The Rise of Communism: From Marx to Lenin

Lenin's arrival at Petrograd's Finland Station in April 1917 is one of the most important turning points in modern history: the establishment of a communist regime after decades of theory; definitions of terms such as communism and socialism.

The ideas of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels rock society and affect millions of lives; their body of theory is known as dialectical materialism; Marxism offers a tableau of history with key roles played by the toiling masses and economic forces.

The revolutionary messages in "The Communist Manifesto" and "Das Kapital"; a vocabulary of Marxist concepts to better understand Marx's model of history and economics; how the revolutionary lives of Marx and Engels seek to unify theory with practice.

The violent upheaval of the Paris Commune in 1871; a political experiment that lasts 10 weeks; the Paris Commune makes Marx one of the most feared and hated men in the world; Marx considers it a living example of the dictatorship of the proletariat.

Following the death of Marx in 1883, the socialist movement grows; arguments about theory and organizational tactics; the rise of political parties in Germany and America; the establishment of the Second International; the struggle over revisionism.

A Marxist regime comes to power in Russia of all places; Marx considers it an unpromising place for a proletarian crusade; Professor Liulevicius tackles this question and also probes Russia's revolutionary tradition and the ideas of Georgi Plekhanov.

Lenin's ideas and actions propel him to become the first man to bring communist theory into power in 1917; Lenin's hardness in the face of the 1891-1892 famine, his manifesto "What Is to Be Done?"; the Bolshevik and Menshevik factions.

With the First World War, Lenin has a world crisis he could turn to his advantage; Marxist debates over the philosophies of defensism and defeatism; Leon Trotsky's theory of permanent revolution; the rift between socialists and communists.

The Bolsheviks seize power in October 1917, a moment that is celebrated afterward as Red October; the formula for success behind the Bolshevik takeover; the mythologizing of Red October in film and music; the dawn of the Cheka, a secret police force.

Rosa Luxemburg is a famous woman radical in history; her revolutionary activities throughout Switzerland, Poland and Germany; her support of spontaneous revolt; her struggles with the ambiguities of revolutionary devotion; her martyrdom.

How a revolutionary regime builds a bridge to world revolution; Comintern is created in 1919 to spread the message of global revolution; attempts at sovietizing Hungary and Bavaria; the Soviet-Polish War of 1920; hopes for linking up with Germany.

Bolshevik social experiments inaugurate a new civilization up through the death of Lenin in 1924; Lenin's propaganda plan changes the appearance of Russia; a nationalist program; party recruitment drives and purges; the mummification of Lenin's body.