggle of the working class, whose position in the system of capitalist relations of production puts it in the role of the main driving force and hegemon of the social revolution. (see Hegemony of the proletariat).

The union of the working class with the non-proletarian strata of the working people is a necessary condition for the victory of the Social Revolution. The main ally of the working class in all the so far victorious Socialist Revolutionaries. there was a peasantry. S. r. meets the fundamental interests of the working peasantry. In modern conditions, the peasantry constitutes the overwhelming majority of the population in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Victory S. r. unthinkable without a union of the working class and the peasantry (See Union of the working class and the peasantry). Despite the rapid decline in the number of the peasantry in countries of developed capitalism, attracting it to the side of the working class is the most important task (in the early 70s of the 20th century, it accounted for an average of 11% of the self-employed population in this part of the world). At the same time, in countries of developed capitalism, the number and influence of the scientific and technical intelligentsia (See Intelligentsia) and other categories of mental labor are steadily growing, which is associated with the development of the scientific and technological revolution (See Scientific and Technological Revolution). The fundamental economic and political interests of the majority of the intelligentsia are closely intertwined with the interests of the working class. The Union of Manual and Mental Workers is becoming a significant force in the anti-monopoly struggle. It is also of great importance to win over the urban middle strata to the side of the proletariat. The working class, peasantry, and other social strata that are objectively interested in crushing the power of capital and establishing socialism constitute the social base from which the political forces of the Socialist Revolution are formed.

The most important act of the S. r. - the conquest of power by the working class, the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat (See Dictatorship of the proletariat). To solve this problem, a national crisis arising from a revolutionary situation is necessary (See Revolutionary situation). This, according to V.I. Lenin, is the fundamental law of every great revolution (see Poln. sobr. soch., 5th ed., vol. 41, pp. 69-70).

Forms of S. r. change depending on specific historical conditions, the real balance of class forces in a particular country. S. r. can be either peaceful or non-peaceful. With the first breakthrough of the imperialist chain as a result of the Great October Socialist Revolution (See Great October Socialist Revolution) in conditions when the balance of forces in the world was not in favor of the working class, the peaceful development of the Socialist Revolution. was unlikely. Such a rare opportunity existed in Russia after the February bourgeois-democratic revolution of 1917 until the July crisis (see July days 1917) , and then within a few days after the defeat of the Kornilov counter-revolutionary rebellion (see Kornilovshchina) (see V.I. Lenin, Poln. sobr. soch., 5th ed., vol. 34, p. 237). Peaceful development of the S. r. it is possible when, as a result of the existing balance of forces, the ruling classes cannot or do not dare to use open violence against the masses. The sharp division of class forces, the bitterness of the class struggle, and the conciliatory line of the petty-bourgeois socialist parties - all this determined the non-peaceful path of development of the socialist revolution. in Russia.

In some European countries after World War II 1939-45, as a result of the current world situation, S. r. occurred relatively peacefully and were characterized by gradual development. In modern conditions in a number of capitalist countries, greater opportunities for a peaceful transition to socialism are determined by the new balance of forces in favor of the working class and socialism, the scope of the mass struggle for democracy, and the urgent need for deep democratic transformations of an anti-monopoly nature. In the struggle to realize these opportunities, the Marxist-Leninist parties of these countries are guided by fundamental democratic reforms (See Reform) , including the nationalization of leading sectors of the national economy, banks, democratic control and democratic programming of the economy, participation of workers in production management, democratization of various aspects of public life. Deep democratic reforms in the course of the development of a mass anti-monopoly movement can undermine the power of monopoly capital and thereby clear the way to socialism, becoming important intermediate milestones in the struggle for socialism. Democratic reforms serve as a platform for uniting a broad democratic coalition of leftist forces led by the working class. In the struggle for these reforms, the mass forces of the Socialist Republic. undergo a practical school of political education, the political authority of the working class grows, and the opportunity opens up for it to seize some important bridgeheads in the mechanism of the bourgeois state, in its executive and especially representative bodies. This expands the front of the class struggle and makes it possible to wage an attack on the power of the monopolies, combining the actions of the masses from below with actions from above, on the part of those authorities that are under the influence of revolutionary forces. This orientation of Marxist-Leninist parties in capitalist countries is the opposite of the reformist concept of the “transformation” of capitalism into socialism (see Reformism). The peaceful transition to socialism, despite its gradualness, represents a revolutionary leap, presupposing the conquest of full power by the working class, the working people, and a radical revolution in property relations. And on the peaceful path of S. r. at the decisive moment, a nationwide upsurge of the class movement of the working class and its allies is needed, which alone can paralyze and break the resistance of the bourgeoisie and ensure the transfer of power to the working class.

