The Great War

This richly illustrated book, featuring authentic photographic documents and visual materials, offers modern readers a commented selection of texts by the leader of world communism, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (1870–1924), on the subjects of war—imperialist, class, and civil. This is a digest of a winner, de facto—a diary of Lenin's personal war against enemies and competitors: the tsarist government, allies, fellow travelers, and all dissenters; on the tactics of retreat and methods of advance, on the strategy of class and military struggle, on the harmfulness of pacifism, on the corrupt nature of “reconciliation,” on the inadmissibility of the aspiration for a peaceful and well-ordered existence, finally—on “exhilaration in battle”… The greatest Machiavellian, Lenin was a world record holder in playing without rules. He exemplified the brightest example of that small but iron cohort of winners who never admit defeat. No matter how many battles they lose, this does not stop them, for they are aimed at the ultimate gain. Lenin managed to outmaneuver his competitors not because he was the best social democrat, nor because he aspired to socialism, as his shortsighted rivals did, but for power. The leader of the world revolution was “lucky” with the era, for World War I, which was called the “Great War” worldwide from its beginning until the 1930s, finally destroyed the already meager supply of what was traditionally referred to in ancient literature as humanity. So what needs to be done to defeat a multitude of the strongest enemies? This question is answered in the presented edition by the winner himself.