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.