Vladimir Lenin: Difference between revisions
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{{Villain_Infobox | {{Villain_Infobox | ||
|Image = | |Image = Lenin in 1920 (cropped).jpg | ||
|fullname = Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov | |fullname = Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov | ||
|alias = Lenin<br>Vladimir Lenin<br>The Wolf | |alias = Lenin<br>Vladimir Lenin<br>The Wolf | ||
|occupation = Premier of the Soviet Union ( | |occupation = Premier of Russia (1917 - 1922)<br>Premier of the Soviet Union (1922 - 1924) | ||
|origin = Simbirsk, Russian Empire | |origin = Simbirsk, Russian Empire | ||
|type of villain = Tyrannical Extremist | |type of villain = Tyrannical Extremist | ||
|crimes = [[Terrorism]]<br> | |crimes = [[Persecution of Christians]]<br>[[Authoritarianism]]<br>[[Crimes against humanity]]<br>[[Terrorism]]<br>[[Mass murder]]<br>Repression<br>Internment<br>[[War crimes]]<br>[[Torture]]<br>[[Genocide]]<br>[[Hate Speech]]<br>[[Americophobia]]<br>[[Francophobia]]<br>[[Anglophobia]]<br>[[Polonophobia]]<br>[[Xenophobia]]<br>[[Islamophobia]]<br> | ||
|goals = Eradicate capitalism (partially successful)<br>Establish the Soviet Union (successful) | |goals = Eradicate capitalism (partially successful)<br>Establish the Soviet Union (successful)<br>Overthrow [[Nicholas II]] (successful) | ||
|hobby = Playing chess}} | |hobby = Playing chess|name=Evil-doer}} | ||
{{Quote|Socialists cannot achieve their great aim without fighting against all oppression of nations.|Vladimir Lenin, ''Socialism and War''}} | {{Quote|Socialists cannot achieve their great aim without fighting against all oppression of nations.|Vladimir Lenin, ''Socialism and War''}} | ||
'''Vladimir Ilyich | '''Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov''' (Russian: Владимир Ильич Ленин, April 22nd, 1870 - January 21st, 1924) also known as Vladimir Lenin was a Russian communist revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He served as the leader of the Russian SFSR from 1917, and then concurrently as Premier of the Soviet Union from 1922, until his death. Politically a Marxist, his theoretical contributions to Marxist thought are known as Leninism, which coupled with Marxian economic theory have collectively come to be known as Marxism–Leninism. He is considered to be one of the founding fathers of the Soviet Union. | ||
== Biography == | |||
===Early life=== | ===Early life=== | ||
===Childhood: 1870–1887=== | |||
==== Childhood: 1870–1887 ==== | |||
Lenin's father was the fourth child of impoverished tailor Nikolai Vassilievich Ulyanov who lived in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrakhan Astrakhan]. Ilya escaped poverty by studying physics and mathematics at a University before gaining a teaching job at the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institute_for_Nobles Penza Institute for the Nobility] in 1854. Introduced to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Alexandrovna_Ulyanova Maria Alexandrovna Blank] (1835–1916), they married in the summer of 1863.From a relatively prosperous background, Mariya was the daughter of a Russian-Jewish physician, Alexander Dmitrievich Blank, and his German-Swedish wife, Anna Ivanovna Grosschopf. Dr Blank had insisted on providing his children with a good education, ensuring that Mariya learned Russian, German, English and French, and that she was well versed in Russian literature.Soon after their wedding, Ilya obtained a job in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nizhni_Novgorod Nizhni Novgorod], rising to become Director of Primary Schools in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simbirsk Simbirsk] district six years later. Five years after that, he was promoted to Director of Public Schools for the province, overseeing the foundation of over 450 schools as a part of the government's plans for modernisation. Awarded the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_St._Vladimir Order of St. Vladimir], he became a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_nobility hereditary nobleman]. | Lenin's father was the fourth child of impoverished tailor Nikolai Vassilievich Ulyanov who lived in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrakhan Astrakhan]. Ilya escaped poverty by studying physics and mathematics at a University before gaining a teaching job at the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institute_for_Nobles Penza Institute for the Nobility] in 1854. Introduced to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Alexandrovna_Ulyanova Maria Alexandrovna Blank] (1835–1916), they married in the summer of 1863.From a relatively prosperous background, Mariya was the daughter of a Russian-Jewish physician, Alexander Dmitrievich Blank, and his German-Swedish wife, Anna Ivanovna Grosschopf. Dr Blank had insisted on providing his children with a good education, ensuring that Mariya learned Russian, German, English and French, and that she was well versed in Russian literature.Soon after their wedding, Ilya obtained a job in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nizhni_Novgorod Nizhni Novgorod], rising to become Director of Primary Schools in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simbirsk Simbirsk] district six years later. Five years after that, he was promoted to Director of Public Schools for the province, overseeing the foundation of over 450 schools as a part of the government's plans for modernisation. Awarded the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_St._Vladimir Order of St. Vladimir], he became a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_nobility hereditary nobleman]. | ||
