Vladimir Lenin: Difference between revisions

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===Munich, London and Geneva: 1900–1905===

His exile over, Vladimir was banned from St. Petersburg, instead settling in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pskov Pskov], a small town two hours' train ride from the capital, in February 1900. His wife, who had not served the entirety of her sentence, remained in exile in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ufa Ufa], where she fell ill.Intent on founding a newspaper, Vladimir and Struve raised money for the publication of ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iskra Iskra]'' (''The Spark''), a new organ of the Russian Marxist movement, now calling itself the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Social_Democratic_Labour_Party Russian Social Democratic Labour Party] (RSDLP). After visiting his wife, on 29 July 1900, Vladimir left Russia for Western Europe. In Switzerland and Germany, he met with Axelrod, Plekhanov and Potresov, and lectured on the Russian situation. On 24 August 1900, a conference of Russian Marxists was held in the Swiss town of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corsier Corsier] to discuss ''Iskra'', but both Vladimir and Potresov were shocked at Plekhanov's controlling nature and [[Anti-Semitism|antisemitism]]. It was agreed that the paper would be produced in Munich, where Vladimir moved in September 1900. The first issue was printed on Christmas Eve, and contained an article written by Vladimir decrying European intervention in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxer_Rebellion Boxer Rebellion]. A second RSDLP publication, ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zarya_%28publication%29 Zarya]'', appeared in March 1901, and would run for four issues, but ''Iskra'' was far more successful, being smuggled into Russia illegally, becoming the most successful Russian underground publication for 50 years. It contained contributions from such figures as the Polish [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_Luxemburg Rosa Luxemburg], the Czech-German [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Kautsky Karl Kautsky], and a young Ukrainian Marxist, [~~http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Trotsky~~ Leon Trotsky], who became a regular contributor from the autumn of 1902.

His exile over, Vladimir was banned from St. Petersburg, instead settling in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pskov Pskov], a small town two hours' train ride from the capital, in February 1900. His wife, who had not served the entirety of her sentence, remained in exile in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ufa Ufa], where she fell ill.Intent on founding a newspaper, Vladimir and Struve raised money for the publication of ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iskra Iskra]'' (''The Spark''), a new organ of the Russian Marxist movement, now calling itself the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Social_Democratic_Labour_Party Russian Social Democratic Labour Party] (RSDLP). After visiting his wife, on 29 July 1900, Vladimir left Russia for Western Europe. In Switzerland and Germany, he met with Axelrod, Plekhanov and Potresov, and lectured on the Russian situation. On 24 August 1900, a conference of Russian Marxists was held in the Swiss town of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corsier Corsier] to discuss ''Iskra'', but both Vladimir and Potresov were shocked at Plekhanov's controlling nature and [[Anti-Semitism|antisemitism]]. It was agreed that the paper would be produced in Munich, where Vladimir moved in September 1900. The first issue was printed on Christmas Eve, and contained an article written by Vladimir decrying European intervention in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxer_Rebellion Boxer Rebellion]. A second RSDLP publication, ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zarya_%28publication%29 Zarya]'', appeared in March 1901, and would run for four issues, but ''Iskra'' was far more successful, being smuggled into Russia illegally, becoming the most successful Russian underground publication for 50 years. It contained contributions from such figures as the Polish [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_Luxemburg Rosa Luxemburg], the Czech-German [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Kautsky Karl Kautsky], and a young Ukrainian Marxist, [[Leon Trotsky]], who became a regular contributor from the autumn of 1902.

