How The Innovations of Karl Marx LED to The Civil War in Russia

Over 100 years ago Karl Marx invented communism which became influential with Russia later. He created the concept of communism as an alternative to capitalism and after Marx’s death his concept was fought for by Lenin. Lenin staged an uprising against the Russian government along with the rest of the Bolshevik’s and established communism with himself as the dictator. Finally after a civil war that eliminated his opposition he became the undisputed leader of Russia. The concept of communism, by Marx, led this uprising and civil war in Russia’s history.

Marxian concept of Communism was created by Karl Marx, along with his friend Engels. “Marx and his friend, German socialist philosopher Friedrich Engels (1820–1895), first laid down the framework for the idea of communism in their seminal work, 'The Communist Manifesto’'. This concept heavily relied on the idea that “Under capitalism, Marx claimed, workers are not paid fully or fairly for their labour because the capitalists siphon off surplus value, which they call profit. Thus, the bourgeois owners of the means of production amass enormous wealth, while the proletariat falls further into poverty.”  and that it “could be resolved only by replacing capitalism with communism. Under this alternative system, the major means of industrial production—such as mines, mills, factories, and railroads—would be publicly owned and operated for the benefit of all.” 

This idea leads to serious change in the country of Russia more than 20 years later, due to the influence of Vladmir Lenin. Lenin was the leader of the bolshevik party which he used to stage an uprising or revolution against the Russian government on October 24/25. “leftist revolutionaries led by Bolshevik Party leader Vladimir Lenin launched a nearly bloodless coup d’état against the Duma’s provisional government.” After their successful uprising the Bolshevik’s dismissed “The provisional government had been assembled by a group of leaders from Russia’s bourgeois capitalist class”, and called for “a Soviet government that would be ruled directly by councils of soldiers, peasants and workers.” (Russian Revolution). In the October of 1917, Lenin became the leader of this new soviet government. “Lenin became the dictator of the world’s first communist state.” 

After the Bolshevik’s revolution they were met with some opposition. In late 1917 a civil war was started between “The Red Army [who] fought for Lenin’s Bolshevik government”and “The White Army [who] represented a large group of loosely allied forces, including monarchists, capitalists and supporters of democratic socialism.” Three years later, the Red army forced the retreat of the white army for the final time and ended the war. “The Red Army eventually battered [The white army’s] forces, whose rearguards held out long enough to ensure the evacuation of 150,000 soldiers and civilians by sea from Crimea. This ended the Russian Civil War in November 1920.” 

In conclusion, Marx’s concept for Communism acts as another form of government that would work better than a combination of capitalism and monarchy. These ideas allowed Lenin to establish a new government in Russia that gave power to the working class and took it away from the wealthy. Although the establishment of this government took a civil war.