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Ilya Ulyanov died of a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain_haemorrhage brain haemorrhage] on 12 January 1886, when Vladimir was 16 years old.Vladimir's behaviour became erratic and confrontational, and shortly thereafter he [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheism renounced his belief] in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God God].<span style="font-size:11px;line-height:0px;"> </span>At the time, Vladimir's elder brother [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleksandr_Ulyanov Aleksandr "Sacha" Ulyanov] was studying biology at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Petersburg_State_University St. Petersburg University], in 1885 having been awarded a gold medal for his dissertation, after which he was elected onto the university's Scientific-Literary Society. He had become involved in political agitation against the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absolute_monarchy absolute monarchy] of reactionary [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsar Tsar] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_III_of_Russia Alexander III] which governed the Russian Empire, reading the writings of a number of banned leftists, including [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dmitry_Pisarev Dmitry Pisarev], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolay_Dobrolyubov Nikolay Dobrolyubov], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolay_Chernyshevsky Nikolay Chernyshevsky] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Marx Karl Marx]. Organising protests against the government, he joined a socialist revolutionary cell bent on assassinating the Tsar and with his scientific background was selected to construct a bomb. Before they carried out the attack, the conspirators were arrested and tried. On 25 April 1887, Sacha was sentenced to death by hanging, and executed on 8 May.Despite the emotional trauma brought on by the recent deaths of his father and brother, Vladimir continued with his studies, leaving school with a gold medal for his exceptional performance, and decided that he wanted to study law at Kazan University. | Ilya Ulyanov died of a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain_haemorrhage brain haemorrhage] on 12 January 1886, when Vladimir was 16 years old.Vladimir's behaviour became erratic and confrontational, and shortly thereafter he [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheism renounced his belief] in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God God].<span style="font-size:11px;line-height:0px;"> </span>At the time, Vladimir's elder brother [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleksandr_Ulyanov Aleksandr "Sacha" Ulyanov] was studying biology at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Petersburg_State_University St. Petersburg University], in 1885 having been awarded a gold medal for his dissertation, after which he was elected onto the university's Scientific-Literary Society. He had become involved in political agitation against the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absolute_monarchy absolute monarchy] of reactionary [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsar Tsar] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_III_of_Russia Alexander III] which governed the Russian Empire, reading the writings of a number of banned leftists, including [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dmitry_Pisarev Dmitry Pisarev], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolay_Dobrolyubov Nikolay Dobrolyubov], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolay_Chernyshevsky Nikolay Chernyshevsky] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Marx Karl Marx]. Organising protests against the government, he joined a socialist revolutionary cell bent on assassinating the Tsar and with his scientific background was selected to construct a bomb. Before they carried out the attack, the conspirators were arrested and tried. On 25 April 1887, Sacha was sentenced to death by hanging, and executed on 8 May.Despite the emotional trauma brought on by the recent deaths of his father and brother, Vladimir continued with his studies, leaving school with a gold medal for his exceptional performance, and decided that he wanted to study law at Kazan University. | ||
===University and political radicalism: 1887–1893=== | ==== University and political radicalism: 1887–1893 ==== | ||
Entering the Judicial Faculty of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazan_%28Volga_region%29_Federal_University Kazan University] in August 1887, Vladimir and his mother moved into a flat, renting out their Simbirsk family home. Becoming interested in his late brother's radical ideas, he began meeting with a revolutionary cell run by the militant [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agrarian_socialism agrarian socialist] Lazar Bogoraz, associating with leftists intent on reviving the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narodnaya_Volya People's Freedom Party] (''Narodnaya Volya''). Joining the university's illegal Samara-Simbirsk ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zemlyachestvo zemlyachestvo]'', he was elected as its representative for the university's ''zemlyachestvo'' council. On 4 December he took part in a demonstration demanding the abolition of the 1884 statute and the re-legalisation of student societies, but along with 100 other protesters was arrested by police. Accused of being a ringleader, the university expelled him and the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministry_of_Internal_Affairs_%28Russia%29 