Peaceful or non-peaceful form of S. r. depends mainly on the degree of resistance of the bourgeoisie. When the ruling classes close off the possibilities for the working class to peacefully attract the majority of the people to the side of socialism and forcibly suppress the legal activities of the revolutionary vanguard, then a course towards an armed struggle for power is necessary and justified. At the same time, an armed uprising can count on success only in conditions of a national crisis, when it is guaranteed the support and sympathy of the majority of the people (see V.I. Lenin ibid., p. 337). In contrast to Blanquism and petty-bourgeois revolutionism, Marxists always rely on the masses. Successful armed struggle cannot be launched anywhere and at any time at the discretion of the rebel group. It can be successful only when it responds to the revolutionary sentiments of the masses and develops at the crest of a mass movement. The political maturity and skill of the revolutionary vanguard consists in being able to catch the first signs of a mass revolutionary movement in time and actively contribute to its deepening. During the revolution, due to the diversity of its forms, sharp and often unexpected turns in the development of events, the working class and its parties must master all forms of struggle and be prepared for their rapid change (see ibid., vol. 41, pp. 80-81).

S. r. has an international character. It grows out of the contradictions of imperialism as a world system. However, due to the deep unevenness of the economic and political development of capitalism, some countries become the focus of the most acute contradictions. In the presence of socio-political forces of S. r. these countries are turning into the weakest links in the capitalist system. This determines the timing of the victory of the Social Revolution. in different countries. Initially, she won in one single country - in Russia, where at the beginning of the 20th century. The most favorable conditions for breaking the imperialist chain had developed.

The October Socialist Revolution of 1917 began during the First World War of 1914-18, which accelerated the maturation of a revolutionary crisis in the depths of the capitalist system. However, this does not mean, as the ideologists of anti-communism and petty-bourgeois adventurism claim, that S. r. necessarily grows out of war. The successes of the world revolutionary process are leading to a change in the balance of forces in the world in favor of the international working class, socialism and peace. As a result of this, opportunities are created to prevent world wars, the principles of peaceful coexistence are affirmed (See Peaceful coexistence) , under the conditions of which the objective and subjective prerequisites for socialization are formed.

The struggle of the working class for socialism is intertwined with other revolutionary movements that are diverse in content and character. Some of them, while not being socialist, are nevertheless objectively directed against imperialism and flow into the general mainstream of a single world revolutionary process. This gives them a more radical character, brings them closer to the struggle for socialism, and creates the preconditions for the development of democratic and national liberation movements and revolutions into socialist ones. All the revolutionary forces of our time are rallying around the main force standing at the center of the modern era - the international working class and its brainchild - the world system of socialism (See World system of socialism). The main contradiction of the modern era is the contradiction between two social systems. The confrontation between capitalism and socialism on the world stage is the main front of the social revolution of our time.

The leading role of the socialist system in the revolutionary process is determined by the fact that it represents the most powerful force, based on the economic and military-political power of the state-organized working class, which solves the most complex, creative tasks of the socialist revolution. The final outcome of the world struggle for socialism depends on the success of this revolutionary work. Speaking about the ways in which victorious socialism could influence the world revolutionary process, Lenin strongly condemned the leftist concept of “exporting” the revolution, “spurring it on” by starting wars with capitalist countries. “Such a “theory,” he wrote, “would be a complete break with Marxism, which has always denied the “pushing” of revolutions that develop as the severity of class contradictions that give rise to revolutions matures” (ibid., vol. 35, p. 403) . Socialism influences the revolutionary movement in other countries through the power of example, the internationalist support of the working class and other progressive forces fighting for social progress, its active foreign policy, its decisive struggle for peace, against the imperialist export of counter-revolution (See Counter-revolution). Along with the world system of socialism, the working class of developed capitalist countries and the national liberation movement act as the main revolutionary forces of our time.

