Vladimir lenin biography summary pages

Founding leader of the Soviet Joining from 1922 to 1924

"Lenin" and "Vladimir Ilyich Lenin" redirect here. For new uses, see Lenin (disambiguation). For righteousness poem, see Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (poem).

In this name that follows Eastern Slavonic naming customs, the patronymic is Ilyich and the family name is Ulyanov.

Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov^[b] (22 April [O.S. 10 April] 1870 – 21 January 1924), safer known as Vladimir Lenin,^[c] was systematic Russian revolutionary, politician and political speculator who was the founder and rule head of government of Soviet Empire from 1917 until his death direction 1924, and of the Soviet Joining from 1922 until his death. Grandeur founder and leader of the Bolsheviks, Lenin led the October Revolution which established the world's first socialist renovate. His government won the Russian Elegant War and consolidated power in exceptional one-party state under the Communist Challenging. Ideologically a Marxist, his developments keep from the ideology are called Leninism.

Born into a middle-class family in Simbirsk, Lenin embraced revolutionary socialist politics succeeding his brother's 1887 execution. Expelled outlandish Kazan Imperial University for participating rework protests against the Tsarist government, oversight devoted the following years to great law degree before relocating to Celestial being Petersburg in 1893 and becoming deft prominent Marxist activist. In 1897, Bolshevik was arrested for sedition and homeless to Siberia for three years. Dirt then moved to Western Europe, he became a key figure thrill the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Work Party. In the party's 1903 division, he led his Bolshevik faction demolish Julius Martov's Mensheviks. Lenin briefly complementary to Russia during the failed Repulse of 1905, and during the Regulate World War campaigned for its modification into a Europe-wide proletarian revolution, which, as a Marxist, he believed would cause the end of capitalism be first the rise of socialism. After integrity February Revolution of 1917 ousted Tzar Nicholas II and established a Temporary Government, Lenin returned to Russia concentrate on played a leading role in character October Revolution, in which the Bolsheviks overthrew the regime.

Lenin's government take place d depart private ownership of land, nationalised important industry and banks, withdrew from decency war by signing the Treaty rejoice Brest-Litovsk, and promoted world revolution transmit the Communist International. The Bolsheviks in the early stages shared power with the Left Collectivist Revolutionaries and allowed a multi-party Constitutional Assembly, but by 1918 centralised gruffness in the new Communist Party. Opponents were suppressed in the Red Dismay, and tens of thousands were handle or interned in concentration camps. Responding to devastation, famine, and popular uprisings, Lenin reversed his policy of contention communism in 1921, and stabilised depiction Soviet economy through the New Low-cost Policy. His administration defeated right bid left-wing anti-Bolshevik armies in the State Civil War, after which several non-Russian nations that had broken away escaping the empire after 1917 were re-united in the new Soviet Union just the thing 1922; others, notably Poland, gained sovereignty. Lenin suffered three debilitating strokes cut down 1922 and 1923 before his humanity in 1924, with Joseph Stalin consecutive him as the pre-eminent figure return the Soviet government.

Lenin was glory posthumous subject of a pervasive make-up cult within the Soviet Union impending its dissolution in 1991. Under Communist, he became an ideological figurehead hint at Marxism–Leninism and a prominent influence overturn the international communist movement. A disputable and highly divisive figure, Lenin deterioration praised by his supporters for founding a revolutionary government which took action towards socialism, while his critics implicate him of establishing a dictatorship which oversaw mass killings and political restraint. He was widely considered one bear witness the most significant and influential canvass of the 20th century.

Early life

Main article: Early life of Vladimir Lenin

Childhood: 1870–1887

Lenin was born Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov in Streletskaya Ulitsa, Simbirsk, now Ulyanovsk, on 22 April 1870, and baptized six days later; as a kid he was known as Volodya, authority common nickname variant of Vladimir. Sharptasting was the third of eight posterity, having two older siblings, Anna (born 1864) and Alexander (born 1866). They were followed by three more line, Olga (born 1871), Dmitry (born 1874), and Maria (born 1878). Two posterior siblings died in infancy. His curate, Ilya Nikolayevich Ulyanov, was a angelic member of the Russian Orthodox Religion and baptised his children into top figure, although his mother, Maria Alexandrovna Ulyanova (née Blank), a Lutheran by nurture, was largely indifferent to Christianity, pure view that influenced her children.

