In Animal farm written by George Orwell, the political ideas of the Russian Revolution and the Communist government are seen by allegory and satire. Through the development of Orwell's ideas on the communist government; important ideas of how power corrupts, inequality, and the use of propaganda are shown.
Orwell has used allegory to develop the link between the animals and the Russian political system. By intentionally allegorising Napoleon (the main leader of animal farm), Orwell has represented Stalin, the Communist leader of Russia. Through this, the development of Stalin's government can be seen. During the start of the revolution, the animals are equal; they all work together gathering hay. However, as Napoleon becomes increasingly more powerful, his actions slowly descend into tyranny. This is shown when Napoleon executes innocent animals to stay in power, which completely goes against the original rules, "No animal shall kill another". This highlights the change of Napoleon ideals to those of a totalitarian state, which clearly parallels Stalin and how his abuse of power lead to a corrupt government. One way in which Stalin abuses power is by his idea of "collectivisation agriculture". Therefore, Orwell has shown both Napoleon and Stalin to develop and abuse their power as Communist leaders, and hints at the downfall of their respective revolutions. .
Allegory is also used to show relevant events of the revolution. In Animal farm one event that shows this is the windmill construction. The windmill, built up for the promise of electricity therefore more food, shows what the animalist government can achieve. Although this achievement often comes at a terrible loss, as seen when boxer the hardest working horse is killed while building this windmill. This too can be seen in Stalin's revolution, where their industry was built up by the working class but had not thought of the human life in took.