The heterogeneity of the classes and social strata participating in the anti-imperialist struggle is the source of contradictions in the world revolutionary process. The multimillion-strong petty-bourgeois mass, according to Lenin, comes to the revolution with all its prejudices (see ibid., vol. 30, p. 54), brings into the revolutionary movement its hesitations and instability, nationalism and ultra-revolutionism. This causes temporary zigzags and even backward movements in certain sectors of the united front of the struggle against imperialism, especially in countries with a predominance of the petty bourgeoisie and a narrow stratum of the industrial proletariat. The conditions for overcoming emerging difficulties are provided by the general forward progress of the world revolution and the unity of the main revolutionary forces of our time.

World S. r. - this is unity in diversity. The Great October Socialist Revolution, along with its inherent general laws, bears the stamp of the historical characteristics of Russia and its time. People's democratic revolutions (See People's Democratic Revolution) in a number of European countries also had their own characteristics: multi-stage development, the comparative duration of the period of formation of the dictatorship of the proletariat, the interweaving of socialist tasks with the tasks of a general democratic anti-fascist struggle. S. r. were developed in a unique form. in China, Korea, Vietnam, Cuba. At the same time, the world revolutionary process is characterized by deep internal unity. Each S. r. acts as an integral part of a single world social system. But all S. r. Along with specific ones, they also contain common features. The theory, which studies the general laws of social revolution and the laws of the world revolutionary process, is of general significance for all countries throughout the entire era of transition from capitalism to socialism. At the same time, the diversity of specific historical conditions in different countries requires such an application of the general principles of revolutionary theory, which would, as Lenin noted, “... correctly modify these principles in particular, correctly adapt and apply them to national and national-state differences.” (ibid., vol. 41, p. 77).

Theory of S. r. developed by K. Marx and F. Engels. They scientifically proved the historical inevitability of the Revolutionary Revolution, characterized its driving forces, and determined the main conditions for victory. In the era of imperialism, the theory of social revolution. was creatively developed on the basis of a generalization of new experience by V. I. Lenin, who studied the maturation of the material prerequisites of socialism in the depths of monopoly capitalism, the pattern of the victory of the Social Revolution at different times. in different countries, the role of the subjective factor in the revolution, the process of the emergence of a revolutionary situation, the ways of development of the world social revolution. Lenin's ideas were developed in the documents of the Communist International. In modern conditions, the theory of S. r. was further developed in documents of international meetings of communist and workers' parties, in the CPSU Program, in materials and decisions of congresses of Marxist-Leninist parties.

Problems of S. r. are the focus of the ideological struggle of Marxist-Leninist parties against revisionism and petty-bourgeois revolutionism. Right opportunism renounces the fundamental principles of the theory of socialist revolution: the dictatorship of the proletariat, the breakdown of the bourgeois state machine, and the leading role of the Marxist-Leninist party. “Left” opportunism betrays the creative character of the Marxist-Leninist theory of socialist revolution, which leads to sectarianism, the inability to find concrete ways to bring the masses to the socialist movement, and undermines the Marxist-Leninist strategy of broad class alliances. “Left” opportunism rejects transitional stages and forms in the struggle for final goals, absolutizes the importance of armed violence, and downplays the role of solving creative problems in the revolutionary process. By creatively developing the theory of socialist revolution, Marxist-Leninist parties give a decisive rebuff to bourgeois ideologists and revisionist and petty-bourgeois pseudo-socialist concepts.

