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Primary sourceBookFebruary–May 1914

The Right of Nations to Self-Determination

Vladimir Lenin · February–May 1914

Lenin's 1914 theoretical work on national self-determination, written against Rosa Luxemburg's views.

Lenin's own theoretical essay on national self-determination, written before the revolution and later shaping Soviet nationalities policy.

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What it is

This is a written work by Vladimir Lenin, composed between February and May 1914, addressing the right of nations to self-determination. It engages with the national question as it applied to countries such as Norway, Poland and Russia, and was written as a polemic against the socialist theorist Rosa Luxemburg.

Why it matters

The essay set out Lenin's theoretical position on nationalities before the revolution, and this position later underpinned early Soviet policy toward the many nations and peoples within the new Soviet state. Its argument against Luxemburg also shows the sharp debates among European socialists over how to handle nationalism within a revolutionary movement.

Look closer

  • Why might the question of self-determination have mattered so much to socialists before 1917?
  • What does Lenin's choice to argue directly against Rosa Luxemburg tell you about debates within the socialist movement?
  • How might ideas written in 1914 have been tested once Lenin's government actually had to govern many different nationalities?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Vladimir Lenin on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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