Russian Revolution

Study Question-Lecture

1. How did Lenin modify Marx's ideas of communist revolution to make them suitable to Russia?

Study Question-Lecture and Reading

The Earth and Its Peoples, pp. 765-7, 780-3
1. Why did the Bolsheviks succeed in carrying out the October revolution and winning the civil war?
2. How did the Soviet Union change under Stalin? What was the human cost of his policies?

The Human Record, pp. 278-83
1. According to Marx and Engels, what is "class struggle"? What role does it play in history?
2. What are the proletariat and bourgeoisie classes? Why do Marx and Engels think the bourgeoisie class is doomed?
3. What do Marx and Angle's think will be the end result of a communist revolution?
4. Would Marx and Engels have thought that their ideas were suited to Russia early in the 20th century?

The Human Record, pp. 389-93 (Please note that this reading has been added to the syllabus.)

1. Compare and contrast the views of Lenin with those of Marx and Engels on the topics of revolution, the working class, and the role of the Communist party.