Ministry of Internal Affairs] placed him under police surveillance, exiling him to his Kokushkino estate. Here, he read voraciously, becoming enamoured with Chernyshevsky's novel ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Is_to_Be_Done%3F_%28novel%29 What is to be Done?]'' (1863). Disliking his radicalism, in September 1888 his mother persuading him to write to the Ministry of the Interior asking them to allow him to study at a foreign university; they refused his request, but allowed his return to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazan Kazan], where he settled on the Pervaya Gora with his mother and brother Dmitry. | Entering the Judicial Faculty of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazan_%28Volga_region%29_Federal_University Kazan University] in August 1887, Vladimir and his mother moved into a flat, renting out their Simbirsk family home. Becoming interested in his late brother's radical ideas, he began meeting with a revolutionary cell run by the militant [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agrarian_socialism agrarian socialist] Lazar Bogoraz, associating with leftists intent on reviving the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narodnaya_Volya People's Freedom Party] (''Narodnaya Volya''). Joining the university's illegal Samara-Simbirsk ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zemlyachestvo zemlyachestvo]'', he was elected as its representative for the university's ''zemlyachestvo'' council. On 4 December he took part in a demonstration demanding the abolition of the 1884 statute and the re-legalisation of student societies, but along with 100 other protesters was arrested by police. Accused of being a ringleader, the university expelled him and the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministry_of_Internal_Affairs_%28Russia%29 Ministry of Internal Affairs] placed him under police surveillance, exiling him to his Kokushkino estate. Here, he read voraciously, becoming enamoured with Chernyshevsky's novel ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Is_to_Be_Done%3F_%28novel%29 What is to be Done?]'' (1863). Disliking his radicalism, in September 1888 his mother persuading him to write to the Ministry of the Interior asking them to allow him to study at a foreign university; they refused his request, but allowed his return to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazan Kazan], where he settled on the Pervaya Gora with his mother and brother Dmitry. | ||
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In May 1890, Mariya convinced the authorities to allow Vladimir to undertake his exams externally at a university of his choice. He picked the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Petersburg_State_University University of Saint Petersburg], obtaining the equivalent of a first-class degree with honours; celebrations were marred when his sister Olga died of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoid typhoid]. Vladimir remained in Samara for several years, in January 1892 being employed as a legal assistant for a regional court, and soon gaining a job with local lawyer Andrei N. Khardin. Embroiled primarily in disputes between peasants and artisans, he devoted much of his time to radical politics, remaining active in Skylarenko's group and formulating ideas about Marxism's applicability to Russia. Inspired by Plekhanov's work, Vladimir collected data on Russian society, using it to support a Marxist interpretation of societal development. Hoping to be taken seriously as an intellectual, in 1893 he submitted a paper, "New Economic Developments in Peasant Life", to the liberal journal ''Russian Thought'', but it was rejected, only seeing publication in 1927. | In May 1890, Mariya convinced the authorities to allow Vladimir to undertake his exams externally at a university of his choice. He picked the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Petersburg_State_University University of Saint Petersburg], obtaining the equivalent of a first-class degree with honours; celebrations were marred when his sister Olga died of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoid typhoid]. Vladimir remained in Samara for several years, in January 1892 being employed as a legal assistant for a regional court, and soon gaining a job with local lawyer Andrei N. Khardin. Embroiled primarily in disputes between peasants and artisans, he devoted much of his time to radical politics, remaining active in Skylarenko's group and formulating ideas about Marxism's applicability to Russia. Inspired by Plekhanov's work, Vladimir collected data on Russian society, using it to support a Marxist interpretation of societal development. Hoping to be taken seriously as an intellectual, in 1893 he submitted a paper, "New Economic Developments in Peasant Life", to the liberal journal ''Russian Thought'', but it was rejected, only seeing publication in 1927. | ||
==Revolutionary activities== | === Revolutionary activities === | ||
===St. Petersburg and foreign visits: 1893–1895=== | |||
==== St. Petersburg and foreign visits: 1893–1895 ==== | |||
