p The uneven development of capitalism affects not only the economy but also the working-class movement. Because of this the role of the working class of various countries in the international struggle of the proletariat also differs at different historical periods.

p In the words of Lenin, during the past century France "exhausted the strength of the proletariat, as it were, in two heroic working-class risings against the bourgeoisie, very considerable contributions to world-historical development, that took place in 1848 and 1871”. ’" After that the hegemony in the international working-class movement passed to Germany. The process did not stop there. Marx himself noted the possibility of the "revolution beginning ... in the East, hitherto the unbroken bulwark and reserve army of counter– revolution”. ^^158^^

In the beginning of the twentieth century the centre of the world revolutionary movement did actually shift from West to East. Russia was changing into a country destined to exert a decisive influence on the course of world history. It was precisely Russia that became the cradle of the proletarian revolution, the course of historical development advancing her working class to the forefront of the world socialist movement. Here the working class succeeded for the first time in putting an end to capitalism and thus in laying the basis for accomplishing the historic mission of the proletariat.