Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (Lenin)

Answers to question 1 and 2
ANSWER TO QUESTION 1
Lenin also known as Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov spearheaded the Russian revolution. Following his brother’s execution and his sister’s seclusion for involvement in protests, Lenin became a revolutionary communist. He studied law but practiced revolution. Lenin started the Russian Communist party and was the leader of the 1917 Bolshevik revolution (Lieven, 22). He wrote several pamphlets while in exile which made him popular with the masses back at home. He embraced Marxist teachings and theories and through that developed his political principles ‘Leninism.’ He took liberty with Marx teachings and adapted them to the conditions in Russia thereby perfecting the Bolshevik revolution theory which agitated for power to the people. Consequently, being a radical, he exploited the Marxist tradition by being attentive to the potential revolutionary peasants, workers, soldiers and the Asian minorities who had been under the domination of western imperialists. He saw them as the reasonable force of revolution capable of overthrowing the capitalist world order.
Lenin being a Russian nationalist and an international socialist, he envisioned his country, Russia, as a strong, powerful and modern nation with the capacity to model global affairs. He hoped for a world revolution for the liberation of all oppressed people from all walks of life for them to gain a higher level of civilization.

Lenin organized an underground party consisting of elite professional revolutionists able to survive the tsarist police with the headquarters abroad but keeping close contact with the masses in Russia (Lieven, 72. For an efficient method to mobilize the country’s resources, he abolished the income producing property through dictatorship. He intended to rescue the nation with the support of peasants, workers, and soldiers through the dictatorship of the proletariat. He saw that only complete control of state economy could save the country. The supporters of Bolsheviks interpreted Lenin’s slogan “all power to the Soviet “as a meaning of the Bolsheviks aim to provide social reforms needed in the democratic socialist state that would be created (Lieven, 84) As the Bolsheviks obtained soviet majorities, the peasants avenged for years of oppression by seizing land for themselves and the Bolsheviks seized power from the provisional government. Lenin allowed the constituent assembly elections and later banned the assembly in 1918.
ANSWER TO QUESTION 2
The United States entry into war played a significant role in the events and results of the world war 1. The US struggled to remain a neutral nation during the war for a long time. However, on April 6, 1917, the US declared war on Germany which became a major boost to the allied powers (Zieger, 16) The US joining the war was influenced by several factors. First, the American public opinion favored the Allied powers as the media reported the cruelty of Germans in stories of the killing of unarmed civilians and destruction of towns. The Americans were outraged and shocked with the reports some of which were British propaganda. Therefore, the public supported the decision of their leaders to join the war. The US was also prompted to enter war due to German submarine attacks on the US passenger and trade ships. The Germans sunk five US ships, therefore, leading to loss of American lives and property. This action angered the US citizens and government since it was a violation of the agreement that refrained against an attack on a neutral party and all allied ships within prescribed war zone. However, President Wilson refrained from declaring war as he doubted the support of Americans without proof of Germans intention to attack the US (Zieger, 43).The US also joined the war to protect its economic interests overseas which they feared would be affected if there was upset of power in Europe. Furthermore, the US wanted to preserve national pride and the Zimmerman telegram that threatened the lives of American’s made the US join the war.

Works Cited
Lieven, D C. B. The End of Tsarist Russia: The March to World War I and Revolution.
New York: Penguin Books, 2016. Print.
Zieger, Robert H. America’s Great War: World War I and the American Experience.
Lanham [u.a.: Rowman & Littlefield Publ, 2001. Print.