In autumn 1893, Vladimir moved to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Petersburg St. Petersburg], taking up residence in a Sergievsky Street flat in the Liteiny district, before moving to 7 Kazachy Alley, near the Haymarket. Employed as assistant to the lawyer M.F. Volkenstein, he joined a revolutionary cell run by S.I. Radchenko, whose members were primarily students from the city's [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Petersburg_State_Institute_of_Technology Technological Institute]. Like Vladimir, they were Marxists, and called themselves the "Social Democrats" after the Marxist [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Democratic_Party_of_Germany Social Democratic Party of Germany]. Impressed by his extensive knowledge, they welcomed him and he soon became a senior member of the group.Championing Marxist thought among the revolutionary socialist movement, in January 1894 he openly debated with theorist V.P. Vorontsov at a clandestine meeting, where his outspoken behaviour was noted by a police spy. Intent on building Marxism in Russia, Vladimir contacted Petr Bernardovich Struve, a wealthy sympathizer whom he hoped could aid in the publication of literature, and encouraged the foundation of further revolutionary cells in Russia's industrial centres. He also became friends with a young Russian Jewish Marxist named [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Martov Julius Martov], who encouraged his comrades to spend more time engaged in revolutionary activity. | In autumn 1893, Vladimir moved to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Petersburg St. Petersburg], taking up residence in a Sergievsky Street flat in the Liteiny district, before moving to 7 Kazachy Alley, near the Haymarket. Employed as assistant to the lawyer M.F. Volkenstein, he joined a revolutionary cell run by S.I. Radchenko, whose members were primarily students from the city's [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Petersburg_State_Institute_of_Technology Technological Institute]. Like Vladimir, they were Marxists, and called themselves the "Social Democrats" after the Marxist [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Democratic_Party_of_Germany Social Democratic Party of Germany]. Impressed by his extensive knowledge, they welcomed him and he soon became a senior member of the group.Championing Marxist thought among the revolutionary socialist movement, in January 1894 he openly debated with theorist V.P. Vorontsov at a clandestine meeting, where his outspoken behaviour was noted by a police spy. Intent on building Marxism in Russia, Vladimir contacted Petr Bernardovich Struve, a wealthy sympathizer whom he hoped could aid in the publication of literature, and encouraged the foundation of further revolutionary cells in Russia's industrial centres. He also became friends with a young Russian Jewish Marxist named [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Martov Julius Martov], who encouraged his comrades to spend more time engaged in revolutionary activity. | ||
{| cellspacing="0" style="background: transparent; border: 0; padding: 0; margin: 0; width:334px;" | {| cellspacing="0" style="background: transparent; border: 0; padding: 0; margin: 0; width:334px;" | ||
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He hoped that connections could be cemented between his Social-Democrats and the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emancipation_of_Labour Emancipation of Labour] group; an organisation founded in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geneva Geneva], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switzerland Switzerland] by Pleckhanov and other Russian Marxist emigres in 1883. Vladimir and E.I. Sponti were selected to travel to Switzerland to meet with Pleckhanov, who was generally supportive but criticised the Social-Democrats for ignoring the role that the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bourgeoisie bourgeoisie] could play in the anti-Tsarist revolution.Traveling on to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zurich Zurich], Vladimir met and befriended [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pavel_Axelrod Pavel Axelrod], another member of Emancipation of Labour. Proceeding to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris Paris], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France France], Vladimir met with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Lafargue Paul Lafargue] and undertook research into the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Commune Paris Commune of 1871], which he saw as an early prototype for a proletarian government. Financed by his mother, he returned to Switzerland to stay in a health spa before traveling to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin Berlin], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany Germany], where he studied for six weeks at the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staatsbibliothek Staatsbibliothek] and met with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Liebknecht Wilhelm Liebknecht]. Returning to Russia with a stash of illegal revolutionary literature, he traveled to various cities, becoming aware that he was being monitored by the police. Coinciding with a series of strikes in St. Petersburg, centered on the Thornton textile mill in 1895, he distributed Marxist literature to the workers, and was involved in the production of a news sheet, ''The Workers' Cause''. However, both he and 40 other activists were arrested on the night before the first issue's publication and charged with sedition. | He hoped that connections could be cemented between his Social-Democrats and the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emancipation_of_Labour Emancipation of Labour] group; an organisation founded in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geneva Geneva], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switzerland Switzerland] by Pleckhanov and other Russian Marxist emigres in 1883. Vladimir and E.I. Sponti were selected to travel to Switzerland to meet with Pleckhanov, who was generally supportive but criticised the Social-Democrats for ignoring the