Many small communist communities have existed at one time or another, most of them on a religious basis, generally under the inspiration of a literal interpretation of Scripture. Communism has been a widespread influence in much of Eastern Europe, especially in Russia and their subsequent possessions where communism had been passed on. Russian communism was spread through its two most prominent leaders, Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin. In order to understand why these two leaders where important figures for communism growing in Russia, we must first dissect how communism was under each of their rule.
<Tab/>Before Vladimir Lenin had ever taken power he wrote books expressing his political ideologies and how Russia should be shaped into. He scorned such views as bourgeois; "to him, socialism meant a dictatorship of the proletariat exercising absolute control over all political and economic matters." (Christman 6). Lenin felt the dictatorship of the proletariat was only the first step towards his ultimate goal of communism in Russia. …