Lit.: Marx K. and Engels F., Manifesto of the Communist Party, Works, 2nd ed., vol. 4; Marx K., Class struggle in France from 1848 to 1850, ibid., vol. 7; his, Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte, ibid., vol. 8; him. Criticism of the Gotha Program, ibid., vol. 19; his, Capital, vol. 1, ibid., vol. 23, ch. 24; Engels F., Anti-Dühring, ibid., vol. 20, p. 278-95; Lenin V.I., What to do?, Complete. collection cit., 5th ed., vol. 6; his, Two tactics of social democracy in the democratic revolution, ibid., vol. 11; his, On the slogan of the United States of Europe, ibid., vol. 26; his, Imperialism as the highest stage of capitalism, ibid., vol. 27; his, Military program of the proletarian revolution, ibid., vol. 30; his, State and Revolution, ibid., vol. 33; his, The impending catastrophe and how to deal with it, in the same place, vol. 34; his, Childhood disease of “leftism” in communism, ibid., vol. 41; his, Report on the international situation and the main tasks of the Communist International on July 19, ibid.; his, Report on the tactics of the RCP on July 5, ibid., vol. 44; his, Five years of the Russian revolution and prospects for the world revolution, ibid., vol. 45; Program documents of the struggle for peace, democracy and socialism, M., 1961; CPSU Program (Adopted by the XXII Congress of the CPSU), M., 1974; Materials of the XXIV Congress of the CPSU, M., 1971; Materials of the XXV Congress of the CPSU, M., 1976; 50 years of the Great October Socialist Revolution. Theses of the Central Committee of the CPSU, M., 1967; To the 100th anniversary of the birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. Theses of the CPSU Central Committee, M., 1969; International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties, M., 1969; Great October and the world revolutionary movement, M., 1967; International revolutionary movement of the working class, 3rd ed., M., 1966; Kuzin V.A., Popular masses and revolution, Kaz., 1966; Kovalev A. M., Marxist-Leninist theory of socialist revolution and modernity, M., 1967; Krasin Yu. A., Dialectics of the revolutionary process, M., 1972; Lenin's theory of socialist revolution and modernity, M., 1972; Leibzon B. M., What is revolutionism today, M., 1972; Vodolazov G. G., Dialectics and revolution. Methodological problems of social revolution, M., 1975.

Yu. A. Krasin.

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Great October Socialist Revolution
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Socialist revolution From such a situation of acute contradiction, socialism is born. In order for socialism to arise and strengthen, capitalism must be destroyed. According to dialectical analysis, violence must occur for progress to occur. Nature

Great October Socialist Revolution, committed by the workers and peasants of Russia under the leadership of the Communist Party led by V.I. Lenin, overthrew the power of capitalists and landowners, broke the shackles of oppression, established the dictatorship of the proletariat and created the Soviet state - a new type of state, the main weapon for defending revolutionary gains, building socialism and communism. The world-historical turn of humanity from capitalism to socialism began.

Having won in civil war Having repelled the imperialist intervention, the Soviet government carried out profound socio-economic transformations and put an end to the exploitation of man by man, class antagonism and national enmity. The unification of the Soviet republics into the USSR increased the strength and capabilities of the peoples of the country in building socialism. Public ownership of the means of production and true democracy for the working masses were established. For the first time in human history, a socialist society was created.

A striking manifestation of the power of socialism was the unfading feat of the Soviet people and their Armed Forces, which won a historic victory in the Great Patriotic War. This victory strengthened the authority and international position of the USSR and opened up new favorable opportunities for the growth of the forces of socialism, national liberation, democracy and peace throughout the world.

Continuing their creative activities, the working people of the Soviet Union ensured the rapid and comprehensive development of the country and the improvement of the socialist system. The alliance of the working class, the collective farm peasantry and the people's intelligentsia, and the friendship of the nations and nationalities of the USSR were strengthened. The socio-political and ideological unity of Soviet society has emerged, the leading force of which is the working class. Having fulfilled the tasks of the dictatorship of the proletariat, the Soviet state became national. The leading role of the Communist Party, the vanguard of the entire people, has increased.

A developed socialist society has been built in the USSR. At this stage, when socialism develops on its own basis, the creative forces of the new system and the advantages of the socialist way of life are revealed more and more fully, and the working people increasingly enjoy the fruits of the great revolutionary achievements.

This is a society in which powerful productive forces, advanced science and culture have been created, in which the well-being of the people is constantly growing, and increasingly favorable conditions are being created for the comprehensive development of the individual.

This is a society of mature socialist social relations, in which, on the basis of the rapprochement of all classes and social strata, the legal and actual equality of all nations and nationalities, their fraternal cooperation, a new historical community of people has emerged - the Soviet people.

This is a society of highly organized, ideological and conscious workers - patriots and internationalists.

This is a society whose law of life is the concern of everyone for the welfare of everyone and the concern of each for the welfare of all.

