The forgery of the lenin testament revolutionary democracy. If lenin was ever referred to in the same form as j. Witnesses affected by soviet repression and deported to siberia. Between 23 december and 4 january lenin dictated a series of fragmentary notes for the forthcoming twelfth party congress which became known as his testament. In both of these documents, lenin outlines plans to create a marxist state in russia. In lenins political testament of 1922, he expressed concern about a potential split.
The letter was known in high party circles, but kept from the outside world until leon trotsky leaked a copy of it to the american journalist max eastman, who on october 18, 1926, had it published in the new york times. Lenin s testament lenin s socalled political testament was actually a letter dictated secretly by vladimir ilich lenin in late december 1922, which he intended to discuss at the twelfth party congress in april 1923. The testament describes strengths and weaknesses of the main leaders. It is also often claimed that lenin even wanted stalin to be replaced by trotsky as the future leader of the party. Lenins testament one of the most frequent arguments trotskyists use against marxismleninism is that in his testament lenin ordered stalin to be removed from his post. The full text of lenins testament was first published in english in the new york times of october 18, 1926. This is the story of the study of lenins brain from early 1925 to 1936 as told by the sixtythreepage secret collection of documents from. Nevertheless it is clear that lenin was concerned in the testament with potential successors and that most of all he favored trotsky rather than. Lenins testament was handed over to the central committee by his wife after his death in.
Comrade stalin, having become secretarygeneral, has unlimited authority concentrated in his hands, and i am not sure whether he will always be capable of using that authority with sufficient caution. Daniels university of vermont press burlington, vermont. On the question of the nationalities or of autonomization decembe 3031r, 1922 118. His father, ilya ulyanov, a former science teacher, had recently become a local schools inspector. Lenins collected works is a translation of the fourth, enlarged russian edition prepared by the institute of marxismleninism, central com.
Stalin, however, was already too powerful and succeeded lenin after his death. Throughout these writings there is a sense of anxiety and. However, he upset lenins wife by calling her a whore just before lenin dictated his testament on the 22nd december 1922 suggesting stalin should be removed from his position as general secretary. Publication date 1940 topics lenin, vladimir ilich, 18701924. He worried that the party would split when he died. Practice is higher than theoretical knowledge, for it has not only the dignity of universality, but also of immediate actuality. Thefinnishbolshevik lenins testament debunked youtube. He held conservative views and was a devout member of the russian orthodox church.
Cook distribution canada 55 woodslee avenue, paris, ontario, canada n3l 3e5 david c. Among its most unusual items was lenins brain, preserved in a formaldehyde solution in a glass jar. For, of course, the whiteguard in russkaya mys it seems to have been s. In this document he raised concerns about joseph stalin and thought he should be removed from office. It is my opinion that without this reform our central committee would be in. For an indication of the emotional nature of the debate on lenin s phrase, see a. Jan 27, 2017 the descriptions of lenins new definitions offered by these two authors show almost no simularitya fact that is not surprising since lenin said nothing on the subject. A dialogue between adolf hitler and me deitrich eckart translated by dr. This is the story of the study of lenins brain from early 1925 to 1936 as told by the sixtythreepage secret collection of documents from the central committees special.
In the testament, lenin proposed changes to the structure of the soviet governing bodies. Letters and other various documents from 20th century russia. Pdf this essay analyzes the project of maintaining the body of v. The log of lenins activities during this time may 25oct. Subsequently it was included by the publishers harcourt brace and co. A reach for the old testament, a brief flipping of pages, and there, he cried, the recipe from which the jews always brew their hellish broth. Lenin s socalled political testament was actually a letter dictated secretly by vladimir ilich lenin in late december 1922, which he intended to discuss at the twelfth party congress in april 1923. Sensing his impending death, he also gave criticism of bolshevik leaders zinoviev, kamenev, trotsky, bukharin, pyatakov and stalin. Lenin s birth city of simbirsk was renamed ulyanovsk in his honor his birth name. However, the document contained many remarks critical of other leading communists as well it was never published in russia, although, if it had been, it would certainly have damaged stalin source i shows lenin s opinions of trotsky and stalin. Deeply concerned about factionalism and party politics suspicious of stalins character he wrote all his concerns in his testament. In any case, by the time lenins notes were read to the central committee in may 1924, stalin, zinoviev and kamenev had formed a triumvirate, essentially an alliance against trotsky, and managed to sidetrack the issue at the thirteenth party congress later that month. Lenin s second concern was to check the powers of the party s leading organs. I declare that i am of legal age to make this will and of sound mind and that this last will and testament expresses my.