Vladimir adopted the ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nom_de_guerre nom de guerre]'' of "Lenin" in December 1901, possibly taking the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Lena River Lena] as a basis, thereby imitating the manner in which Plekhanov had adopted the pseudonym of "Volgin" after the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Volga River Volga]. In 1902, he published a political pamphlet entitled ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Is_to_Be_Done%3F What Is to Be Done?]'' – named after Chernychevsky's novel – under this pseudonym. His most influential publication to date, it dealt with Lenin's thoughts on the need for a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanguard_party vanguard party] to lead the working-class to revolution. When his wife finished her sentence, she joined him in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munich Munich]; she became his personal secretary, aiding the production of ''Iskra''. Together, they continued their political agitation, with Lenin writing further articles for ''Iskra'' and drafting the program for the RSDLP, attacking ideological dissenters and external critics. Despite remaining an orthodox Marxist, he had begun to accept the Social Revolutionary Party's views on the revolutionary power of the Russian peasantry, penning a pamphlet in 1903 entitled ''To the Village Poor''.

In 1903, Lenin attended the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2nd_Congress_of_the_Russian_Social_Democratic_Labour_Party 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party], which initially convened at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brussels Brussels] before moving to London. Here a longstanding ideological split developed within the party between the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolshevik Bolshevik] faction, led by Lenin, and the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menshevik Menshevik] faction, led by Martov. These terms "Bolshevik" (from the Russian ''bol'shinstvo'' meaning "majority") and "Menshevik" (from the Russian ''menshinstvo'' meaning "minority") derive from the narrow Bolshevik electoral defeat of the Mensheviks to the party's newspaper editorial board, and to central committee leadership The break partly originated from Lenin's book ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Is_to_Be_Done%3F What Is to Be Done?]'' (1902), which proposed a smaller party organisation of ''professional'' [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolutionary revolutionaries], with ''Iskra'' in a primary [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideology ideologic] role. Another issue that divided the two factions was Lenin's support of a worker-peasant alliance to overthrow the Tsarist regime as opposed to the Menshevik's support of an alliance between the working classes and the liberal bourgeoisie to achieve the same aim (while a small third faction led by ~~[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/~~Trotsky ~~Leon Trotsky]~~ espoused the view that the working class alone was the instrument of revolutionary change—needing no help from either the peasants or the middle classes).

In 1903, Lenin attended the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2nd_Congress_of_the_Russian_Social_Democratic_Labour_Party 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party], which initially convened at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brussels Brussels] before moving to London. Here a longstanding ideological split developed within the party between the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolshevik Bolshevik] faction, led by Lenin, and the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menshevik Menshevik] faction, led by Martov. These terms "Bolshevik" (from the Russian ''bol'shinstvo'' meaning "majority") and "Menshevik" (from the Russian ''menshinstvo'' meaning "minority") derive from the narrow Bolshevik electoral defeat of the Mensheviks to the party's newspaper editorial board, and to central committee leadership The break partly originated from Lenin's book ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Is_to_Be_Done%3F What Is to Be Done?]'' (1902), which proposed a smaller party organisation of ''professional'' [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolutionary revolutionaries], with ''Iskra'' in a primary [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideology ideologic] role. Another issue that divided the two factions was Lenin's support of a worker-peasant alliance to overthrow the Tsarist regime as opposed to the Menshevik's support of an alliance between the working classes and the liberal bourgeoisie to achieve the same aim (while a small third faction led by Trotsky espoused the view that the working class alone was the instrument of revolutionary change—needing no help from either the peasants or the middle classes).

===The 1905 Revolution: 1905–1907===

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Lenin arrived at the revolutionary April Theses thanks to his work in exile on the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperialism,_the_Highest_Stage_of_Capitalism theory of imperialism]. Through his study of worldwide politics and economics, Lenin came to view Russian politics in international perspective. In the conditions of the First World War, Lenin believed that, although Russian capitalism was underdeveloped, a socialist revolution in Russia could spark revolution in the more advanced nations of Europe, which could then help Russia achieve economic and social development. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._J._P._Taylor A. J. P. Taylor] argued: "Lenin made his revolution for the sake of Europe, not for the sake of Russia, and he expected Russia's preliminary revolution to be eclipsed when the international revolution took place. Lenin did not invent the iron curtain. On the contrary it was invented against him by the anti-revolutionary Powers of Europe. Then it was called the ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cordon_sanitaire cordon sanitaire].''"

