Vladimir Lenin. The State and Revolution. What Is to Be Done? Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism

Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (Ulyanov) — an outstanding Russian revolutionary, politician, and theorist of Marxism, played a significant role in the history of Russia and the formation of the Soviet state. He showed interest in political and philosophical questions from a young age. One of his first significant works was the book "What to Do?" (1902). In it, Lenin proposed the concept of a vanguard party that was to lead the proletariat's struggle for power. During his time in exile, Lenin actively worked on the theoretical justification of the revolution. In the article "Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism" (1916), he argued that imperialism is the final stage of capitalist development, which leads to uneven development of countries and increases the likelihood of wars and revolutions. His article "State and Revolution" (1917) is a fundamental text in which Lenin outlines his vision of the state as an instrument of class domination. He analyzes the ideas of Marx and Engels about the dictatorship of the proletariat and postulates the necessity of dismantling the bourgeois state apparatus in order to create a new, socialist society.