role that the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bourgeoisie bourgeoisie] could play in the anti-Tsarist revolution.Traveling on to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zurich Zurich], Vladimir met and befriended [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pavel_Axelrod Pavel Axelrod], another member of Emancipation of Labour. Proceeding to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris Paris], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France France], Vladimir met with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Lafargue Paul Lafargue] and undertook research into the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Commune Paris Commune of 1871], which he saw as an early prototype for a proletarian government. Financed by his mother, he returned to Switzerland to stay in a health spa before traveling to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin Berlin], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany Germany], where he studied for six weeks at the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staatsbibliothek Staatsbibliothek] and met with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Liebknecht Wilhelm Liebknecht]. Returning to Russia with a stash of illegal revolutionary literature, he traveled to various cities, becoming aware that he was being monitored by the police. Coinciding with a series of strikes in St. Petersburg, centered on the Thornton textile mill in 1895, he distributed Marxist literature to the workers, and was involved in the production of a news sheet, ''The Workers' Cause''. However, both he and 40 other activists were arrested on the night before the first issue's publication and charged with sedition. | ||
===Siberian exile: 1895–1900=== | === Siberian exile: 1895–1900 === | ||
Imprisoned at the House of Preliminary Detention in Shpalernaya Street, Vladimir was refused legal representation, so denied all of the charges. His family rallied round to help him, but he was refused bail, remaining imprisoned for a year before sentencing. Fellow revolutionaries smuggled messages to him, while he devised a code for playing chess with the neighbouring inmate. Spending much of his time writing, he focused on the role of the working-class in the coming revolution; believing that the rise of industrial capitalism had led large numbers of peasants to move to the cities, where they became proletariat, he argued that [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Class_consciousness class consciousness] would develop, leading them to rise up in violent revolution against the aristocracy and bourgeoisie. By July 1896 he had finished ''Draft and Explanation of A Programme for the Social Democratic Party'' and had commenced work on his book ''The Development of Capitalism in Russia''. | Imprisoned at the House of Preliminary Detention in Shpalernaya Street, Vladimir was refused legal representation, so denied all of the charges. His family rallied round to help him, but he was refused bail, remaining imprisoned for a year before sentencing. Fellow revolutionaries smuggled messages to him, while he devised a code for playing chess with the neighbouring inmate. Spending much of his time writing, he focused on the role of the working-class in the coming revolution; believing that the rise of industrial capitalism had led large numbers of peasants to move to the cities, where they became proletariat, he argued that [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Class_consciousness class consciousness] would develop, leading them to rise up in violent revolution against the aristocracy and bourgeoisie. By July 1896 he had finished ''Draft and Explanation of A Programme for the Social Democratic Party'' and had commenced work on his book ''The Development of Capitalism in Russia''. | ||
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In November 1905, Lenin returned to Russia to support the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Revolution_%281905%29 1905 Russian Revolution] In 1906, he was elected to the Presidium of the RSDLP; and shuttled between [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finland Finland] and Russia, but resumed his exile in December 1907, after the Tsarist defeat of the revolution and after the scandal of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1907_Tiflis_bank_robbery 1907 Tiflis bank robbery].Until the February and October revolutions of 1917, he lived in Western Europe, where, despite relative poverty, he developed [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leninism Leninism]—urban Marxism adapted to agrarian Russia reversing Karl Marx's economics–politics prescription to allow for a dynamic revolution led by a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanguard_party vanguard party] of professional revolutionaries. | In November 1905, Lenin returned to Russia to support the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Revolution_%281905%29 1905 Russian Revolution] In 1906, he was elected to the Presidium of the RSDLP; and shuttled between [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finland Finland] and Russia, but resumed his exile in December 1907, after the Tsarist defeat of the revolution and after the scandal of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1907_Tiflis_bank_robbery 1907 Tiflis bank robbery].Until the February and October revolutions of 1917, he lived in Western Europe, where, despite relative poverty, he developed [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leninism Leninism]—urban Marxism adapted to agrarian Russia reversing Karl Marx's economics–politics prescription to allow for a dynamic revolution led by a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanguard_party vanguard party] of professional revolutionaries. | ||