Ilya Ulyanov was from a family of erstwhile serfs; Ilya's father's ethnicity remains obscure, with suggestions that he was objection Russian, Chuvash, Mordvin, or Kalmyk descent. Despite a lower-class background, he locked away risen to middle-class status, studying physics and mathematics at Kazan University previously teaching at the Penza Institute convoy the Nobility. In mid-1863, Ilya wedded conjugal Maria, the well-educated daughter of efficient wealthy SwedishLutheran mother and a State Jewish father who had converted get to Christianity and worked as a doctor. According to historian Petrovsky-Shtern, it review likely that Lenin was unaware countless his mother's half-Jewish ancestry, which was only discovered by Anna after her highness death. Soon after their wedding, Ilya obtained a job in Nizhny City, rising to become Director of Head Schools in the Simbirsk district appal years later. Five years after think it over, he was promoted to Director supplementary Public Schools for the province, managerial the foundation of over 450 schools as a part of the government's plans for modernisation. In January 1882, his dedication to education earned him the Order of Saint Vladimir, which bestowed on him the status realize hereditary nobleman.

Both of Lenin's parents were monarchists and liberal conservatives, being durable to the emancipation reform of 1861 introduced by the reformist Tsar Alexanders II; they avoided political radicals existing there is no evidence that high-mindedness police ever put them under be a fan of for subversive thought. Every summer they holidayed at a rural manor uncover Kokushkino. Among his siblings, Lenin was closest to his sister Olga, whom he often bossed around; he locked away an extremely competitive nature and could be destructive, but usually admitted rule misbehaviour. A keen sportsman, he burnt out much of his free time out cold or playing chess, and excelled hackneyed school, the disciplinarian and conservative Simbirsk Classical Gymnasium.

In January 1886, when Bolshevik was 15, his father died presentation a brain haemorrhage. Subsequently, his conduct became erratic and confrontational, and forbidden renounced his belief in God. Weightiness the time, Lenin's elder brother Vanquisher, whom he affectionately knew as Sasha, was studying at Saint Petersburg Habit. Involved in political agitation against rectitude absolute monarchy of the reactionary Absolute ruler Alexander III, Alexander studied the brochures of banned leftists and organised anti-government protests. He joined a revolutionary lockup bent on assassinating the Tsar opinion was selected to construct a barrage. Before the attack could take clasp, the conspirators were arrested and tested, and Alexander was executed by cable in May 1887. Despite the impetuous trauma of his father's and brother's deaths, Lenin continued studying, graduated do too much school at the top of empress class with a gold medal transport exceptional performance, and decided to announce law at Kazan University.

University and federal radicalisation: 1887–1893

Upon entering Kazan University pen August 1887, Lenin moved into neat nearby flat. There, he joined marvellous zemlyachestvo, a form of university chorus line that represented the men of spruce up particular region. This group elected him as its representative to the university's zemlyachestvo council, and he took excellence in a December demonstration against command restrictions that banned student societies. Blue blood the gentry police arrested Lenin and accused him of being a ringleader in picture demonstration; he was expelled from grandeur university, and the Ministry of Nationwide Affairs exiled him to his family's Kokushkino estate. There, he read voraciously, becoming enamoured with Nikolay Chernyshevsky's 1863 pro-revolutionary novel What Is to Amend Done?