This is a society of true democracy, the political system of which ensures the effective management of all public affairs, the increasingly active participation of workers in public life, the combination of real rights and freedoms of citizens with their duties and responsibilities to society.

A developed socialist society is a natural stage on the path to communism.

The highest goal of the Soviet state is to build a classless communist society in which public communist self-government will develop. The main tasks of a socialist state of all the people: creating the material and technical base of communism, improving socialist social relations and their transformation into communist ones, educating a person in a communist society, increasing the material and cultural standard of living of workers, ensuring the security of the country, promoting peace and the development of international cooperation.

On October 25 (November 7), 1917, as a result of acute contradictions, both inherited from February and new ones that accumulated during the eight-month development of the country in the conditions of the ongoing imperialist war, a revolutionary coup took place in tormented Russia. Unlike February, this was by no means a spontaneous explosion of mass discontent, but rather a well-thought-out and organized uprising of armed detachments of workers, soldiers and sailors, which ended with the capture of the Winter Palace and the arrest of members of the Provisional Government.

As a result of the success of the armed uprising, the October Revolution achieved a political victory - the bourgeois Provisional Government, headed by the Socialist-Revolutionary A. Kerensky, was overthrown, and state power was transferred to the Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets, which created and approved the workers' and peasants' government, headed by the Bolshevik leader - V. Lenin . The victory of the October Revolution, which shocked not only the country, but the whole world, raised the question: whose power and in the name of what was established in the country where it intends to lead Russia?

Today, like many years ago, many different things are written about the October Revolution. We live in a curious time, when there are much more domestic falsifiers of our history and, first of all, the October Revolution than there were abroad in all the post-October years. But the most regrettable thing is that today this shameful activity is carried out not only by semi-literate and illiterate political loudmouths and sinecure-loving journalists, to whom science and conscience have always been alien, but also by established politicians and political scientists, philosophers and economists - yesterday's Marxist orthodoxies, and today's "Marx-eaters" - who in no case can be suspected of ignorance and illiteracy. On the contrary, there are solid reasons to convict them of deliberate lies and deliberate deception of their flock. Of course, when everything in the country was breaking down, being rebuilt and reformed, one can understand that some people, trying to “keep up” with the rapidly changing situation, unsuccessfully adapting to the conjuncture, “in a hurry” said too much, stirred up something that was not thought through. But now, when enough time has passed since what happened to highlight the consequences of the changes, and when the concept of national history is being sculpted from past notes and speeches, and the opportunists have not repented, have not corrected their falsifications, which could end up in the created version of history as Truly, it’s time to call a spade a spade.

One of the main places among the “innovative” approaches to Russian history, approaches that threaten to be “transplanted” into history textbooks, is the method of falsifying the facts of Russian history, which I call pro-Stalinist. What is its essence? As you know, I. Stalin in “Questions of Leninism”, published eleven times, as well as in his “Short Course”, also published in millions of copies, set out his - false - version of the October Revolution, his version of the thoughts and actions of Lenin and the Bolsheviks during this key historical event. Our domestic science was unable or did not have time to thoroughly expose the lies of this version, which not only continues to live in the minds of millions of citizens, but also serves as the subject of today’s insinuations. After all, today’s political loudmouths, not being able to argue with V. Lenin and the facts of history - and they don’t even know them - by rewriting the history of our fatherland, they refute not what actually happened, but precisely this Stalinist version they mastered in Soviet times Lenin’s views and actions, presenting his fiddling with Stalin’s simplifications as an “overthrow” of October.

In order not to be unfounded, I will illustrate what has been said with one big Stalinist lie and three small deceptions of three, as I call them, “Stalinist repeaters” on two questions: Why did Lenin advocate the October Revolution? How did he assess the essence and prospects of October?

This is the original Stalinist lie. Returning to Russia after February and the victory of the bourgeois revolution of 1917, V. Lenin immediately discarded the Menshevik dogma about the socio-economic immaturity of Russia and already at the April party conferences aimed the Bolsheviks at a direct transition from the bourgeois revolution to the socialist one, at outgrowing first to second. Having launched widespread agitation among the masses, using the dissatisfaction of citizens with the ongoing war, the Bolsheviks gathered the necessary forces and carried out the October Revolution as a classic socialist revolution: they overthrew the power of the bourgeoisie, established the dictatorship of the proletariat, and thus opened the way for the implementation of Lenin’s plan for the transition to socialism.

