Lenin’s theoretical work which is the development of the revolutionary theory of Marx and Engels in the era of Imperialism was the extraordinary combination of revolutionary theory and practice that makes Lenin a unique personality in history who, even over 100 years after his death, remains “alive” in the collective memory of the working class people across the world whom he guided from darkness to light.

Led by Lenin, the Bolshevik Party became a historical force of the Russian proletariat and the other oppressed popular strata, especially the poor peasants, to take the class struggle forward. The revolutionary activity of the Bolsheviks led to the victory of the proletariat over feudalism and imperialism. It was called the Great October Democratic Socialist Revolution, as it defeated feudalism as well as monopoly imperialism and opened the way for the building of Socialism for the first time in history. The leadership of Vladimir I. Lenin not only marked the guiding role of the Communist Party for the seizure of power but, furthermore, put the basis for the construction of Socialism.

The scientific work of Lenin consists a real treasure for the international communist movement, because, through his work, Lenin developed and extended all the components of Marxism, called dialectical materialism, in philosophy, political economy and scientific communism. His theoretical elaborations and assumptions for Imperialism— as the highest stage of Capitalism — are today exceptionally timely and valuable for the working class and the communist parties.

The name of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin is identified with two dialectically connected issues. On the one hand, there is his revolutionary activity and practice as the leader of the 20th century’s most significant event, the 1917 Great October Socialist Revolution. On the other hand, there is his theoretical work which is the development of the revolutionary theory of Marx and Engels in the era of Imperialism.

Lenin regarded the fight against revisionism and opportunism as a fundamental prerequisite for the victory of the socialist revolution and, at the same time, he stood against the so-called ”leftism”, the pseudo-revolutionary rhetoric and adventurism.

Lenin utilized the fundamental tendencies of capitalism, which had already been described by Marx and Engels, in order to analyze and identify their development into major features of imperialism during the First World War. The Leninist theory not only explained thoroughly the characteristics of monopoly capitalism but, furthermore, became the theoretical guide which shaped the victorious revolutionary strategy of the 1917 October Revolution.

Vladimir Lenin’s extraordinary work ”Imperialism: the highest stage of capitalism” is today more timely than ever. He wrote in this famous and timely pamphlet, ‘‘…Capitalism has grown into a world system of colonial oppression and financial strangulation of the overwhelming majority of the population of world by a handful of ‘advanced’ countries. And this booty is shared between two or three powerful world plunderers armed to the teeth are drawing the whole world into their war over the division of their booty…”

Lenin called for transforming the imperialist crisis and the inter-imperialist contradictions of the World War into revolutionary overthrow of the imperialist regimes and establishing revolutionary regimes in those countries. He also called for intensifying the anti-colonial, anti-imperialist freedom struggle in the colonies in alliance with the national bourgeoisie.

It is of immense relevance to take into account the contradiction among the imperialists and the rivalries between major capitalist centres. The role of the Bolsheviks which led to the victory of the 1917 October Revolution offers a great example - it proved in practice that the working class movement in every country must form a broad democratic alliance to carry out a broad bourgeois democratic revolution, while maintaining their independence.

Lenin saw the revolutionary process as an integrated whole. He found that the Tsarist Russia was the weakest link in the imperialist chain, ripe for revolution. The Russian revolution of 1917 began a world revolutionary process, consisting of the Soviet revolution, the world proletarian revolution and the anti colonial national revolutionary struggle. He called upon the peoples of the ‘East’ or the colonial countries exploited by imperialism to forge a broad alliance for freedom from the colonial yoke. The emerging proletarian and Communist forces were to play an important role in participating and mobilizing such forces of the national liberation. He asked the Communists of the East forge broad alliance for national liberation, which he termed as bourgeois democratic revolution, asking them to take part in all the democratic movements even if under the bourgeois leadership, but maintaining their independence. This he stated in his colonial theses of 1920.

Today, even 109 years since the Great October Socialist Revolution and 102 years since the death of the legendary Bolshevik revolutionary, Lenin’s legacy remains glorious.

The collapse of the socialist regimes in the Soviet Union and the socialist countries in eastern Europe in 1989-1991 gave the opportunity to imperialist bourgeoisie to vilify Socialism-Communism, announcing the “death” of socialism, proclaiming “end of history”. However, history itself refuted them.

The decay of imperialism proves that Marxism-Leninism not only is alive, but is bound to return to the fore as the only ideology freeing people from exploitation and barbarity. (IPA Service)