V.I. Lenin - The Story Of His Life by Maria Prilezhayeva

Maria Prilezhayeva's "V.I. Lenin - The Story of His Life" is a biography of Vladimir Lenin, the communist icon of Soviet Russia. I read this book in Tamil as I was able to get hold of a translated copy in Kindle. The book is a written account on the life of Lenin covering the events and happenings in chronological order. 

The biography dwells deep into the plight of peasants and factory workers at the hands of landlords and capitalists. The impact of the first world war on the working class and contrastingly the gains of capitalists with their imperialist agenda are explained here. The anti-war propaganda by Lenin during such times was followed by a call for a revolution to fight against the Tsar rule in Russia which organized the workers and peasants in masses. This led to the November revolution which also overthrew the provisional government in Russia thus establishing the founding stone for communism in the country. 

The war-hit Soviet Union countries faced famines, inclement weather conditions and pandemics which piled up the misery of the people. But, Lenin's vision of communist Russia and planning during tough times to act on a war time basis bailed out the people of Soviet Union countries to an extent. 

His speeches and writings that inspired millions of people to stage the revolution against the mighty Tsar rule and imperialist countries are covered in detail. Lenin followed the view of Marx and Engels’ to resolve class antagonisms in the society. The biography details Lenin’s vision for upbringing of the lives of working class and his relentless efforts towards the same despite the difficulties he faced during his imprisonment and exile. The book also touches upon the betrayal that revolutionists suffered at the hands of Trotsky briefly and how Lenin tried mending the adverse impact. 

The translation had less impact with the revolutionary songs quoted as the voice of the workers. Though the following Lenin had during and post the revolution is undeniable, this book or most probably the translation at times goes overboard with praise for even the trivial and thoughts and mundane actions of Lenin.

The resurrection of Soviet nations from the effects of war, famine and pandemic under the able leadership of Lenin and the bloom of communism as a result is a process that was staged with the destruction of the state machine. The book points out Lenin’s revolutionary role in this until his death. 

An insightful biography that introduces Lenin, despite the overdose of praise at certain places. 

Vladimir Lenin's "The State and Revolution"

Vladimir Lenin's “The State and Revolution” puts forth Marx and Engels’ views on the state, its origin, the need for setting up the transition from capitalism to complete communism in stages and the inevitability of a revolution in the process of attaining the same. This work of Lenin also argues against the distortion of Marxism by theories from socialist theorists like Kautsky and quotes excerpts from the works of Marx and Engels to disprove such theories. 

Unlike the popular opinion that the “state” is needed for maintaining the order in the society, Marx and Engels expose the “state” as a product of the society due to irreconcilable class antagonisms - the state will wither away when the oppression by capitalists and bourgeois rule are overthrown as a result of the revolution by the proletariat and the society’s transition to become classless. The state includes the police, judiciary, administrative functions and this book explains how it favours the minority oppressors in the capitalist society. 

Marx’s theory of attaining an ideal society driven by complete communism from an existing capitalist society and its transition in stages is realistic and is a theory built on experiences from the Paris Commune and other proletariat revolutions across the world. The role of proletariat democracy and the destruction of the bureaucratic apparatus of the bourgeoisie in this transition is explained in detail drawing references from Marx and Engels and refuting the claims of Kautsky which are indirectly in favour of opportunism. 

Of late, there are claims that communism is an outdated principle and ideology. In India, in addition to the class based oppression, the ideology also faces a challenge to overcome caste based oppression. This book that is a commentary on Marx and Engels theories is a reminder that the ideology is still relevant and holds good for any society with any irreconcilable antagonisms.