We know leon trotsky distorted the whole meaning of these documents in order to use them as a political weapon against. Excerpts from lenins political testament 1922 alpha history. Lenin had two older siblings, anna born 1864 and alexander born. It is a fact that lenins authorship of these documents, publicly from the very beginning, unfortunately was never questioned. Deutschland, osterreichungarn, bulgarien, osmanisches reich probleme. Get free access to pdf ebook afrikaanse testament voorbeeld pdf. When he died, there was a power struggle for 5 years within the communist party. Cook 4050 lee vance view colorado springs, co 80918 u. Lenins testament is the name given to a document purportedly dictated by vladimir lenin in. The full text of lenin s testament was first publish8d in english in the new york times of october 18, 1926. He was worried that some members were too powerful and would abuse their power in order to avoid this, lenin hoped that some of the. The document known as lenins political testament was in fact a series of short letters, written to the congress of soviets over the course of a week in december 1922. Vladimir lenin was a russian communist revolutionary and head of the bolshevik party who rose to prominence during the russian revolution.
Lenin was outraged when he learned that in an argument sergo ordzhonikidze, the head of moscow s caucasian bureau and stalin s close ally, had beaten up a georgian bolshevik. Lenin ordered them to be kept secret but his secretaries showed them to stalin. They accuse him of incompetence as a civil war military leader, and they even cite lenins political testament in which he recommends stalins removal. This is often used as evidence that stalin was an outsider. Trotsky and the suppression of the lenin testament by leninist league.
Vladimir illich ulyanov later known as lenin was born in simbirsk, russia, on 10th april, 1870. Lenin s testament 1922 by the stability of the central committee, of which i spoke above, i mean measures against a split, as far as such measures can at all be taken. The present work was not published until 1956, repressed by stalin until his death, first published three decades after they were written. Nov 23, 2011 despite lenin s insistent requests that his notes be kept strictly secret, the first part of the testament found its way into the hands of the secretariat and stalin, who immediately realised the danger of lenin s intervention and took measures to prevent it from taking place. It contained guideline proposals for changes in the soviet political system and concise portrait assessments of six party leaders joseph. Last testament letters to the congress marxists internet archive. These letters, and those that follow see lenin s last works subject index, make up the last of lenin s works which are equivalent to an outline programme for the future of the soviet government in these letters lenin emphasises the need to make changes to the soviet government and warns of potentially disastrous consequences if the necessary but difficult steps are not taken. Then again, in what is generally referred to as his testament, lenin was also critical of other leading politbiuro members, including trotsky who exhibited excessive selfassurance and excessive preoccupation with the purely administrative side of affairs. In these letters, lenin expressed concern about a potential split in the bolshevik central committee, chiefly because of the rivalry and animosity between stalin and trotsky.
The institute of lenin served as a repository for lenins writings and for other lenin memorabilia. Lenin s testament about a year before his death, lenin dictated his famous testament. As history shows, lenins warnings went largely unheeded as stalin continued to gain power and political standing. Last will and testament form 9 free templates in pdf. A last will and testament also referred to as a last will or simply a will is a document created by an individual, also known as the grantor or testator, which is used to layout how a persons real and personal property shall be distributed after their death. Trotsky and the suppression of the lenin testament. Lenin s testament is the name given to a document purportedly dictated by vladimir lenin in the last weeks of 1922 and the first week of 1923. Lenin faced the difficulty of an agrarian society with a small working class ruled by a 300 yearold autocracy. Lenins succession seventeen moments in soviet history. I hereby declare that this is my last will and testament and that i hereby revoke, cancel and annul all wills and codicils previously made by me either jointly or severally. The descriptions of lenin s new definitions offered by these two authors show almost no simularitya fact that is not surprising since lenin said nothing on the subject. It made him see stalin and the georgian issue in a different light. This option is assessed in a written examination lasting one hour 30 minutes. One of the great political strategists of his era, v.
