Lenin's Electoral Strategy from 1907 to the October Revolution of 1917 The Ballot, the Streets—or Both

This is the first book length study of the sorely neglected side of Lenin's politics—his use of the electoral arena to shape a revolution. This aspect of Leninist politics was intimately linked to his better known party-building project and writings on the peasantry, though few researchers have dedicated themselves to how Leninist ideology relates to the study of elections. In this book, August H. Nimtz details Lenin's efforts to lead the deputies of the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party in the Third and Fourth State Dumas, which was Russia's first experiment in representative democracy from 1907 to 19017—from counterrevolution to the Revolution of October of 1917. This time period covered such challenges as whether to take part in the Dumas, how to combine legal and illegal work, how to ensure party leadership of its Duma deputies, how to employ the Duma to forge the worker-peasant alliance and most importantly, to implement anti-war actions when the First World War began. The answers Lenin provided increasingly put him at odds with Western European Social Democrats, foreshadowing the historic split in the international Marxist movement in 1914. Bolshevik success in 1917, the book argues, can be traced to what was learned in that more than decade-long experience—lessons for anyone interested in Leninism or today's modern protestor.

August H. Nimtz is Professor of Political Science and African American and African Studies and Distinguished Teaching Professor at the University of Minnesota, USA.

1. 'Legal and Illegal Work': The Third Duma
2. 'To Prepare for a New Russian Revolution': The Fourth Duma
3. 'The Great War,' 1917, and Beyond
4. Conclusion