===Return to exile: 1907–1917=== | ==== Return to exile: 1907–1917 ==== | ||
In 1909, to disambiguate philosophic doubts about the proper practical course of a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_revolution socialist revolution], Lenin published ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Materialism_and_Empirio-criticism Materialism and Empirio-criticism]'' (1909), which became a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy philosophic] foundation of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marxism-Leninism Marxism-Leninism]. Throughout exile, Lenin travelled Europe, participated in socialist activities, (the 1912 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prague_Party_Conference Prague Party Conference]). When [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inessa_Armand Inessa Armand] left Russia for Paris, she met Lenin and other exiled Bolsheviks. Rumour has it she was Lenin's lover; yet historian Neil Harding notes that there is a "slender stock of evidence . . . we still have no evidence that they were sexually intimate". | In 1909, to disambiguate philosophic doubts about the proper practical course of a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_revolution socialist revolution], Lenin published ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Materialism_and_Empirio-criticism Materialism and Empirio-criticism]'' (1909), which became a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy philosophic] foundation of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marxism-Leninism Marxism-Leninism]. Throughout exile, Lenin travelled Europe, participated in socialist activities, (the 1912 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prague_Party_Conference Prague Party Conference]). When [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inessa_Armand Inessa Armand] left Russia for Paris, she met Lenin and other exiled Bolsheviks. Rumour has it she was Lenin's lover; yet historian Neil Harding notes that there is a "slender stock of evidence . . . we still have no evidence that they were sexually intimate". | ||
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In accordance with this thesis, Lenin believed that Russia was being used as a tool of French and British capitalist imperialism in World War I and that its participation in the conflict was at the behest of those interests. | In accordance with this thesis, Lenin believed that Russia was being used as a tool of French and British capitalist imperialism in World War I and that its participation in the conflict was at the behest of those interests. | ||
==The February Revolution== | === The February Revolution === | ||
Main article: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_Revolution February Revolution]In February 1917 popular demonstrations in Russia provoked by the hardship of war forced Tsar [[Nicholas II]] to abdicate. The monarchy was replaced by an uneasy political relationship between, on the one hand, a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Provisional_Government Provisional Government] of parliamentary figures and, on the other, an array of "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_%28council%29 Soviets]" (most prominently the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrograd_Soviet Petrograd Soviet]): revolutionary councils directly elected by workers, soldiers and peasants. Lenin was still in exile in Zurich. | Main article: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_Revolution February Revolution]In February 1917 popular demonstrations in Russia provoked by the hardship of war forced Tsar [[Nicholas II]] to abdicate. The monarchy was replaced by an uneasy political relationship between, on the one hand, a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Provisional_Government Provisional Government] of parliamentary figures and, on the other, an array of "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_%28council%29 Soviets]" (most prominently the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrograd_Soviet Petrograd Soviet]): revolutionary councils directly elected by workers, soldiers and peasants. Lenin was still in exile in Zurich. | ||
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The piratical imperialist war is the beginning of [[civil war]] throughout Europe ... The world-wide Socialist revolution has already dawned ... Germany is seething ... Any day now the whole of European capitalism may crash ... Sailors, comrades, we have to fight for a socialist revolution, to fight until the proletariat wins full victory! Long live the worldwide socialist revolution! | The piratical imperialist war is the beginning of [[civil war]] throughout Europe ... The world-wide Socialist revolution has already dawned ... Germany is seething ... Any day now the whole of European capitalism may crash ... Sailors, comrades, we have to fight for a socialist revolution, to fight until the proletariat wins full victory! Long live the worldwide socialist revolution! | ||
==The April Theses== | === The April Theses === | ||
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Controversial as it was in April 1917, the programme of the April Theses made the Bolshevik party a political refuge for Russians disillusioned with the Provisional Government and the war. | Controversial as it was in April 1917, the programme of the April Theses made the Bolshevik party a political refuge for Russians disillusioned with the Provisional Government and the war. | ||
