This work investigates the intellectual origins and political mechanisms that enabled the Bolsheviks to seize and consolidate power in Russia. Adam B. Ulam, a scholar of Soviet politics, utilizes a biographical and historical framework to analyze the transition from 19th-century revolutionary movements to the establishment of the Soviet state. The text centers on the ideological development of the party and the specific influence of Vladimir Lenin's leadership style on the trajectory of the Russian Revolution.

Historians and political scientists frequently cite this work as a foundational text for understanding the personality-driven nature of early Bolshevik politics. Readers often note the academic density of the prose, which provides a rigorous examination of the ideological shifts that defined the era.