Lenin and the Easter Rising by Thomas Shelton

The creation of the Soviet Union was spearheaded by Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. However, less well known is the impact that the 1916 Easter Rising in Ireland had on Lenin and how the events that took place in springtime of that year would help give Lenin the belief to challenge Russian capitalism. Whilst the world was at war in 1916, a group of radical Irishmen remained focused on matters closer to home. Embroiled in a struggle for freedom from British rule with a capital known as the ‘Second City of the Empire’, the revolutionary nationalists certainly accelerated the want for liberation and self-governance, believing that the outbreak of the First World War marked the perfect opportunity to stage an uprising. For these men, the War was a chance for Britain to become weakened. Established patterns of emigration had been reduced by the Great War, and radical ideas, that had typically departed with the fleeing youth, remained on the isle. This further fueled the intent of leaders such as Patrick Pearse, James Connolly and others for an imminent uprising. Here, the revolutionaries were able to attract the imaginations of a broader, and younger, Irish public, as well as striking a chord with some further afield. Those encouraged by the 1916 Easter Rising and other Irish events included Vladimir Lenin, who at this time was based in Switzerland, after fleeing Russia many years prior and having travelled extensively in that time. At this point Lenin was a known figure around Russian politics, theorising from exile and open to influence that could help sustain political shift in his homeland. Completely opposed to the First World War, believing it to be an ‘imperialist war’, he encouraged his fellow socialists across Europe to turn the War into a form of civil war that would pit classes against each other. This desperate call to transform the War into something wider coincided with a book that he was writing, where he was placing heavy focus on the self-determination of nations. This appeal was in parallel with the events that were already beginning to unfold in Ireland. And these were events to which Lenin reacted positively, believing it to be right and necessary for nations that were oppressed across Europe to become aware of their situation and look to rebel. Tying in with the writing of his book, he deeply admired Ireland’s self-determination, and, unsurprisingly, commended the participants in the Rising who had attempted to bring an end to imperialism. Figures of the Rising, such as Pearce, Connolly and Thomas Clarke, were the men who inspired Lenin. Their actions enabled Lenin to study how a revolutionary uprising could take place, one that was so focused on defeating imperialism, where the class system was also intertwined. Further, the notion that the Easter Rising was a ‘blow against the power of English imperialism’ excited Lenin and further strengthened his idea that uprisings could be successful all over the continent. Although, what concerned and further frustrated Lenin was how some of his fellow comrades, who shared a social and political outlook, merely acknowledged the Rising instead of using it as a stimulus for real action. The description of the Rising as a ‘putsch’ by a number of his peers deeply irritated Lenin as he saw the events taking place in Dublin as clear answers for how the Bolsheviks could stage an uprising of their own against imperialism. It is perhaps only Lenin and a handful of others who related the frustrations of the Irish nationalists to those of the Bolsheviks, with others not finding the similarities as easily. However, worth noting is the high levels of praise and admiration that the leaders of the Easter Rising posthumously received by those in power in the Soviet Union, as well as in general Soviet historiography in later years. They gradually became viewed as being heroic and full of tenacity, with historians shaping the Rising in a positive light, even if many chose to not call it the ‘Easter’ Rising with fears of presenting it as a religious rebellion. For Lenin himself, the importance of the event, the valour shown by the participants and the hope that they filled him with cannot be underplayed.

Already strongly influenced by Ireland, Lenin went to lengths to strengthen this further via his connection to Roddy Connolly, the son of Easter Rising leader James Connolly. Roddy made several trips to Russia in the years after the Rising and was deeply inspired by spending time around prominent Bolshevik Party figures. This personal relationship tied Lenin closer to Ireland and a firmer bond was created after Roddy became President of the Communist Party of Ireland in 1921. Furthermore, Lenin, who according to Roddy spoke English with an Irish accent, would often express his fondness of James Connolly, believing him to be a remarkable socialist. And so these beliefs that Lenin held, formed through his relationship with Roddy, admiration of James, and deep memory of the Rising, went on to have an effect on fellow Bolshevik socialists who grew to hold the Connollys in high regard. Roddy, however, was not the only Irish figure to travel between the two countries. Several Irishmen would travel back and forth in the following years with the hope of creating an alliance between the new Irish Free State and the Soviet Union. Initially, there was an agreement in place where Irish nationalists would spy on Great Britain, although the ties were severed in the late 1920s as the Soviets focused on better Anglo relations. It was not until the 1950s that the Soviet Union would resume a somewhat stable relationship with Ireland.

Even with Lenin’s deep adoration of the Irish and participants of the Rising, this was not necessarily felt by all key members of the Soviet Union in the years after his death. For example, many senior Soviet figures saw that whilst the Easter Rising focused on bringing self-governance to Ireland, it was not comparable to the October Revolution that ultimately sought to abolish capitalism and create the first communist state. Therefore, it can be viewed that whilst the Easter Rising and the political beliefs of the Irish republicans inspired Lenin into accelerating towards Bolshevik rule in Russia, the end goals of the separate rebellions were different. Despite these counter arguments, the Easter Rising did have an undeniably long lasting impact on Lenin and the shaping of the Soviet Union, not to mention the ways in which the history of the nation of Ireland would be impacted. The key participants of the Rising went on to be held in high esteem by Lenin and the Soviet people, as well as Irish nationalists. What the Easter Rising had proven to Lenin was that, despite not having immediate success, it was possible for oppressed nations in Europe to rebel, awaken people to rebellious ideas and have serious effects on such countries for years to come. He was instilled with a belief that an uprising must happen in Europe as it would be more powerful, and have implications substantially more serious, than a rising of similar size in other parts of the world. However, more revolutions did not materialise as Lenin had envisaged and, once the Soviet Union was firmly established, their revolutionary focus shifted away from Europe and towards Africa, Asia and South America. So, whilst the October Revolution is not portrayed as directly driven by the inspiration of the Easter Rising, there is a deep-rooted and long-lasting influence between key figures from both events. It can therefore be seen with clarity that Lenin’s enthusiasm and passion to topple the Russian system was clearly encouraged by what he had learned from the Irish rebels of spring 1916.