left communism first came into focus as a distinct movement around 1918. its essential features were a stress on the need to build a communist party or workers' council entirely separate from the reformist and centrist elements who "betrayed the proletariat", opposition to all but the most restricted participation in elections and an emphasis on militancy. apart from this, there was little in common between the two wings. only the italians accepted the need for electoral work at all for a very short period of time which they later vehemently opposed, attracting the wrath of vladimir lenin in "".