In this way, Lenin moved away from the previous Bolshevik policy of pursuing only bourgeois revolution in Russia, and towards the position of his fellow Russian revolutionary ~~[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Trotsky Leon~~ Trotsky] and his theory of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permanent_revolution permanent revolution], which may have influenced Lenin at this time.

In this way, Lenin moved away from the previous Bolshevik policy of pursuing only bourgeois revolution in Russia, and towards the position of his fellow Russian revolutionary Trotsky and his theory of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permanent_revolution permanent revolution], which may have influenced Lenin at this time.

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==

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. [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, ~~[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Trotsky Leon~~ Trotsky] defended them: 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. 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. [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: 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. 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 late August 1917, while Lenin was in hiding in Finland, the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavr_Kornilov General Lavr Kornilov] sent troops from the front to Petrograd in what appeared to be a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kornilov_Affair military coup attempt] against the Provisional Government. Kerensky panicked and turned to the Petrograd Soviet for help, allowing the revolutionaries to organise workers as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Guards_%28Russia%29 Red Guards] to defend Petrograd. The coup petered out before it reached Petrograd thanks to the industrial action of the Petrograd workers and the soldiers' increasing unwillingness to obey their officers.

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===Red Terror===

In response to Fanya Kaplan's failed assassination of Lenin on 30 August 1918, and the successful assassination of the Petrograd Cheka chief [[Moisei Uritsky]], Stalin proposed to Lenin "open and systematic mass terror . . . [against] . . . those responsible"; the Bolsheviks instructed [[Felix Dzerzhinsky]] to commence a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Terror Red Terror], announced in the 1 September 1918 issue of the ''Krasnaya Gazeta'' (''Red Gazette''). To that effect, among other acts, at Moscow, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Execution_warrant execution lists] signed by Lenin authorised the shooting of 25 Tsarist ministers, civil servants, and 765 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Movement White Guards] in September 1918. In his ''Diaries in Exile, 1935'', [[Leon Trotsky]] recollected that Lenin authorised the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_the_Romanov_family execution of the Russian Royal Family]. However, according to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_King_%28author%29 Greg King] and Penny Wilson's investigation into the fate of the Romanovs, Trotsky's recollections on this matter, seventeen years after the events described, are unsubstantiated, inaccurate, and contradicted by what Trotsky himself said on other occasions.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Lenin#cite_note-138 [138]] Most historians say there is enough evidence to prove Lenin ordered the killings. According to the late Soviet historian [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dmitri_Volkogonov Dmitri Volkogonov]: Indirect evidence shows that the order to execute the royal family was given verbally by Lenin and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakov_Sverdlov Sverdlov]. The object of 'exterminating the entire Romanov kin' is confirmed by the almost simultaneous murders of Grand Duchess [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Elisabeth_of_Hesse_and_by_Rhine_%281864%E2%80%931918%29 Yelizaveta Feodorovna], Grand Duke [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Duke_Sergei_Mikhailovich_of_Russia Sergei Mikhailovich], Prince [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_John_Constantinovich_of_Russia Ivan Konstantinovich], Prince [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Constantine_Constantinovich_of_Russia Konstantin Konstantinovich], Prince [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Igor_Constantinovich_of_Russia Igor Konstantinovich] and Count [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Pavlovich_Paley Vladimir Paley] (son of Grand Duke [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Duke_Paul_Alexandrovich_of_Russia Paul Alexandrovich]), all of them in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alapaevsk Alapaevsk], a hundred miles from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburg].