For an indication of the emotional nature of the debate on lenins phrase, see a. Lenin, december, 1922january, 1923, including the letter to the congress, known as the testament. Uneven development of different aspects of the struggle. Browse the site or search to view transcriptions from russian and the soviet union. Kennedy, it would always have included both initials v. These works offer lenin s early and incredibly insightful critique of the soviet government, and critique some of its members, stalin in particular. Socialism in one ountry stalin vs permanent revolution trotsky 1925 14. The letter was initially known only to lenin s wife nadezhda krupskaya and the two secretaries who took down its contents. Vladimir lenin, letter to the thirteenth party congress. After the form is created, signed and notarized, the will should be distributed to all the beneficiaries.
On the alleged forgery of lenins testament mltheory. Lenin s new economic policy was a clear example of how he achieved state control of the economy. Stalin recognized the fact that the people were loyal to lenin and therefore, after lenins death, aligned himself closely to him. He held parades, posted doctored portraits of himself and lenin. An analysis of lenins last testament essay example graduateway. Vladimir ilyich lenin, a strong supporter and advocate of the marxist theory of government, was elected as head of the soviet government from 1917 to 1922 after the overthrow of the last czar. Documents, images, audio and videos from russiansoviet history. Lenins testament about a year before his death, lenin dictated his famous testament, a confidential letter giving his estimate of his communist lieutenants. Lenin s testament lenin s testament is the name given to a document written by vladimir lenin in the last weeks of 1922 and the first week of 1923.
By the stability of the central committee, of which i spoke above, i mean measures against a split, as far as such measures can at all be taken. In 1935 pioneer publishers printed the full text in. Lenin died in january 1924 and stalin immediately established a lead over his rivals by appearing as chief mourner at lenins funeral, helped by trotskys absence which was the result of ill health and being misinformed about the funeral date by stalin. It also shows stalins practice of speaking not for himself but for the workers that he represented. We know leon trotsky distorted the whole meaning of these documents in order to use them as a political weapon against stalin, his rival, and this is still a favorite. Lenins thoughts and practice contain a number of key elements. Lenins testament, twopart document dictated by vladimir i. Sakharovs article i have previously talked about some of the myths surrounding the collection of documents known as lenins testament or more accurately lenins letter to the congress. Oldenburg was right when, first, in the whiteguards game against soviet russia he banked on a. Get afrikaanse testament voorbeeld pdf file for free from our online library created date. Lenin because the patronymic ilyich in this case is an integral part of the name, it s derived from the father s first name, it s unchangeable, and it has greater cultural import than western middle.
A documentary history of communism in russia from lenin to gorbachev edited, with introduction, notes, and original translations by robert v. Pages in category wills and testaments by person the following 19 pages are in this category, out of 19 total. It is also often claimed that lenin even wanted stalin to be replaced by trotsky as the fut. Mar 22, 2010 lenin s testament lenin s testament is the name given to a document written by vladimir lenin in the last weeks of 1922 and the first week of 1923. Lenin s testament one of the most frequent arguments trotskyists use against marxismleninism is that in his testament lenin ordered stalin to be removed from his post. The sourcebook is a collection of public domain and copypermitted texts for introductory level classes in modern european and world history. Stalin helped create a cult of lenin, including the decision to place his embalmed. What did lenin and stalin contribute to communism in. Stalin was a much more ruthless dictator than lenin. Russian revolution, civil war and ussr 19171991 eurodocs. Fortunately for stalin, lenins testament spoke ill of other bolshevik leaders. The state and revolution, 1918, extended excerpts at this site vladimir illyich lenin 18701924.
Continuation of notes december 24, 1922 117 lenin on nationality policy. Lenins last testament shortly before he died, lenin wrote his final testament. Vladimir ilich ulyanov was born in simbirsk on the volga river on 22 april 1870 into a welleducated family. Lenin, 25 december 1922 this text is part of the internet modern history sourcebook. Mar 21, 2015 thefinnishbolshevik s blog post on the subject. In it, he worried about the future of the communist party in russia. Excerpts from lenin s testament, 1922 at this site lenin s judegments on his colleagues. Erfurt programme stand in a old testament new testament relation to each other.
628 1060 637 355 844 179 733 123 730 1042 47 7 600 1399 445 1364 1158 700 139 482 307 215 887 847 26 590 503 189 1068 785 644 1153 1020 698 1125