If we turn to today's debates about October, we can easily see that both friends and enemies of October most often conduct their discussions within the framework of this Stalinist version. As a result, the main truth about the October Revolution remains outside the discussion. Having entered the public consciousness as an example of a classical socialist revolution, this revolution in fact was not such: it resolved various types of contradictions. The October Revolution was, by its social nature, an organic combination of heterogeneous socio-economic processes.

Misunderstanding of this main truth of October permeates the articles of both those who, defending October, hope to defend the “Marxist-Leninist” (and in fact Stalinist) “truth” about October, and those who, relying on the Stalinist lies ingrained in the philistine consciousness, declare , which refutes Lenin and “debunks” October. This is especially clearly visible when the “Stalinist repeaters” transform the original Stalinist lie into their own specific lie and refute it, passing it all off as the “debunking” of October. Let's look at these specific deceptions.

The deception of Doctor of Economic Sciences G. Popov: Lenin and the Bolsheviks, in the opinion of this former orthodox Marxist, who quickly turned into a Marx-eater, did not see and did not want to see Russia’s unpreparedness for socialist transformations, they believed that it was ripe for this. Literally: “Lenin’s Bolsheviks convinced themselves and the country that the economy was ripe and even overripe for the transition to socialism.”

Deception of Doctor of Philosophy A. Tsipko. This author, who repeatedly spoke out against Lenin and the October Revolution, argues that the October Revolution was the product of a narrow group of conspirators, that due to the reluctance of Russians to carry out a socialist revolution, Lenin, “hungry for power,” aroused the masses, using such eternal human weaknesses as hatred and envy. Literally: “You can, of course, write hundreds and thousands of smart articles about Lenin, about Trotsky, about Marx, but, in my opinion, one cannot help but see a certain general type of people who deliberately exploited such an eternal human quality as hatred.” And this, they say, was the basis of October. And further: “The point, in the end, is not the October Revolution as such, the point is the moral improvement of society.”

But the lies of the writers A. Adamovich and V. Soloukhin. According to the indictment of the first, V. Lenin and the Bolsheviks are conspiratorial adventurers: pushing the masses towards an artificially induced revolution, they imposed a civil war, which led to millions of victims. The phrase is similar to this:

October is “the adventure of 1917, which cost the people millions of lives.” V. Soloukhin argues in the same spirit, who, while blessing the pre-revolutionary order, denounces the power-hungry Bolsheviks: “... Rivers of blood were shed only for the sake of power. And the suffering of people cannot be calculated.”

Before we begin to consider this pseudo-democratic lie, I will give some thoughts on the same matter from the democrat-historian A. Kiva. Around the same time, when his colleagues quoted above had already managed to “split with communism” and turned into anti-communists, and A. Kiva was still just catching up with them, he wrote: “Simplifications are always harmful... Be that as it may, we cannot agree with a distorted image of October. For example, with claims that it was a narrow conspiracy... All the more ridiculous are the claims that Lenin was driven by the desire to avenge his older brother..., it is hardly appropriate to look at October through the eyes of the Romanov dynasty, to idealize the latter. This is contrary to the truth, the truth of life."

In order to return to the truth of life and refute not only the mentioned, but also many other modern falsifiers of the October Revolution, the views and actions of V. Lenin during the October Revolution, one should temporarily neglect the mentioned "Stalinist relays" and consider the original Stalinist version, its lies, because without it revelations, one cannot take the correct starting position for exposing more specific falsifications.

Socialist revolution

Yu. A. Krasin.

Great Soviet Encyclopedia. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. 1969-1978 .