In response to Fanya Kaplan's failed assassination of Lenin on 30 August 1918, and the successful assassination of the Petrograd Cheka chief [[Moisei Uritsky]], Stalin proposed to Lenin "open and systematic mass terror . . . [against] . . . those responsible"; the Bolsheviks instructed [[Felix Dzerzhinsky]] to commence a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Terror Red Terror], announced in the 1 September 1918 issue of the ''Krasnaya Gazeta'' (''Red Gazette''). To that effect, among other acts, at Moscow, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Execution_warrant execution lists] signed by Lenin authorised the shooting of 25 Tsarist ministers, civil servants, and 765 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Movement White Guards] in September 1918. In his ''Diaries in Exile, 1935'', Leon Trotsky recollected that Lenin authorised the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_the_Romanov_family execution of the Russian Royal Family]. However, according to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_King_%28author%29 Greg King] and Penny Wilson's investigation into the fate of the Romanovs, Trotsky's recollections on this matter, seventeen years after the events described, are unsubstantiated, inaccurate, and contradicted by what Trotsky himself said on other occasions.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Lenin#cite_note-138 [138]] Most historians say there is enough evidence to prove Lenin ordered the killings. According to the late Soviet historian [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dmitri_Volkogonov Dmitri Volkogonov]: Indirect evidence shows that the order to execute the royal family was given verbally by Lenin and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakov_Sverdlov Sverdlov]. The object of 'exterminating the entire Romanov kin' is confirmed by the almost simultaneous murders of Grand Duchess [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Elisabeth_of_Hesse_and_by_Rhine_%281864%E2%80%931918%29 Yelizaveta Feodorovna], Grand Duke [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Duke_Sergei_Mikhailovich_of_Russia Sergei Mikhailovich], Prince [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_John_Constantinovich_of_Russia Ivan Konstantinovich], Prince [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Constantine_Constantinovich_of_Russia Konstantin Konstantinovich], Prince [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Igor_Constantinovich_of_Russia Igor Konstantinovich] and Count [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Pavlovich_Paley Vladimir Paley] (son of Grand Duke [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Duke_Paul_Alexandrovich_of_Russia Paul Alexandrovich]), all of them in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alapaevsk Alapaevsk], a hundred miles from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburg].

Earlier, in October, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lev_Kamenev Lev Kamenev] and cohort, had warned the Party that terrorist rule was inevitable, given Lenin's assumption of sole command. In late 1918, when he and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Bukharin Nikolai Bukharin] tried curbing Chekist excesses, Lenin overruled them; in 1921, via the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politburo Politburo], he expanded the Cheka's discretionary death-penalty powers.

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When already sick, Lenin remembered that, since 1917, he had only rested twice: once, while hiding from the Kerensky Provisional Government (when he wrote [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_and_Revolution ''The State and Revolution'']), and while recovering from Fanya Kaplan's failed assassination. In March 1922, when physicians examined him, they found evidence of neither nervous nor organic [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pathology pathology], but, given his [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatigue_%28medical%29 fatigue] and the headaches he suffered, they prescribed rest. Upon returning to St. Petersburg in May 1922, Lenin suffered the first of three strokes, which left him unable to speak for weeks, and severely hampered motion in his right side; by June, he had substantially recovered. By August he resumed limited duties, delivering three long speeches in November. In December 1922, he suffered the second stroke that partly [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paralysis paralyzed] his right side, he then withdrew from active politics. In March 1923, he suffered the third stroke that rendered him [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muteness mute] and bed-ridden until his death.

After the first stroke, Lenin dictated government papers to Nadezhda; among them was ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenin%27s_Testament Lenin's Testament]'' (changing the structure of the soviets), a document partly inspired by the 1922 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgian_Affair Georgian Affair], which was a conflict about the way in which social and political transformation within a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republics_of_the_Soviet_Union constituent republic] was to be achieved. It criticized high-rank Communists, including [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Stalin Joseph Stalin], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grigory_Zinoviev Grigory Zinoviev], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lev_Kamenev Lev Kamenev], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Bukharin Nikolai Bukharin], and ~~[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Trotsky~~ Leon Trotsky]. About the Communist Party's General Secretary (since 1922), Joseph Stalin, Lenin reported that the "unlimited authority" concentrated in him was unacceptable, and suggested that "comrades think about a way of removing Stalin from that post." His phrasing, ''"Сталин слишком груб"'', implies "personal rudeness, unnecessary roughness, lack of finesse", flaws "intolerable in a Secretary-General".