==The October Revolution== | === The October Revolution === | ||
In Petrograd dissatisfaction with the regime culminated in the spontaneous [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/July_Days July Days] riots, by industrial workers and soldiers. After being suppressed, these riots were blamed by the government on Lenin and the Bolsheviks.<span style="font-size:11px;line-height:0px;"> </span>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleksandr_Kerensky Aleksandr Kerensky], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grigory_Aleksinsky Grigory Aleksinsky], and other opponents, also accused the Bolsheviks, especially Lenin—of being Imperial German ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent_provocateur agents provocateurs]''; on 17 July, Trotsky defended them:<span style="font-size:11px;line-height:0px;"> </span>An intolerable atmosphere has been created, in which you, as well as we, are choking. They are throwing dirty accusations at Lenin and Zinoviev. Lenin has fought thirty years for the revolution. I have fought [for] twenty years against the oppression of the people. And we cannot but cherish a hatred for German militarism . . . I have been sentenced by a German court to eight months' imprisonment for my struggle against German militarism. This everybody knows. Let nobody in this hall say that we are hirelings of Germany.<span style="font-size:11px;line-height:0px;"> </span>In the event, the Provisional Government arrested the Bolsheviks and outlawed their Party, prompting Lenin to go into hiding and flee to Finland. In exile again, reflecting on the July Days and its aftermath, Lenin determined that, to prevent the triumph of counter-revolutionary forces, the Provisional Government must be overthrown by an armed uprising. Meanwhile, he published ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_and_Revolution State and Revolution]'' (1917) proposing government by the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_%28council%29 soviets] (worker-, soldier- and peasant-elected councils) rather than by a parliamentary body. | In Petrograd dissatisfaction with the regime culminated in the spontaneous [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/July_Days July Days] riots, by industrial workers and soldiers. After being suppressed, these riots were blamed by the government on Lenin and the Bolsheviks.<span style="font-size:11px;line-height:0px;"> </span>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleksandr_Kerensky Aleksandr Kerensky], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grigory_Aleksinsky Grigory Aleksinsky], and other opponents, also accused the Bolsheviks, especially Lenin—of being Imperial German ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent_provocateur agents provocateurs]''; on 17 July, Trotsky defended them:<span style="font-size:11px;line-height:0px;"> </span>An intolerable atmosphere has been created, in which you, as well as we, are choking. They are throwing dirty accusations at Lenin and Zinoviev. Lenin has fought thirty years for the revolution. I have fought [for] twenty years against the oppression of the people. And we cannot but cherish a hatred for German militarism . . . I have been sentenced by a German court to eight months' imprisonment for my struggle against German militarism. This everybody knows. Let nobody in this hall say that we are hirelings of Germany.<span style="font-size:11px;line-height:0px;"> </span>In the event, the Provisional Government arrested the Bolsheviks and outlawed their Party, prompting Lenin to go into hiding and flee to Finland. In exile again, reflecting on the July Days and its aftermath, Lenin determined that, to prevent the triumph of counter-revolutionary forces, the Provisional Government must be overthrown by an armed uprising. Meanwhile, he published ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_and_Revolution State and Revolution]'' (1917) proposing government by the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_%28council%29 soviets] (worker-, soldier- and peasant-elected councils) rather than by a parliamentary body. | ||
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In October Lenin returned from Finland. From the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smolny_Institute Smolny Institute] for girls, Lenin directed the Provisional Government's [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deposition_%28politics%29 deposition] (6–8 November 1917), and the storming (7–8 November) of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_Palace Winter Palace] to realise the Kerensky [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitulation_%28surrender%29 capitulation] that established Bolshevik government in Russia. | In October Lenin returned from Finland. From the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smolny_Institute Smolny Institute] for girls, Lenin directed the Provisional Government's [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deposition_%28politics%29 deposition] (6–8 November 1917), and the storming (7–8 November) of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_Palace Winter Palace] to realise the Kerensky [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitulation_%28surrender%29 capitulation] that established Bolshevik government in Russia. | ||
==Forming a government== | === Forming a government === | ||
Lenin had argued in a newspaper article in September 1917: | Lenin had argued in a newspaper article in September 1917: | ||
