April Theses (1917)

 

Photography By Pedro Ángel Rivera Muñoz

The April Theses, presented by Vladimir Lenin in April 1917, were a radical political blueprint for the Bolshevik Revolution. They called for the overthrow of the Provisional Government, the transfer of power to the Soviets, and a new socialist state. 

While primarily political, these ideas had a profound impact on literature, both in the Soviet Union and globally, influencing how writers engaged with revolution, ideology, and artistic expression.

The upheavals of 1917 reshaped Russian literature, pushing writers to respond to the new reality. The April Theses embodied themes of radical transformation, class struggle, and the promise of a new world—ideas that became central to Soviet literature. Writers like Mayakovsky, Gorky, and later Sholokhov grappled with these themes, using literature as a tool for both celebration and critique of the revolutionary project.

Breaking with the Past

Just as Lenin rejected the old bourgeois order, many writers sought to dismantle traditional literary forms. The revolution encouraged experimental and avant-garde movements like Futurism and Constructivism, which aimed to create a literature aligned with the new socialist reality. Mayakovsky’s poetry, for instance, embraced bold, urgent rhythms to mirror revolutionary energy, while Isaac Babel’s stories captured the contradictions of violence and ideology.

The April Theses suggested a clear break between old and new, a stance that Soviet literature soon mirrored. Writers were expected to be “engineers of human souls”, shaping society through their work. Some, like Maxim Gorky, saw literature as a means to educate and mobilize the masses. Others, like Boris Pasternak, struggled against ideological constraints, illustrating the tension between artistic integrity and political expectation.

Global Impact on Revolutionary and Anti-Colonial Literature

Beyond Russia, the revolutionary fervor inspired by Lenin’s ideas influenced anti-colonial and leftist literature worldwide. Writers from Latin America, Africa, and Asia drew from the spirit of the April Theses, using literature as a tool to critique imperialism and envision new political futures. Figures like Pablo Neruda, Aimé Césaire, and Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o reflected these ideas in their works, blending poetry and prose with radical political commitment.

While the April Theses were a political manifesto, their influence on literature is undeniable. They symbolized a turning point, pushing writers to engage with the forces of history, power, and ideology in new ways. Whether as tools of propaganda, acts of resistance, or explorations of revolutionary contradictions, literature and the ideas of April 1917 remain deeply intertwined, reminding us that the written word is itself a force of change.

-ER

References

Lenin, V. I. (1917). The Tasks of the Proletariat in the Present Revolution (April Theses). Retrieved from https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1917/apr/04.htm

Service, R. (2000). Lenin: A Biography. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Rabinowitch, A. (2004). The Bolsheviks Come to Power: The Revolution of 1917 in Petrograd. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company.

Pipes, R. (1990). The Russian Revolution: 1899-1919. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf.

Fitzpatrick, S. (2008). The Russian Revolution. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Smith, S. A. (2002). The Russian Revolution: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Lih, L. T. (2011). Lenin. London, UK: Reaktion Books.