--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Mussolini had learnt more from Lenin and…" description: "\"“Mussolini had learnt more from Lenin and the Bolsheviks than he would have cared to admit, notably the lesson that parliamentary majorities were far l..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b20/robert-gerwarth-45088_fear_mussolini-had-learnt-more-from-lenin-and_2981870.jpg" --- # Mussolini had learnt more from Lenin and the Bolsheviks… ![“Mussolini had learnt more from Lenin and the Bolsheviks than he would have cared to admit, notably the lesson that parliamentary majorities were far less important than the ability and determination to instil fear in opponents and to act ruthlessly when an opportunity presented itself.” quote by Robert Gerwarth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b20/robert-gerwarth-45088_fear_mussolini-had-learnt-more-from-lenin-and_2981870.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b20/robert-gerwarth-45088_fear_mussolini-had-learnt-more-from-lenin-and_2981870.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b20/robert-gerwarth-45088_fear_mussolini-had-learnt-more-from-lenin-and_2981870.jpg) > ““Mussolini had learnt more from Lenin and the Bolsheviks than he would have cared to admit, notably the lesson that parliamentary majorities were far less important than the ability and determination to instil fear in opponents and to act ruthlessly when an opportunity presented itself.”” [Robert Gerwarth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-gerwarth/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Mussolini learned from Lenin that fear and ruthless action outweigh parliamentary majorities. **In simple terms:** Fear and ruthlessness trump politics. Key Takeaway Beware of power through intimidation. Themes authoritarianism political strategy history Mood cautionary analytical Type historical political When to use this quote - politics - education - military studies - media Key Concepts totalitarianism leadership tactics Questions to Reflect On - How does fear shape modern politics? - What safeguards prevent ruthless rule? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex history. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bolsheviks Cared](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bolsheviks-cared-4641156/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Learnt Lenin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learnt-lenin-4641155/) [Lesson Parliamentary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lesson-parliamentary-4641157/) [Mussolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mussolini/) [Mussolini Learnt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mussolini-learnt-4641154/) ## Related quotes > [“Mussolini and Horthy to different degrees feared Hitler and were suspicious of German military power, but by building their regimes on the basis of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-gerwarth/mussolini-and-horthy-to-different-degrees-feared-hitler-and-were/) [Robert Gerwarth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-gerwarth/) > [“Few politicians observed the developments in Anatolia between 1918 and 1923 with greater interest than Adolf Hitler, who would later profess that in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-gerwarth/few-politicians-observed-the-developments-in-anatolia-between-1918/) [Robert Gerwarth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-gerwarth/) > [Mussolini never killed anyone, he just sent dissenters abroad for vacation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silvio-berlusconi/mussolini-never-killed-anyone-he-just-sent-dissenters-abroad-for/) [Silvio Berlusconi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/silvio-berlusconi/) > [Benito Mussolini had barely seized power in Italy before the Vatican made an official treaty with him, known as the Lateran Pact of 1929.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/benito-mussolini-had-barely-seized-power-in-italy-before-the-vatican/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [ The British had an even stronger \[then America\] business interest in Nazi Germany. And Benito Mussolini was greatly admired. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-british-had-an-even-stronger-then-america-business-interest-in/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“In an attempt to imitate the prestigious French Academy, Mussolini’s fascist government created The Royal Academy of Italy in 1926 whose members had to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-an-attempt-to-imitate-the-prestigious-french-academy-mussolini-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Even if the country is run by a Mussolini, free speech will find its way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamal-haasan/even-if-the-country-is-run-by-a-mussolini-free-speech-will-find-its/) [Kamal Haasan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamal-haasan/) > [ Obviously the government of \[Mussolini's\] time, out of fear that German power might lead to complete victory, preferred to ally itself with Hitler's Germany… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silvio-berlusconi/obviously-the-government-of-mussolini-s-time-out-of-fear-that-german/) [Silvio Berlusconi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/silvio-berlusconi/) > [I believe in the Italy of municipalities, of the Renaissance, not in Mussolini's centralization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matteo-salvini/i-believe-in-the-italy-of-municipalities-of-the-renaissance-not-in/) [Matteo Salvini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matteo-salvini/) > [Hitler decided that Mussolini must be freed from the Italian Partisans because Benito was his friend and had acted in good faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-skorzeny/hitler-decided-that-mussolini-must-be-freed-from-the-italian/) [Otto Skorzeny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-skorzeny/) > [Benito Mussolini is being put through the grinder of a television biography and the result resembles Italian sausage-of the spicy variety.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/benito-mussolini-is-being-put-through-the-grinder-of-a-television/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Italy hasn't had a government since Mussolini.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-nixon/italy-hasn-t-had-a-government-since-mussolini/) [Richard M. Nixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-nixon/) > [“History remembers Mussolini as the buffoonish Fascist, the ineffective silly man of Italy who led a lame military campaign in the Second World War,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hisham-matar/history-remembers-mussolini-as-the-buffoonish-fascist-the-ineffective/) [Hisham Matar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hisham-matar/) > [ \[Hitler thought\] that Mussolini was no figure of world history, like der Fuehrer or Stalin. