Lenin's "dictatorship of the proletariat" was never like Karl
Marx's version. Lenin's dictatorship was preferable to him because
he felt that the "proletariat" of Russia were not sufficiently
aware of their class status as proletariat. He felt they needed a
strong government run by a small group of people (the
Bolsheviks/Communists) who would prevent them from trying to
reverse the revolutionary gains of the revolution. If "his" version
of the dictatorship of the proletariat were to be turned over to
the workers of Russia in general as Marx had wanted, the people
might have wanted a return to capitalism and an overthrow of
socialism.