After the first stroke, Lenin dictated government papers to Nadezhda; among them was ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenin%27s_Testament Lenin's Testament]'' (changing the structure of the soviets), a document partly inspired by the 1922 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgian_Affair Georgian Affair], which was a conflict about the way in which social and political transformation within a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republics_of_the_Soviet_Union constituent republic] was to be achieved. It criticized high-rank Communists, including [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Stalin Joseph Stalin], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grigory_Zinoviev Grigory Zinoviev], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lev_Kamenev Lev Kamenev], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Bukharin Nikolai Bukharin], and Leon Trotsky. About the Communist Party's General Secretary (since 1922), Joseph Stalin, Lenin reported that the "unlimited authority" concentrated in him was unacceptable, and suggested that "comrades think about a way of removing Stalin from that post." His phrasing, ''"Сталин слишком груб"'', implies "personal rudeness, unnecessary roughness, lack of finesse", flaws "intolerable in a Secretary-General".

At Lenin's death, Nadezhda mailed his testament to the central committee, to be read aloud to the 13th Party Congress in May 1924. However, to remain in power, the ruling ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troika_%28triumvirate%29 troika]''—Stalin, Kamenev, Zinoviev—suppressed ''Lenin's Testament''; it was not published until 1925, in the United States, by the American [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectual intellectual] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Eastman Max Eastman]. In that year, Trotsky published an article minimising the importance of ''Lenin's Testament'', saying that Lenin's notes should not be perceived as a will, that it had been neither concealed, nor violated; yet he did invoke it in later anti-Stalin polemics.

