I myself do not really view “What is to be Done?” as a great beginner work for Marxists, since it mentions a lot of obscure philosophers or groups that a modern audience (with their cursory knowledge of Russian history being from the lips of liberals, or worse, conservatives) would hardly know the context of, and I am reading a version that has notes on these people!
That is not to say that it is not an influential or essential work of Lenin (I think it might be up there with “Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism” and “The State and Revolution” in terms of either factor), but one has to be willing to trudge through Russian names that you will likely never hear again.
The beginner Lenin work is ‘The three sources and three component parts of Marxism’. Then I:THOC or State and Revolution.
How hard would you say “What is to be Done?” is?
With the historical context, pretty riveting and comprehensible. Without the historical context, 7.9/10 difficulty.
That’s why I always recommend new readers to learn about the history of early 20th century Socialist movement in Russian Empire and Germany first.
I personally found these videos by Bes D. Marx quick and easy resources,
I appreciate the extra sources (I read a bit about the German Democratic Republic), and yeah, I need additional context behind the Russian Empire.
I found a YouTube link in your comment. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy: