Vladimir Lenin quotes

Vladimir Lenin was a Russian revolutionary, political theorist, and the main leader of the Bolshevik Party. As the driving force behind the October Revolution, he led the establishment of the Soviet state. He became the first leader of the Soviet Union and played a crucial role in shaping modern communism. Here are 369 of his quotes:

While the State exists, there can be no freedom. When there is freedom there will be no State.

Vladimir Lenin

People always have been the foolish victims of deception and self-deception in politics, and they always will be until they have learnt to seek out the interests of some class or other behind all moral, religious, political and social phrases, declarations and promises.

Vladimir Lenin

One cannot live in society and be free from society.

Vladimir Lenin

The press should be not only a collective propagandist and a collective agitator, but also a collective organizer of the masses.

Vladimir Lenin

One man with a gun can control 100 without one.

Vladimir Lenin

Without Revolutionary theory, there can be no Revolutionary Movement.

Vladimir Lenin

It is true that liberty is precious; so precious that it must be carefully rationed.

Vladimir Lenin

The oppressed are allowed once every few years to decide which particular representatives of the oppressing class shall represent and repress them in parliament!

Vladimir Lenin

Freedom in capitalist society always remains about the same as it was in ancient Greek republics: Freedom for slave owners.

Vladimir Lenin

Every cook has to learn how to govern the state.

Vladimir Lenin

The way to crush the bourgeoisie is to grind them between the millstones of taxation and inflation.

Vladimir Lenin

There are no morals in politics; there is only expedience. A scoundrel may be of use to us just because he is a scoundrel.

Vladimir Lenin

Can a nation be free if it oppresses other nations? It cannot.

Vladimir Lenin

Sometimes - history needs a push.

Vladimir Lenin

A lie told often enough becomes the truth.

Vladimir Lenin

The goal of socialism is communism.

Vladimir Lenin

It is stupid to tolerate "Nikola;" all Chekists have to be on alert to shoot anyone who doesn't turn up to work because of "Nikola."

Vladimir Lenin

The functionaries of our political organizations and trade unions are corrupted - or rather tend to be corrupted - by the conditions of capitalism and betray a tendency to become bureaucrats, i. e., privileged persons divorced from the people and standing above the people.

Vladimir Lenin

The nearer we come to the full military suppression of the bourgeoisie, the more dangerous becomes to us the high flood of petty-bourgeois Anarchism. And the struggle against these elements cannot be waged with propaganda and agitation alone. ... The struggle must also be waged by applying force and compulsion.

Vladimir Lenin

You cannot do anything without rousing the masses to action. A plenary meeting of the Soviet must be called to decide on mass searches in Petrograd and the goods stations. To carry out these searches, each factory and company must form contingents, not on a voluntary basis: it must be the duty of everyone to take part in these searches under the threat of being deprived of his bread card. We can't expect to get anywhere unless we resort to terrorism: speculators must be shot on the spot. Moreover, bandits must be dealt with just as resolutely: they must be shot on the spot.

Vladimir Lenin

Man's consciousness not only reflects the objective world, but creates it.

Vladimir Lenin

One will readily agree that any army which does not train to use all the weapons, all the means and methods of warfare that the enemy possesses, or may posses, is behaving in an unwise or even criminal manner. This applies to politics even more than it does to the art of war.

Vladimir Lenin