"…We Need to Know How to Begin from the Beginning Several Times Over": How Lenin's Conception of the Socialist Reconstruction of Russia's Economy Came Into Being (on the Occasion of the 150th Anniversary of the Birth of V.I. Lenin)

This article is dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the birth of V.I. Lenin, and analyses how he developed his concept of the socialist reconstruction of Russia’s economy following the 1917 revolution. Receiving particular attention is Lenin’s contribution to the development of the Marxist theory of the role of the peasantry in building socialism. The article analyses Lenin’s article “On cooperation” and other works that are of particular significance for understanding how the Leninist conception of the socialist transformation
in Russia came into being. The most important elements in this concept were the use of the model of state capitalism, in association with the development of cooperative structures, at the same time as the state maintained its control over the “commanding heights” of the economy and over the political levers within society, while also preserving a monopoly of foreign trade. The final section of the article draws conclusions on the lessons to be learnt from the implementing of the socialist experiment in the Soviet economy, lessons that are useful for reaching a modern-day understanding of an alternative variant of the socio-economic model.