To what extent was Lenin a 'Red Tsar'?

The way in which government was structured and organised under Lenin is indicative of more continuity than change, suggesting that he was in fact a 'Red Tsar'. When Lenin came to power in October 1917, he offered a hope of democracy and a break away from the autocratic rule of the tsars. However, in reality Lenin's one-party Communist state mirrored the highly centralised structure of power found under the tsars. Under both the tsars and Lenin, the state controlled from the top down, with power completely vested at the top. For instance, the Committee of Ministers under both Alexander II and Alexander III was the complete responsibility of the tsar. Similarly, Sovnarkom under Lenin became dominated by members of the Politburo by 1919 and posts in the Nomenklatura system introduced in 1923 were only appointed by central party members. Thus, in both cases power was not extended outside of their inner circle of advisors. Unlike Lenin, however, Nicholas II did attempt to offer a more democratic system following pressure caused by the 1905 revolution, introducing the Duma system in 1906. However, the failure move towards more democracy was due to Nicholas' repeated attempts to shut it down, showing a reluctance to relinquish the complete, centralised control that continued and expanded under Lenin's rule. Thus, this highly centralised organisation of government supports the view that Lenin was a 'Red Tsar', as he failed to offer a true democracy and break away from complete, autocratic power seen under Tsarist rule.