See what “Socialist revolution” is in other dictionaries:

Socialist revolution is a proletarian revolution that carries out the transition from a capitalist socio-economic formation to a communist formation. According to Marxist theory, the socialist revolution is proletarian... ... Wikipedia

The highest type of social revolution, a method of transition from capitalism. social economic formations to communism. formations. The era of the social revolution of the proletariat began with the Great Revolution. socialist revolution. S. r. solves the complex... Philosophical Encyclopedia

Proletarian revolution, in the Marxist concept, the designation of a social revolution, the ultimate goal of which is proclaimed to be the transition from a capitalist socio-economic formation to a communist formation... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary- (proletarian revolution), in the Marxist concept, the designation of a social revolution, the ultimate goal of which is declared to be the transition from a capitalist socio-economic formation to a communist one. * * * SOCIALIST REVOLUTION... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary

I Great October Socialist Revolution The first victorious socialist revolution in history, carried out in 1917 by the working class of Russia in alliance with the poor peasantry under the leadership of the Communist Party [formerly... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

Storming of the Winter Palace. Still from the feature film “October” 1927. October Revolution (full official name in the USSR Great October Socialist Revolution, alternative names: October Revolution, Bolshevik... ... Wikipedia, . The Small Encyclopedia “The Great October Socialist Revolution”, published in 1968, was dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the Great October Revolution. In 1977, the Encyclopedia of the same name significantly expanded its range...

production relations of domination and subordination by relations of cooperation and mutual assistance and thereby eliminate the exploitation of man by man.

The socialist revolution solves a complex of destructive and creative tasks: the taking of power by the working class, the demolition of the old state machine, the establishment of public ownership of the means of production, the creation of a system of conscious management of economic and social processes, the elimination of the exploitation of man by man, class and national antagonisms, the development of socialist democracy, cultural revolution. Unlike all previous social revolutions, which only changed the form of exploitation, the socialist revolution means a radical turn in the development of society, marks the transition from the prehistory of mankind to its true history.

The socialist revolution in the broad sense of the word covers the transition period from the conquest of power by the working class to the construction of socialism. In the narrow sense of the word, a socialist revolution means the transfer of power into the hands of the working class, the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat.

The economic basis of the socialist revolution is the conflict between the social nature of production and the private capitalist form of appropriation. This basic contradiction in itself does not cause the “automatic collapse of capitalism.” Capitalist relations of production have a certain ability to respond to the objective demands of the productive forces. There is an evolution of forms of capitalist property from private individual to state-monopoly, which creates certain opportunities for the further growth of productive forces within the framework of the capitalist mode of production. The dialectic of this process is such that, while mobilizing all the resources of the capitalist system, it at the same time further intensifies the tension of its contradictions and accelerates the maturation of the material prerequisites of socialism.

In addition to the objective conditions for a socialist revolution, the maturity of the subjective factor is necessary - the active and conscious struggle of the working class, working people for socialism, the presence of a revolutionary Marxist party among the working class, which exercises political leadership of the socialist revolution.

The main contradiction of capitalism manifests itself in the field of class relations as the antagonism between labor and capital, the proletariat and the bourgeoisie. The socialist revolution grows out of the class struggle of the working class, whose position in the system of capitalist relations of production puts it in the role of the main driving force and hegemon of the socialist revolution (see Hegemony of the proletariat).

The alliance of the working class with the non-proletarian strata of the working people is a necessary condition for the victory of the socialist revolution. The working class, peasantry, urban middle strata and other social strata, objectively interested in crushing the power of capital and establishing socialism, constitute the social base from which the political forces of the socialist revolution are formed.

The most important act of the socialist revolution is the conquest of power by the working class. To solve this problem, a national crisis arising from the revolutionary situation is necessary. This, according to V.I. Lenin, is the fundamental law of every great revolution.

The forms of the socialist revolution change depending on specific historical conditions and the real balance of class forces in a particular country. A socialist revolution can be either peaceful or non-peaceful. The peaceful development of the socialist revolution is possible when, as a result of the existing balance of forces, the ruling classes cannot or do not dare to use open violence against the masses. The sharp division of class forces, the bitterness of the class struggle, and the conciliatory line of the petty-bourgeois socialist parties determined the non-peaceful path of development of the socialist revolution in Russia.

In some European countries after World War II, as a result of the current world situation, socialist revolutions took place relatively peacefully and were characterized by gradual development. In modern conditions in a number of capitalist countries, greater opportunities for a peaceful transition to socialism are due to the new balance of forces in favor of the working class and socialism, the scope of the mass struggle for democracy, the urgent need for deep democratic transformations of an anti-monopoly nature that can undermine the power of monopoly capital and thereby clear the path to socialism, becoming intermediate milestones in the struggle for socialism.

