Soviet Ideological Development of Coexistence: 1917–1927

Abstract

The October Revolution of 1917 presented Russian Marxist leaders with a quandary that seemingly had no answer in terms of Communist doctrine. This was problem of reconciling Communist theory of revolution and political reality of 1917 with Marxist doctrine of unity of theory and practice. According to Lenin and Trotsky-who had both reworked Marx's original theories along similar linesa new socialist state would be under a moral obligation to come to aid of revolutionary struggle abroad. As Lenin put it, revolutionary state would rise against remaining capitalist world, attracting to itself oppressed classes of other countries, stirring up rebellion in them, taking part if need be with military power against exploiting classes and their states/'1 Trotsky, in similar words, maintained that the Russian proletariat will throw into scales of class struggle of entire capitalist world that colossal statepolitical power which temporary circumstances of Russian bourgeois revolution will give it/'2 Lenin called this process of military and political advance a pererastanie, a growing into; Trotsky called it permanent revolution/' But Russia after October, 1917, was unprepared to launch a fullscale attack on combined might of Central Powers on one hand and soon to be victorious Allies on other. The Russian