The peaceful development of any revolution is, generally speaking, extremely rare and difficult ... but ... a peaceful development of the revolution is possible and probable if all power is transferred to the Soviets. The struggle of parties for power within the Soviets may proceed peacefully, if the Soviets are made fully democratic<span style="font-size:11px;line-height:0px;">.</span> | The peaceful development of any revolution is, generally speaking, extremely rare and difficult ... but ... a peaceful development of the revolution is possible and probable if all power is transferred to the Soviets. The struggle of parties for power within the Soviets may proceed peacefully, if the Soviets are made fully democratic<span style="font-size:11px;line-height:0px;">.</span> | ||
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The six-year long White–Red civil war, the war communism, the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_famine_of_1921 famine of 1921], which killed an estimated five million, and foreign military intervention reduced much of Russia to ruin, and provoked rebellion against the Bolsheviks, the greatest being the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tambov_rebellion Tambov rebellion] (1919–21). After the March 1921 left-wing [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kronstadt_Rebellion Kronstadt Rebellion] mutiny, Lenin replaced war communism with the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Economic_Policy New Economic Policy] (NEP), and successfully rebuilt industry and agriculture. The NEP was his pragmatic recognition of the political and economic realities, despite being a tactical, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideology ideological] retreat from the socialist ideal; later, the doctrinaire [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Stalin Joseph Stalin] reversed the NEP in consolidating his control of the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union]]. | The six-year long White–Red civil war, the war communism, the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_famine_of_1921 famine of 1921], which killed an estimated five million, and foreign military intervention reduced much of Russia to ruin, and provoked rebellion against the Bolsheviks, the greatest being the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tambov_rebellion Tambov rebellion] (1919–21). After the March 1921 left-wing [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kronstadt_Rebellion Kronstadt Rebellion] mutiny, Lenin replaced war communism with the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Economic_Policy New Economic Policy] (NEP), and successfully rebuilt industry and agriculture. The NEP was his pragmatic recognition of the political and economic realities, despite being a tactical, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideology ideological] retreat from the socialist ideal; later, the doctrinaire [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Stalin Joseph Stalin] reversed the NEP in consolidating his control of the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union]]. | ||
==Retirement and death== | === Retirement and death === | ||
Persistent stories mark [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syphilis syphilis] as the cause of Lenin's death. A "retrospective diagnosis" published in The European Journal of Neurology in 2004 strengthens these suspicions. | Persistent stories mark [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syphilis syphilis] as the cause of Lenin's death. A "retrospective diagnosis" published in The European Journal of Neurology in 2004 strengthens these suspicions. | ||
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==Trivia== | ==Trivia== | ||
*Unlike his successor [[Joseph Stalin]], who was virulently [[Homophobia|homophobic]] and recriminalized homosexual activities upon his seizure of power in the USSR, Lenin was gay-friendly and passed laws allowing gays to be out in the open without worry. | *Unlike his successor [[Joseph Stalin]], who was virulently [[Homophobia|homophobic]] and recriminalized homosexual activities upon his seizure of power in the USSR, Lenin was gay-friendly and passed laws allowing gays to be out in the open without worry. | ||
*Also unlike Stalin, Lenin had no prejudice against Jews. | |||
*Lenin's Bolsheviks were even radical, far more than the moderate Mensheviks who set up the temporary government after the overthrowing of the royal family. He was, also, nowhere near as bad as Stalin, and research shows that Lenin actually preferred for the more moderate Trotsky to succeed him. | *Lenin's Bolsheviks were even radical, far more than the moderate Mensheviks who set up the temporary government after the overthrowing of the royal family. He was, also, nowhere near as bad as Stalin, and research shows that Lenin actually preferred for the more moderate Trotsky to succeed him. | ||
*Exactly as [[Vladimir Putin]] he's a Russian villain who was a Russian leader and named Vladimir in Russia. | *Exactly as [[Vladimir Putin]] he's a Russian villain who was a Russian leader and named Vladimir in Russia. | ||
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[[Category:Posthumous]] | [[Category:Posthumous]] | ||
[[Category:Communist]] | [[Category:Communist]] | ||
[[Category:Muses]] | [[Category:Muses]] | ||
[[Category:Genocidal]] | [[Category:Genocidal]] | ||
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[[Category:Islamophobes]] | [[Category:Islamophobes]] | ||
[[Category:Judaism]] | [[Category:Judaism]] | ||
[[Category:Prime Ministers]] | [[Category:Prime Ministers]] | ||
[[Category:Affably Evil]] | [[Category:Affably Evil]] | ||
[[Category:Artistic]] | [[Category:Artistic]] | ||
[[Category:Social Darwinist]] | |||
[[Category:Brainwasher]] | |||
[[Category:Anti - Villain]] |