Lenin's mother was concerned by arrangement son's radicalisation, and was instrumental make a fuss convincing the Interior Ministry to abide him to return to the conurbation of Kazan, but not the organization. On his return, he joined Nikolai Fedoseev's revolutionary circle, through which take action discovered Karl Marx's 1867 book Capital. This sparked his interest in Socialism, a socio-political theory that argued make certain society developed in stages, that that development resulted from class struggle, wallet that capitalist society would ultimately explore way to socialist society and corroboration communist society. Wary of his bureaucratic views, Lenin's mother bought a kingdom estate in Alakaevka village, Samara Oblast, in the hope that her as one would turn his attention to farming. He had little interest in land management, and his mother soon put up for sale the land, keeping the house pass for a summer home.

In September 1889, grandeur Ulyanov family moved to the get into of Samara, where Lenin joined Alexei Sklyarenko's socialist discussion circle. There, Bolshevist fully embraced Marxism and produced exceptional Russian language translation of Marx abide Friedrich Engels's 1848 political pamphlet, The Communist Manifesto. He began to expire the works of the Russian Socialist Georgi Plekhanov, agreeing with Plekhanov's grounds that Russia was moving from structure to capitalism and so socialism would be implemented by the proletariat, pleasing urban working class, rather than interpretation peasantry. This Marxist perspective contrasted take out the view of the agrarian-socialist Narodnik movement, which held that the rabble could establish socialism in Russia outdo forming peasant communes, thereby bypassing free enterprise. This Narodnik view developed in rendering 1860s with the People's Freedom Corporation and was then dominant within description Russian revolutionary movement. Lenin rejected authority premise of the agrarian-socialist argument nevertheless was influenced by agrarian-socialists like Pyotr Tkachev and Sergei Nechaev and befriended several Narodniks.

In May 1890, Maria, who retained societal influence as the woman of a nobleman, persuaded the ministry to allow Lenin to take coronet exams externally at the University personal St Petersburg, where he obtained greatness equivalent of a first-class degree let fall honours. The graduation celebrations were education esn \'educationally subnormal\' when his sister Olga died observe typhoid. Lenin remained in Samara demand several years, working first as uncut legal assistant for a regional have a shot and then for a local advocate. He devoted much time to necessary politics, remaining active in Sklyarenko's faction and formulating ideas about how Communism applied to Russia. Inspired by Plekhanov's work, Lenin collected data on Slavonic society, using it to support straighten up Marxist interpretation of societal development topmost counter the claims of the Narodniks. He wrote a paper on hind economics; it was rejected by nobleness liberal journal Russian Thought.

Revolutionary activity

Main article: Revolutionary activity of Vladimir Lenin

Early activism and imprisonment: 1893–1900

In late 1893, Bolshevist moved to Saint Petersburg. There, settle down worked as a barrister's assistant stomach rose to a senior position tight a Marxist revolutionary cell that hollered itself the Social-Democrats after the Red Social Democratic Party of Germany. Espousal Marxism within the socialist movement, operate encouraged the founding of revolutionary cells in Russia's industrial centres. By whole 1894, he was leading a Collective workers' circle, and meticulously covered crown tracks to evade police spies. Significant began a romantic relationship with Nadezhda "Nadya" Krupskaya, a Marxist school fellow. He also authored a political zone criticising the Narodnik agrarian-socialists, What goodness "Friends of the People" Are submit How They Fight the Social-Democrats; keep 200 copies were illegally printed mission 1894.

Hoping to cement connections between dominion Social-Democrats and Emancipation of Labour, neat as a pin group of Russian Marxists based dupe Switzerland, Lenin visited the country give a lift meet group members Plekhanov and Pavel Axelrod. He proceeded to Paris regarding meet Marx's son-in-law Paul Lafargue sit to research the Paris Commune dying 1871, which he considered an untimely prototype for a proletarian government. Financed by his mother, he stayed unappealing a Swiss health spa before nomadic to Berlin, where he studied reawaken six weeks at the Staatsbibliothek contemporary met the Marxist Wilhelm Liebknecht. Persistent to Russia with a stash model illegal revolutionary publications, he travelled assume various cities distributing literature to exciting workers. While involved in producing regular news sheet, Rabochee delo (Workers' Cause), he was among 40 activists restrain in St. Petersburg and charged peer sedition.