@@ Line 56: / Line 56: @@
 ===Munich, London and Geneva: 1900–1905===
-His exile over, Vladimir was banned from St. Petersburg, instead settling in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pskov Pskov], a small town two hours' train ride from the capital, in February 1900. His wife, who had not served the entirety of her sentence, remained in exile in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ufa Ufa], where she fell ill.Intent on founding a newspaper, Vladimir and Struve raised money for the publication of ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iskra Iskra]'' (''The Spark''), a new organ of the Russian Marxist movement, now calling itself the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Social_Democratic_Labour_Party Russian Social Democratic Labour Party] (RSDLP). After visiting his wife, on 29 July 1900, Vladimir left Russia for Western Europe. In Switzerland and Germany, he met with Axelrod, Plekhanov and Potresov, and lectured on the Russian situation. On 24 August 1900, a conference of Russian Marxists was held in the Swiss town of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corsier Corsier] to discuss ''Iskra'', but both Vladimir and Potresov were shocked at Plekhanov's controlling nature and [[Anti-Semitism|antisemitism]]. It was agreed that the paper would be produced in Munich, where Vladimir moved in September 1900. The first issue was printed on Christmas Eve, and contained an article written by Vladimir decrying European intervention in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxer_Rebellion Boxer Rebellion]. A second RSDLP publication, ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zarya_%28publication%29 Zarya]'', appeared in March 1901, and would run for four issues, but ''Iskra'' was far more successful, being smuggled into Russia illegally, becoming the most successful Russian underground publication for 50 years. It contained contributions from such figures as the Polish [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_Luxemburg Rosa Luxemburg], the Czech-German [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Kautsky Karl Kautsky], and a young Ukrainian Marxist, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Trotsky Leon Trotsky], who became a regular contributor from the autumn of 1902.
+His exile over, Vladimir was banned from St. Petersburg, instead settling in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pskov Pskov], a small town two hours' train ride from the capital, in February 1900. His wife, who had not served the entirety of her sentence, remained in exile in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ufa Ufa], where she fell ill.Intent on founding a newspaper, Vladimir and Struve raised money for the publication of ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iskra Iskra]'' (''The Spark''), a new organ of the Russian Marxist movement, now calling itself the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Social_Democratic_Labour_Party Russian Social Democratic Labour Party] (RSDLP). After visiting his wife, on 29 July 1900, Vladimir left Russia for Western Europe. In Switzerland and Germany, he met with Axelrod, Plekhanov and Potresov, and lectured on the Russian situation. On 24 August 1900, a conference of Russian Marxists was held in the Swiss town of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corsier Corsier] to discuss ''Iskra'', but both Vladimir and Potresov were shocked at Plekhanov's controlling nature and [[Anti-Semitism|antisemitism]]. It was agreed that the paper would be produced in Munich, where Vladimir moved in September 1900. The first issue was printed on Christmas Eve, and contained an article written by Vladimir decrying European intervention in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxer_Rebellion Boxer Rebellion]. A second RSDLP publication, ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zarya_%28publication%29 Zarya]'', appeared in March 1901, and would run for four issues, but ''Iskra'' was far more successful, being smuggled into Russia illegally, becoming the most successful Russian underground publication for 50 years. It contained contributions from such figures as the Polish [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_Luxemburg Rosa Luxemburg], the Czech-German [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Kautsky Karl Kautsky], and a young Ukrainian Marxist, [[Leon Trotsky]], who became a regular contributor from the autumn of 1902.
 Vladimir adopted the ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nom_de_guerre nom de guerre]'' of "Lenin" in December 1901, possibly taking the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Lena River Lena] as a basis, thereby imitating the manner in which Plekhanov had adopted the pseudonym of "Volgin" after the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Volga River Volga]. In 1902, he published a political pamphlet entitled ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Is_to_Be_Done%3F What Is to Be Done?]'' – named after Chernychevsky's novel – under this pseudonym. His most influential publication to date, it dealt with Lenin's thoughts on the need for a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanguard_party vanguard party] to lead the working-class to revolution. When his wife finished her sentence, she joined him in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munich Munich]; she became his personal secretary, aiding the production of ''Iskra''. Together, they continued their political agitation, with Lenin writing further articles for ''Iskra'' and drafting the program for the RSDLP, attacking ideological dissenters and external critics. Despite remaining an orthodox Marxist, he had begun to accept the Social Revolutionary Party's views on the revolutionary power of the Russian peasantry, penning a pamphlet in 1903 entitled ''To the Village Poor''.
