This series of articles seeks to introduce and make accessible the major works of Lenin’s prodigious theoretical work – some well-known, others less so. In each short article, we introduce the texts, their enduring value to revolutionaries today, and illustrate how they were intimately linked to the polemics and political struggles that defined Lenin’s life, and through which Bolshevism was forged.

1894

What the ‘Friends of the People’ are and how they fight Social-Democrats

1899

The Development of Capitalism in Russia

1901

Where to Begin?

How the foundations of Bolshevism were laid

What is to be Done?

How Lenin built a battle organisation

1904

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back (The Crisis in Our Party)

A house divided: how Bolshevism and Menshevism first took form

1905

Two Tactics of the Social-Democracy in the Democratic Revolution

The ‘Two Tactics’ of the 1905 Revolution: a line is drawn between Bolshevism and Menshevism

1908

Materialism and Empirio-criticism

1909

The Faction of Supporters of Otzovism and God-Building

Marxism under attack after the 1905 Revolution: Lenin fights back

1913

The Three Sources and Component Parts of Marxism

1914

The Right of Nations to Self Determination

How Lenin fought for workers’ unity in the ‘prison house of nations’

1916

Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism

Lenin’s 'Imperialism': understanding reality in order to transform it

1917

April Theses

Rearming the Bolsheviks for power

The Tasks of the Proletariat in our Revolution

The State and Revolution

Rekindling communism

The Impending Catastrophe and How to Combat It

Lenin’s transitional programme: “Perish or forge full steam ahead”

1918

The Immediate Tasks of the Soviet Government

‘Left-wing’ Childishness and the Petty-Bourgeois Mentality

The Bolsheviks in power: Lenin’s revolutionary realism against ultra-left despair

The Proletarian Revolution and the Renegade Kautsky

1919

Economics and Politics in the Era of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat

Lenin in power: How the class struggle continued after the workers took power

The Third International and its Place in History

1920

'Left-wing' Communism:
An Infantile Disorder

Bolshevik tactics versus revolutionary impatience

More coming soon...