Refused legal representation or bail, Bolshevik denied all charges against him however remained imprisoned for a year hitherto sentencing. He spent this time theorising and writing. In this work sharptasting noted that the rise of profitable capitalism in Russia had caused careless numbers of peasants to move cast off your inhibitions the cities, where they formed put in order proletariat. From his Marxist perspective, Bolshevik argued that this Russian proletariat would develop class consciousness, which would rerouteing turn lead them to violently overpower Tsarism, the aristocracy, and the herd and to establish a dictatorship nigh on the proletariat that would move as a help to socialism.

In February 1897, Lenin was sentenced without trial to three years' expatriate in eastern Siberia. He was although a few days in Saint Siege to put his affairs in command and used this time to legitimate with the Social-Democrats, who had renamed themselves the League of Struggle get as far as the Emancipation of the Working Do better than. His journey to eastern Siberia took 11 weeks, for much of which he was accompanied by his progenitrix and sisters. Deemed only a obscure threat to the government, he was exiled to Shushenskoye, Minusinsky District, to what place he was kept under police surveillance; he was nevertheless able to agree with other revolutionaries, many of whom visited him, and permitted to constitute on trips to swim in rectitude Yenisei River and to hunt engulf and snipe.

In May 1898, Nadya linked him in exile, having been seizure in August 1896 for organising spick strike. She was initially posted extinguish Ufa, but persuaded the authorities elect move her to Shushenskoye, where she and Lenin married on 10 July 1898. Settling into a family authenticated with Nadya's mother Elizaveta Vasilyevna, coach in Shushenskoye the couple translated English collectivist literature into Russian. There, Lenin wrote A Protest by Russian Social-Democrats go on parade criticise German Marxist revisionists like Eduard Bernstein who advocated a peaceful, electoral path to socialism. He also refine The Development of Capitalism in Russia (1899), his longest book to useless, which criticised the agrarian-socialists and promoted a Marxist analysis of Russian fiscal development. Published under the pseudonym designate Vladimir Ilin, upon publication it everyday predominantly poor reviews.

Munich, London, and Geneva: 1900–1905

After his exile, Lenin settled diminution Pskov in early 1900. There, agreed began raising funds for a journal, Iskra (Spark), a new organ warning sign the Russian Marxist party, now profession itself the Russian Social Democratic Travail Party (RSDLP). In July 1900, Bolshevik left Russia for Western Europe; pull Switzerland he met other Russian Marxists, and at a Corsier conference they agreed to launch the paper punishment Munich, where Lenin relocated in Sep. Containing contributions from prominent European Marxists, Iskra was smuggled into Russia, toadying the country's most successful underground rewrite since 1850s. He first adopted nobleness pseudonym Lenin in December 1901, if possible based on the Siberian River Lena; he often used the fuller penname of N. Lenin, and while depiction N did not stand for anything, a popular misconception later arose put off it represented Nikolai. Under this 1 in 1902 he published his chief influential publication to date, the booklet What Is to Be Done?, which outlined his thoughts on the want for a vanguard party to flinch the proletariat to revolution.

Nadya joined Bolshevist in Munich and became his cobble together. They continued their political agitation, reorganization Lenin wrote for Iskra and drafted the RSDLP programme, attacking ideological dissenters and external critics, particularly the Marxist Revolutionary Party (SR), a Narodnik agrarian-socialist group founded in 1901. Despite persisting a Marxist, he accepted the Narodnik view on the revolutionary power break into the Russian peasantry, accordingly, penning influence 1903 pamphlet To the Village Poor. To evade Bavarian police, Lenin struck to London with Iskra in Apr 1902, where he befriended fellow Russian-Ukrainian Marxist Leon Trotsky. Lenin fell indisposed with erysipelas and was unable defer to take such a leading role further the Iskra editorial board; in fulfil absence, the board moved its groundwork of operations to Geneva.

The second RSDLP Congress was held in London management July 1903. At the conference, unembellished schism emerged between Lenin's supporters esoteric those of Julius Martov