-In 1903, Lenin attended the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2nd_Congress_of_the_Russian_Social_Democratic_Labour_Party 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party], which initially convened at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brussels Brussels] before moving to London. Here a longstanding ideological split developed within the party between the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolshevik Bolshevik] faction, led by Lenin, and the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menshevik Menshevik] faction, led by Martov. These terms "Bolshevik" (from the Russian ''bol'shinstvo'' meaning "majority") and "Menshevik" (from the Russian ''menshinstvo'' meaning "minority") derive from the narrow Bolshevik electoral defeat of the Mensheviks to the party's newspaper editorial board, and to central committee leadership The break partly originated from Lenin's book ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Is_to_Be_Done%3F What Is to Be Done?]'' (1902), which proposed a smaller party organisation of ''professional'' [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolutionary revolutionaries], with ''Iskra'' in a primary [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideology ideologic] role. Another issue that divided the two factions was Lenin's support of a worker-peasant alliance to overthrow the Tsarist regime as opposed to the Menshevik's support of an alliance between the working classes and the liberal bourgeoisie to achieve the same aim (while a small third faction led by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trotsky Leon Trotsky] espoused the view that the working class alone was the instrument of revolutionary change—needing no help from either the peasants or the middle classes).
+In 1903, Lenin attended the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2nd_Congress_of_the_Russian_Social_Democratic_Labour_Party 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party], which initially convened at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brussels Brussels] before moving to London. Here a longstanding ideological split developed within the party between the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolshevik Bolshevik] faction, led by Lenin, and the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menshevik Menshevik] faction, led by Martov. These terms "Bolshevik" (from the Russian ''bol'shinstvo'' meaning "majority") and "Menshevik" (from the Russian ''menshinstvo'' meaning "minority") derive from the narrow Bolshevik electoral defeat of the Mensheviks to the party's newspaper editorial board, and to central committee leadership The break partly originated from Lenin's book ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Is_to_Be_Done%3F What Is to Be Done?]'' (1902), which proposed a smaller party organisation of ''professional'' [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolutionary revolutionaries], with ''Iskra'' in a primary [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideology ideologic] role. Another issue that divided the two factions was Lenin's support of a worker-peasant alliance to overthrow the Tsarist regime as opposed to the Menshevik's support of an alliance between the working classes and the liberal bourgeoisie to achieve the same aim (while a small third faction led by Trotsky espoused the view that the working class alone was the instrument of revolutionary change—needing no help from either the peasants or the middle classes).
 ===The 1905 Revolution: 1905–1907===
@@ Line 124: / Line 124: @@
 Lenin arrived at the revolutionary April Theses thanks to his work in exile on the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperialism,_the_Highest_Stage_of_Capitalism theory of imperialism]. Through his study of worldwide politics and economics, Lenin came to view Russian politics in international perspective. In the conditions of the First World War, Lenin believed that, although Russian capitalism was underdeveloped, a socialist revolution in Russia could spark revolution in the more advanced nations of Europe, which could then help Russia achieve economic and social development. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._J._P._Taylor A. J. P. Taylor] argued: "Lenin made his revolution for the sake of Europe, not for the sake of Russia, and he expected Russia's preliminary revolution to be eclipsed when the international revolution took place. Lenin did not invent the iron curtain. On the contrary it was invented against him by the anti-revolutionary Powers of Europe. Then it was called the ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cordon_sanitaire cordon sanitaire].''"
-In this way, Lenin moved away from the previous Bolshevik policy of pursuing only bourgeois revolution in Russia, and towards the position of his fellow Russian revolutionary [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Trotsky Leon Trotsky] and his theory of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permanent_revolution permanent revolution], which may have influenced Lenin at this time.
+In this way, Lenin moved away from the previous Bolshevik policy of pursuing only bourgeois revolution in Russia, and towards the position of his fellow Russian revolutionary Trotsky and his theory of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permanent_revolution permanent revolution], which may have influenced Lenin at this time.
 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==
-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, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Trotsky Leon 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.
 In late August 1917, while Lenin was in hiding in Finland, the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavr_Kornilov General Lavr Kornilov] sent troops from the front to Petrograd in what appeared to be a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kornilov_Affair military coup attempt] against the Provisional Government. Kerensky panicked and turned to the Petrograd Soviet for help, allowing the revolutionaries to organise workers as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Guards_%28Russia%29 Red Guards] to defend Petrograd. The coup petered out before it reached Petrograd thanks to the industrial action of the Petrograd workers and the soldiers' increasing unwillingness to obey their officers.
