Leninism is a banner of certain victory

Stephen Cho | Coordinator of the Korean International Forum 

Article for the International Scientific and Practical Conference “The Birth of Genius”, dedicated to the 155th anniversary of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, hosted by the CPRF faction in the State Duma, together with the All-Russia Public Organization Russian Scientists for Socialism (RUSO)

The genius of the great revolutionary Lenin lies primarily in his ideological and theoretical brilliance. Lenin inherited the revolutionary essence of Marxism, innovatively overcame its epochal and ideological-theoretical limitations, and established Marxism-Leninism in the era of monopoly capitalism and imperialism. Leninism demonstrated the possibility of socialism’s victory in one country, which became the theoretical premise for the Russian Revolution of 1917. Capitalism develops unevenly, engaging in the struggle for colonization during the stage of monopoly capitalism and imperialism, and can give rise to breaking weak links in the imperialist chains first and foremost. Lenin not only scientifically analyzed the great changes of this period and the shifts in the objective conditions of revolution but also studied the subjective conditions for the practical success of the revolution.

Practice is always the starting point of perception, the driving force behind the development of theory, and the criterion of truth. Leninism as the guiding ideology, the Bolsheviks as the leadership core, and the Soviets as the mass foundation—these formed the three key elements of the Russian Revolution. The October Revolution of 1917 proved that these subjective forces were the decisive factor in the revolution’s victory. The great Marxist and communist Lenin, who grasped the inseparable dialectical relationship between the Russian Revolution and the world revolution, made an immortal contribution to strengthening the international communist forces by founding the Third International, the Comintern.

The locomotive of history is revolution, and the locomotive of revolution is the party. Convinced of the crucial role of the revolutionary political organization, Lenin devoted his life to building the Communist Party of the Soviet Union on his way to founding the party—the locomotive of the Russian Revolution. He founded it with the League of Struggle for the Emancipation of the Working Class (LSEWC), celebrating its 130th anniversary this year, as the parent organization, with the Bolsheviks—strengthened through the ideological struggle within the Russian Social-Democratic Workers’ Party—as the core, and subsequently formed the Comintern.

World War I, an inter-imperialist war, resulted in the emergence of the world’s first socialist state. World War II, which transformed from an inter-imperialist war to an anti-fascist war, led to the emergence of socialist states on a global scale and the formation of the socialist camp. Starting from the 1930s, national liberation struggles in colonies led by communist parties grew rapidly, deepening the political and economic crisis in the imperialist camp. Both national and international revolutions developed swiftly under the new conditions of the era, where socialist revolutionary movements in monopoly capitalist-imperialist countries, on the eve of socialism, and national liberation revolutionary movements in colonies, direct victims of the colonization battle and exploited for colonial super-profits, developed simultaneously.

Following the victory of the world anti-fascist forces in World War II and the subsequent formation of the socialist and national liberation camps across the world—a period of great upsurge of revolution—the imperialist camp, feeling threatened, devised the “Cold War” strategy and pursued a policy of “containment” and localized wars against national liberation countries. As the international communist movement failed to overcome the dogmatic stagnation and revisionist degeneration within the socialist camp, a fierce counter-revolutionary storm swept through the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, plunging the world communist and anti-imperialist movements into a period of trials and hardships.

Nothing in the world remains unchanged. As the overall crisis of 21st-century capitalism and imperialism deepens, and as the neoliberal policies of imperialism face the risk of collapse, their global hegemony begins to waver. In proportion to this, the communist and anti-imperialist movements have strengthened on a global scale. As the capitalist system, inherently bound by its fundamental limitations, faces an unprecedented political and economic crisis, imperialism has brought fascism to the forefront to induce and provoke localized wars in Eastern Europe in 2022 and West Asia (the Middle East) in 2023. Now, it seeks to ignite a fatal war in East Asia and the Western Pacific. Imperialism is waging an unprecedented world war under the “New Cold War” strategy, targeting socialist countries and states with a socialist heritage as its main enemies.

Where there is oppression, there is resistance; and when darkness deepens, the dawn approaches. The world communist and anti-imperialist movements are forging a world anti-imperialist front, and they will emerge as the final victors in World War III, leading the new great upsurge of revolution. The historical experiences of victory in the Russian Revolution and World War II are the greatest weapons of our revolution in this era. The victory of anti-imperialist and socialist movements, advancing along the path of science, is certain. Leninism is the banner of certain victory.