In July 1917, when Russia's provisional government issued a warrant for his arrest, Lenin fled from St. Petersburg; later that year, the October Revolution swept him to supreme power in that same city. In the intervening time spent in Finland, he wrote State and Revolution.

In this book Lenin provides a rationale for revolution which yields a wealth of insight into his political thinking. He sets out trenchant views on class conflict, the lessons of earlier revolutions, and the necessity of overthrowing the dictatorship of capital in favor of a dictatorship of the proletariat. As an historical as well as a political document, Lenin's work is crucial to any understanding of the Russian Revolution.