The theorists and politicians of the Second International re doubled the accusations of anarchism which they had before brought against Lenin. As a matter of fact, all Lenin's work was characterized by a twofold struggle, on the one hand with reform ism which from the beginning of the War gave its support to the imperialist policy of the propertied classes, and on the other hand with anarchism and all the different varieties of revolutionary adventurists.
On Nov. 1, 1914 Lenin promulgated a programme for the creation of a new International "to undertake the task of organ izing the forces of the proletariat for the revolutionary attack on capitalist governments, for the civil war against the bourgeoisie of all countries, for the attainment of political power and the victory of Socialism." In Sept. 1915 (Sept. 5 and 8) there was held at Zimmerwald in Switzerland the first conference of European Socialists who were opposed to the imperialistic war. Thirty-one delegates were pres ent. The left wing of the Zimmerwald conference and of the later one at Kiental adopted Lenin's demand for the transformation of the imperialist war into a civil war, and became the nucleus of the future Communist International. The latter worked out its programme, tactics and organization under Lenin's guidance, and it was he who directly inspired the decisions of the first four con gresses of the Communist International.
Lenin was prepared for his struggle on an international scale not only by his profound knowledge of Marxism and his experi ence of the revolutionary party organization in Russia, but also by his intimate acquaintance with the workers' movement through out the world. He was master of the English, German and French languages, and could read Italian, Swedish and Polish. He was firmly opposed to the mechanical application of the methods of one country to another, and he investigated and decided questions concerning revolutionary movements, not only in their interna tional reactions, but also in their concrete national form.
Revolution of 1917.—The revolution of Feb. 1917 found Lenin in Switzerland. His attempts to reach Russia met with the opposition of the British Government, and he decided to travel through Germany. The success of this plan gave occasion to Lenin's enemies for a fierce campaign of slander, which, however, was powerless to prevent him from assuming the leadership of his party and shortly afterwards of the revolution.
On the night of April 4, on leaving the train, Lenin made a speech in the Finlyandsky station in Petrograd. He repeated and developed the leading ideas it contained in the days which fol lowed. The overthrow of Tsarism, he said, was only the first stage in the revolution. The bourgeois revolution could no longer satisfy the masses. The task of the proletariat was to arm, to strengthen the power of the Soviets, to rouse the country dis tricts and to prepare for the conquest of supreme power in the name of the reconstruction of society on a Socialist basis.
This far-reaching programme was not only unwelcome to those engaged in propagating patriotic Socialism, but even roused oppo sition among the Bolsheviks themselves. Plekhanov called Lenin's programme "crazy." Lenin, however, foresaw that the distrust of the bourgeoisie and of the Provisional Government would grow stronger daily, that the Bolshevik party would obtain a majority in the Soviets and that the supreme power would pass into their hands. The small daily Pravda became at once in his hands a powerful instrument for the overthrow of bourgeois society.
The policy of coalition with the bourgeoisie pursued by the patriotic Socialists, and the hopeless attack which the Allies forced the Russian Army to assume at the front roused the masses and led to armed demonstrations in Petrograd in the first days of July. The struggle against Bolshevism became intense. On July 5th forged "documents" were published by the counter-revolu tionary secret service, purporting to prove that Lenin was acting under the orders of the German general staff. In the evening "re liable" detachments summoned from the front by Kerensky and Cadet officers from the districts round Petrograd occupied the city. The popular movement was crushed. The hounding of Lenin reached its height. He now began to work "underground," hiding first in Petrograd with a worker's family and then in Finland.
The July days and the retributions which followed aroused a burst of energy in the masses. The Bolsheviks obtained a majority in the Soviets of Petrograd and Moscow. Lenin demanded decisive action to seize the supreme power. "Now or never!" he repeated in passionate articles, letters and interviews.