The peaceful transition to socialism is a revolutionary leap, presupposing the conquest of full power by the working class, the working people, and a radical revolution in property relations. And on the peaceful path of the socialist revolution, a nationwide upsurge of the class movement of the working class and its allies is necessary, which alone can paralyze and break the resistance of the bourgeoisie and ensure the transfer of power to the working class.

When the ruling classes close the possibilities for the peaceful development of the revolution to the working class and move on to armed suppression of progressive forces, then a course towards an armed struggle for power is necessary and justified. Moreover, in contrast to Blanquism and petty-bourgeois revolutionism, Marxists always rely on the masses. Armed struggle can only be successful when it responds to the revolutionary sentiments of the masses. The political maturity and skill of the revolutionary vanguard consists in being able to catch the signs of a mass revolutionary movement in time and actively contribute to its growth. During the revolution, due to the diversity of its forms, sharp and often unexpected turns in the development of events, the working class and its parties must master all forms of struggle and be prepared for their rapid change.

The socialist revolution has an international character. It grows out of the contradictions of imperialism as a world system. However, due to the deep unevenness of the economic and political development of capitalism, some countries become the focus of the most acute contradictions. In the presence of the socio-political forces of the socialist revolution, these countries are turning into the weakest links in the capitalist system. This determines the different timing of the victory of socialist revolutions in different countries. Initially, she won in one single country - in Russia, where at the beginning of the 20th century. The most favorable conditions for breaking the imperialist chain had developed.

The heterogeneity of the classes and social strata participating in the anti-imperialist struggle is the source of contradictions in the world revolutionary process. The multi-million petty bourgeois masses, according to Lenin, come to the revolution with all its prejudices, bringing their hesitations and instability, nationalism and ultra-revolutionism into the revolutionary movement. This causes temporary zigzags and even backward movements in certain sectors of the united front of the struggle against imperialism, especially in countries with a predominance of the petty bourgeoisie and a narrow stratum of the industrial proletariat. The conditions for overcoming emerging difficulties are provided by the general forward progress of the world revolution and the unity of the main revolutionary forces of our time.

The world socialist revolution is unity in diversity. Each socialist revolution acts as an integral part of a single world socialist revolution. But all socialist revolutions, along with specific ones, also contain common features. The theory, which studies the general laws of socialist revolutions, the laws of the world revolutionary process, is universally significant for all countries throughout the entire era of transition from capitalism to socialism. At the same time, the diversity of specific historical conditions in different countries requires such an application of the general principles of revolutionary theory, which would, as Lenin noted, “...correctly modify these principles in particular, correctly adapt and apply them to national and national-state differences.”

The theory of socialist revolution was developed by K. Marx and F. Engels. They scientifically proved the historical inevitability of the socialist revolution, characterized its driving forces, and determined the main conditions for victory. In the era of imperialism, the theory of socialist revolution was creatively developed on the basis of a generalization of new experience by V. I. Lenin, who studied the maturation of the material prerequisites of socialism in the depths of monopoly capitalism, the pattern of the victory of the socialist revolution at different times in different countries, the role of the subjective factor in the revolution, the process of the emergence of a revolutionary situation, ways of development of the world socialist revolution.

The problems of the socialist revolution are the focus of the ideological struggle of Marxist parties against revisionism and petty-bourgeois revolutionism. Right-wing opportunism renounces the fundamental principles of the theory of socialist revolution: the dictatorship of the proletariat, the destruction of the bourgeois state machine, the leading role of the Marxist party. “Left” opportunism rejects transitional stages and forms in the struggle for final goals, absolutizes the importance of armed violence, and downplays the role of solving creative problems in the revolutionary process. It betrays the creative character of the Marxist-Leninist theory of socialist revolution, does not take into account the profound changes taking place in the modern world, the new conditions and opportunities for the approach and transition to socialism that arise under the influence of these changes. The experience of the struggle of communist parties against bourgeois critics, revisionists and ideologists of petty-bourgeois pseudo-socialism proves that the main method of exposing anti-Marxist anti-Leninist concepts is the creative development of the theory of socialist revolution, ensuring constant compliance of this theory with the practice of the world revolutionary movement.