Thou Shall Not Kill

About the Book

A reader might ask why a book about Lenin and the Russian Revolution would be titled "Thou Shalt Not Kill." This book, by first-time author John Ellis, is unlike any other book on this historic topic. The reason for the book´s title is intimately related to the reason for the book´s uniqueness. Unlike other history books about Lenin, Marxism, the Russian Revolution and the birth of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, books that have focused almost exclusively on the conventional litany of facts, Mr. Ellis´s book provides something more. Where other books have ignored the moral dimension of history, Mr. Ellis´s "Thou Shalt Not Kill" makes morality its central focus.

There has long been a need for a moral analysis of history. This is particularly true of the Marxist revolutions, of which the Russian is the premier example. Marxism became a secular religion for millions of people in the 20th century. They sought salvation through revolution and prophesied paradise under Communism.

History has shown that they were terribly mistaken. They killed millions of innocents, and often forfeited their own lives, in doomed attempts to create their Marxist utopias. All of this suffering can be traced back to the leading example of one man, and one nation: Lenin´s Russia.

In "Thou Shalt Not Kill" Mr. Ellis traces Lenin´s revolutionary career from its rough beginnings, when his older brother was executed by the Czar for radical activities, to its conclusion with the founding of the Soviet Union. Lenin was a brilliant tactician, a ruthless infighter, and a man singularly devoted to the cause of revolution. And not just to revolution in his native Russia. Lenin believed that the Marxist vision, to which he was fervently devoted, was the one true and inevitable path for all humanity. He wanted world revolution, and fully expected revolution to follow in Western Europe not long after its initial success in Russia.

The history of Lenin´s quest has been told many times by scholars who continually strive for some new angle on it, or even to publish some hitherto unknown or secret documents relating to Lenin´s Bolshevik Revolution. While all this scholarly activity is certainly appropriate for specialists in the field, it leaves the general reader overwhelmed. Not many people who evince some modest interest in the Russian Revolution are willing to plow through some massive, scholarly tome that may run to nearly a thousand pages of exhaustive historical detail simply in order to learn the basics of what transpired. To these readers, Mr. Ellis offers blessed relief. His "Thou Shalt Not Kill" is brief and to the point. He presents the story of the Russian Revolution and Lenin?s role in it with concision, leaving out the minute details that only professional historians care much about. And Mr. Ellis largely steers clear of the sorts of scholarly debates that only leave general readers baffled.

If you are looking for a concise history of the Russian Revolution that examines this history through the lens of morality, then by all means you should obtain a copy of "Thou Shalt Not Kill."

About the Author

John Ellis was born in Dortmund, Germany in 1912 and educated in pre War Berlin. After completing Graduate studies in Brussels he fled Hitler’s regime and emigrated to the United States. In New York he designed equipment for the War effort and in 1947 began his own research company. Although he sold his company he remained division president until 1980.Ellis then returned to scholarly pursuits concentrating on contemporary history and the moral issues confronting the Soviet Union. This book is the result.