WI: Lenin is shoot and killed on the train to Russia?

We all know that Lenin travelled by train from his Exile in Western Europe, back to Russia.

What if an assasin was able to shoot and kill on that train ride. Would there still have been a communist take-over?
 
Yes.

Lenin was pretty important in setting up the Soviet Union but it's not like he was the only factor. There was already a revolution going on before he got there.

It's possible that the eventual Soviet Union may fall apart sooner, but really I think that they're fairly safe on their own; at that point, with or without Lenin, it's kind of too late for there not to be a communist revolution.
 
Yes.

Lenin was pretty important in setting up the Soviet Union but it's not like he was the only factor. There was already a revolution going on before he got there.

It's possible that the eventual Soviet Union may fall apart sooner, but really I think that they're fairly safe on their own; at that point, with or without Lenin, it's kind of too late for there not to be a communist revolution.

A weak USSR Maybe?
 
:) Do we have any Trotskyites on the board who would care to explain their position?

I've always been meaning to read more Trotsky. His theories, as much as I've been introduced to them, are interesting. (disclaimer: I am not a communist, I just find it fascinating).

This post is going entirely from memory so I'm sure there's a few mistakes.

Now, Lenin's main role in 1917 was, as far as I know, that of an organizer and propagandist. This was at the time of the two governments; the Parliament, headed by Kerensky, I believe, and the Soviet, which was run as a labor union, by councils of workers. Now, the Soviet was dominated by the Communist Party, whose leading council was made up of the familiar faces of Lenin, Trotsky, and our other friends (even Stalin, though no one really cared about him until later).

Trotsky, on the other hand, was one of the main generals in the Red Army -- besides which, he had some very interesting political ideas. Constant Revolution and all that. It's possible that without Lenin the Soviet would still be able to keep its momentum up, capture Petrograd and dissolve the Parliament. Then, the Civil War would probably start under similar circumstances.

However, at the end, there's no Lenin, so I think the Soviet Union will probably be smaller and/or less unified. Less stable in general. I also think that Lenin had a better understanding of economics than most other Russian communists at the time, which is why he championed the NEP, which will not exist at all in this TL. IOTL the only reason it came about at all was because Lenin had so much influence; without him, Trotsky and Stalin would never even consider the idea. Of course, the NEP was shut down before it really had a chance to start working, anyway...

I wish I did know more about Trotsky, now! This could actually make a very interesting TL.
 

Hnau

Banned
Even Stalin was taking a more moderate cooperate-with-the-Provisional-Government tone until Lenin arrived. He shifted the entire movement to his far-left radical brand of socialism.

So many Russian Revolution threads... why not check out my timeline, Lenin-less World? *shameless plug* :)
 
No peace treaty of Brest-Litowsk. Lenin was the one and only who forced this treaty upon his comrades.
 

yourworstnightmare

Banned
Donor
Without Lenin it's very possible the Bolshevik takeover would happen later, and perhaps through other means, still I think they'd be in power in say.... 1920, if not the Provisional Government had made a Bretsk- Litovsk, allowed free elections and stepped down for a left wing government (alliance of mensheviks, left SR, SR and Cadetts possible). Had they done all that the Bolshevik takeover couls have been avoided.
 
Trotsky might get power and with him, his idea of a constant world revolution. The USSR might be seen as an even greater threat to mankind as it was in OTL, depends on the successes the Red Army has against their western neighbours ITTL.
 
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