ABSTRACT
Lenin was an eminently successful practical politician. He created a revolutionary organization uniquely suited to the circumstances of revolutionary activity in Russia. Alone of all political leaders in Russia in 1917, Lenin realized the possibility of assuming political power, and he did not let the opportunity slip past him. Not only did he know how to manipulate the unwilling Bolshevik leadership into initiating the October insurrection, he successfully directed the new Soviet government through war, civil war, and foreign intervention. The party that Lenin organized then went on to build one of the most powerful nations the world has seen. Another major obstacle to appreciating Lenin's millenialism is the fact that he espoused the world-view of Marxism. Lenin was not attracted to Marxism by an intellectual need for scientific knowledge of economics. He was a Marxist because Marxism promised him something he desired very strongly--socialist revolution.