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-goebbels/hitler-thought-that-mussolini-was-no-figure-of-world-history-like-der/) [Joseph Goebbels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-goebbels/) > [If I had been an Italian I am sure that I should have been whole-heartedly with you from the start to finish in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/if-i-had-been-an-italian-i-am-sure-that-i-should-have-been-whole/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) ## More by Robert Gerwarth > [“Even the Jewish communities that already existed in the Reich or in Vienna viewed Orthodox Jewish refugees as outsiders who lacked social standing and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-gerwarth/even-the-jewish-communities-that-already-existed-in-the-reich-or-in/) [Robert Gerwarth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-gerwarth/) > [“This was indeed the case in the following two and a half decades, ending in the later 1940s, when the forced expulsion of millions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-gerwarth/this-was-indeed-the-case-in-the-following-two-and-a-half-decades/) [Robert Gerwarth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-gerwarth/) > [“The CUP’s genocidal wartime policies towards the Armenians and Kemal’s ruthless expulsion of Christian Ottomans featured prominently in the Nazi imagination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-gerwarth/the-cup-s-genocidal-wartime-policies-towards-the-armenians-and-kemal/) [Robert Gerwarth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-gerwarth/) > [“Few politicians observed the developments in Anatolia between 1918 and 1923 with greater interest than Adolf Hitler, who would later profess that in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-gerwarth/few-politicians-observed-the-developments-in-anatolia-between-1918/) [Robert Gerwarth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-gerwarth/) > [“The CUP’s genocidal wartime policies towards the Armenians and Kemal’s ruthless expulsion of Christian Ottomans featured prominently in the Nazi imagination. They became a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-gerwarth/the-cup-s-genocidal-wartime-policies-towards-the-armenians-and-kemal-2/) [Robert Gerwarth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-gerwarth/) > [“While the future fortunes of the more than two million civil war refugees from Russia differed hugely, depending on circumstances and luck, many of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-gerwarth/while-the-future-fortunes-of-the-more-than-two-million-civil-war/) [Robert Gerwarth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-gerwarth/) > [“Mussolini and Horthy to different degrees feared Hitler and were suspicious of German military power, but by building their regimes on the basis of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-gerwarth/mussolini-and-horthy-to-different-degrees-feared-hitler-and-were/) [Robert Gerwarth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-gerwarth/) > [“Neither London nor Paris had gone to war in 1914 with the aim of creating a ‘Europe of nations’, and it was only from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-gerwarth/neither-london-nor-paris-had-gone-to-war-in-1914-with-the-aim-of/) [Robert Gerwarth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-gerwarth/) [Explore all 9 Robert Gerwarth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-gerwarth/) ## More Fear quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [“That horrible stinging sensation returned, the muscles behind my eyes straining as the first tear began to fall. “I’m scared, too. For eighteen months…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devon-ashley/that-horrible-stinging-sensation-returned-the-muscles-behind-my-eyes/) [Devon Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devon-ashley/) > [“...Often that which most we fear births the resolve that spurs us on to altitudes we could not have achieved, had we continued walking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-t-anderson/often-that-which-most-we-fear-births-the-resolve-that-spurs-us-on-to/) [M.T. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-t-anderson/) > [What an incredible drug fear is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/what-an-incredible-drug-fear-is/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“Anything that you find yourself worrying about regularly may find you suddenly wanting unrealistic changes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nagisa-tatsumi/anything-that-you-find-yourself-worrying-about-regularly-may-find-you/) [Nagisa Tatsumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nagisa-tatsumi/) > [“We all know how the thing we secretly fear is not a secret at all but the open and eternal thing that predicts its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/we-all-know-how-the-thing-we-secretly-fear-is-not-a-secret-at-all-but/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [“I had nowhere to go and did not wish to be seen by anyone for fear they would recognize my sadness and so for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-dewitt/i-had-nowhere-to-go-and-did-not-wish-to-be-seen-by-anyone-for-fear/) [Patrick deWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-dewitt/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [“Snip off the little worries and expressions of worry” like little branches atop a tall tree.28 If you are truly worried, sharing your concerns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-sanders/snip-off-the-little-worries-and-expressions-of-worry-like-little/) [Tim Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-sanders/) > [“Fear and desire for pleasure. Aggressiveness comes out of fear, predominantly, and sexuality predominantly out of the other. But they mix in the middle.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-french/fear-and-desire-for-pleasure-aggressiveness-comes-out-of-fear/) [Marilyn French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-french/) > [“Carrie Fisher. “Stay afraid, but do it anyway.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-union/carrie-fisher-stay-afraid-but-do-it-anyway/) [Gabrielle Union](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-union/) > [“Yes, the issue was courage. It always had been, even as a kid. Things scared him. He couldn't help it. Noise scared him, dark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/yes-the-issue-was-courage-it-always-had-been-even-as-a-kid-things/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [Don't be afraid of hard work. Nothing worthwhile comes easily. Don't let others discourage you or tell you that you can't do it. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-b-elion/don-t-be-afraid-of-hard-work-nothing-worthwhile-comes-easily-don-t/) [Gertrude B. Elion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-b-elion/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) [Browse all 35,569 Fear quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Mussolini had learnt more from Lenin and the Bolsheviks than he would have cared to admit, notably the lesson that parliamentary majorities were far less important than the ability and determination to instil fear in opponents and to act ruthlessly when an opportunity presented itself.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Gerwarth" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-gerwarth/mussolini-had-learnt-more-from-lenin-and-the-bolsheviks-than-he-would/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fear" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-gerwarth/mussolini-had-learnt-more-from-lenin-and-the-bolsheviks-than-he-would/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b20/robert-gerwarth-45088_fear_mussolini-had-learnt-more-from-lenin-and_2981870.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b20/robert-gerwarth-45088_fear_mussolini-had-learnt-more-from-lenin-and_2981870.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b20/robert-gerwarth-45088_fear_mussolini-had-learnt-more-from-lenin-and_2981870.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Mussolini had learnt more from Lenin and the Bolsheviks than he would have cared to admit, notably the…” — Robert Gerwarth", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Robert Gerwarth", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-gerwarth/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Mussolini had learnt more from Lenin...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-gerwarth/mussolini-had-learnt-more-from-lenin-and-the-bolsheviks-than-he-would/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-gerwarth/mussolini-had-learnt-more-from-lenin-and-the-bolsheviks-than-he-would/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```