In Lenin’s speech, he speaks of the electrification of Russia and the opportunities it presents as a “stronghold of enlightenment”. He says that his plans for electrification will be constantly “improved, elaborated, perfected, and modified”. In the current state of Russia and its government in the late 1910’s, could this claim be fulfilled as he says it will be?
Europe’s Long 20th Century (HIS270 S21)
A Contentious Continent
In his speech, I believe Lenin was trying to convince the people of Russia that communism was best for the country in both a political and economic sense. Though he maintained that the “electrification” of the country had little to do with politics, it seems like this speech was targeted towards his agenda as head of government for Soviet Russia. I think that Lenin gave this speech at the ideal time because yes, Russia was suffering greatly in terms of economics and politics, but I generally disagree that his only goal was to turn Russia into an industrial superpower. Furthermore, I believe that it was beneficial for Russia to undergo this “electrification” because it did benefit the economy through industrialization, but it is evident that Lenin was attempting to take advantage of the poor population.