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Karl Marx: Historical Investigation

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Karl Marx: Historical Investigation
History 10 Diploma Prep: Historical Investigation - Essay

Karl Marx and his developed theory of Marxism played a vital role in influencing Lenin’s efforts to overthrow the Provisional Government eventually leading to the Russian Revolution of 1917.

“A spectre is haunting Europe - the spectre of Communism.”1, the opening sentence to The Communist Manifesto written by Karl Marx and Frederich Engels. Karl Marx was a German philosopher, journalist and revolutionary socialist whose famous works include The Communist Manifesto and Das Kapital. Historians have largely credited Marx’s works for influencing the key figures that went on to lead the Russian Revolution. The Russian Revolution took place in 1917 and disassembled the Tsarist monarchy, preparing for the creation of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, commonly referred to as the Soviet Union or USSR. Although there were many factors that contributed to the Russian Revolution of 1917, Karl Marx and his developed theory of Marxism played a vital role in influencing Lenin’s efforts to overthrow the Provisional Government eventually leading to the Russian Revolution of 1917.

The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It stretched from Europe to the Pacific Ocean and included people with diverse cultures and traditions.2 Russia was a land of disparity and contradiction by the turn of the 20th century. It was caught in between two worlds: the traditional world of the peasantry and the modern world of the westernized elite.3 As these two world coexisted, their values, culture, and way of life extremely differed. Regardless of the persistence of a rural society and economy, Russia became exposed to profound urban and industrial growth during the second half of the 19th century. 4Many peasants surfed



Bibliography: Bernstein, Laurie, and Robert Weinberg. Revolutionary Russia: A History In Documents. New York, New York: Oxford University Press, 2011. Print. "Vladimir Lenin." 2012. The Biography Channel website. Dec 15 2012, 05:45 http://www.biography.com/people/vladimir-lenin-9379007. Knott, David. "Understanding communism." helium. N.p., 14 2007. Web. 16 Dec 2012. . Marx, Karl, Engels, Friedrich edited by McLellan, David. The Communist Manifesto. New York, United States: Oxford University Press, 1992. Print. Gottfried, Ted. The Road To Communism. Connecticut: Twenty-First Century Books, 2002.Print.

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