What Is to Be Done?

Historical Context and Significance

The book «What Is to Be Done?» by Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, written in 1902, holds immense historical significance as one of the key works that shaped the ideology and strategy of the Bolshevik movement in Russia. In this work, Lenin laid out his views on organizing a new type of revolutionary party that was to become the vanguard of the proletariat. He criticized economists and supporters of the spontaneous workers' movement, insisting on the need for a professional revolutionary organization capable of leading the masses to a socialist revolution. The book had a significant impact on the development of Marxist theory and practice, as well as on the formation of political culture in Russia and beyond. It became the foundation for the creation of the RSDLP(b) and the subsequent Bolshevik seizure of power in 1917, ultimately leading to the formation of the Soviet Union. The influence of the book extends to the international communist movement, where Lenin's ideas about a new type of party were adopted and adapted by various leftist movements worldwide.