Lenin's Russia: Ideology And Change

• In the excitement and optimism that accompanied the revolution of October 1917 and the establishment of a new Bolshevik government, issues of ideology were easily sidelined
• In later years, Soviet historiography tried to explain and justify all that Lenin did, in the name of Marxism and the predetermined logic of history.
• The pressing need to retain and consolidate control led Lenin and the Bolsheviks to act first and "Justify' later.