@@ Line 177: / Line 177: @@
 ===Red Terror===
-In response to Fanya Kaplan's failed assassination of Lenin on 30 August 1918, and the successful assassination of the Petrograd Cheka chief [[Moisei Uritsky]], Stalin proposed to Lenin "open and systematic mass terror . . . [against] . . . those responsible"; the Bolsheviks instructed [[Felix Dzerzhinsky]] to commence a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Terror Red Terror], announced in the 1 September 1918 issue of the ''Krasnaya Gazeta'' (''Red Gazette''). To that effect, among other acts, at Moscow, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Execution_warrant execution lists] signed by Lenin authorised the shooting of 25 Tsarist ministers, civil servants, and 765 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Movement White Guards] in September 1918. In his ''Diaries in Exile, 1935'', [[Leon Trotsky]] recollected that Lenin authorised the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_the_Romanov_family execution of the Russian Royal Family]. However, according to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_King_%28author%29 Greg King] and Penny Wilson's investigation into the fate of the Romanovs, Trotsky's recollections on this matter, seventeen years after the events described, are unsubstantiated, inaccurate, and contradicted by what Trotsky himself said on other occasions.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-138">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Lenin#cite_note-138 [138]]</sup> Most historians say there is enough evidence to prove Lenin ordered the killings. According to the late Soviet historian [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dmitri_Volkogonov Dmitri Volkogonov]:<span style="font-size:11px;line-height:0px;"> </span>Indirect evidence shows that the order to execute the royal family was given verbally by Lenin and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakov_Sverdlov Sverdlov]. The object of 'exterminating the entire Romanov kin' is confirmed by the almost simultaneous murders of Grand Duchess [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Elisabeth_of_Hesse_and_by_Rhine_%281864%E2%80%931918%29 Yelizaveta Feodorovna], Grand Duke [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Duke_Sergei_Mikhailovich_of_Russia Sergei Mikhailovich], Prince [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_John_Constantinovich_of_Russia Ivan Konstantinovich], Prince [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Constantine_Constantinovich_of_Russia Konstantin Konstantinovich], Prince [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Igor_Constantinovich_of_Russia Igor Konstantinovich] and Count [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Pavlovich_Paley Vladimir Paley] (son of Grand Duke [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Duke_Paul_Alexandrovich_of_Russia Paul Alexandrovich]), all of them in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alapaevsk Alapaevsk], a hundred miles from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburg].
+In response to Fanya Kaplan's failed assassination of Lenin on 30 August 1918, and the successful assassination of the Petrograd Cheka chief [[Moisei Uritsky]], Stalin proposed to Lenin "open and systematic mass terror . . . [against] . . . those responsible"; the Bolsheviks instructed [[Felix Dzerzhinsky]] to commence a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Terror Red Terror], announced in the 1 September 1918 issue of the ''Krasnaya Gazeta'' (''Red Gazette''). To that effect, among other acts, at Moscow, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Execution_warrant execution lists] signed by Lenin authorised the shooting of 25 Tsarist ministers, civil servants, and 765 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Movement White Guards] in September 1918. In his ''Diaries in Exile, 1935'', Leon Trotsky recollected that Lenin authorised the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_the_Romanov_family execution of the Russian Royal Family]. However, according to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_King_%28author%29 Greg King] and Penny Wilson's investigation into the fate of the Romanovs, Trotsky's recollections on this matter, seventeen years after the events described, are unsubstantiated, inaccurate, and contradicted by what Trotsky himself said on other occasions.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-138">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Lenin#cite_note-138 [138]]</sup> Most historians say there is enough evidence to prove Lenin ordered the killings. According to the late Soviet historian [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dmitri_Volkogonov Dmitri Volkogonov]:<span style="font-size:11px;line-height:0px;"> </span>Indirect evidence shows that the order to execute the royal family was given verbally by Lenin and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakov_Sverdlov Sverdlov]. The object of 'exterminating the entire Romanov kin' is confirmed by the almost simultaneous murders of Grand Duchess [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Elisabeth_of_Hesse_and_by_Rhine_%281864%E2%80%931918%29 Yelizaveta Feodorovna], Grand Duke [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Duke_Sergei_Mikhailovich_of_Russia Sergei Mikhailovich], Prince [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_John_Constantinovich_of_Russia Ivan Konstantinovich], Prince [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Constantine_Constantinovich_of_Russia Konstantin Konstantinovich], Prince [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Igor_Constantinovich_of_Russia Igor Konstantinovich] and Count [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Pavlovich_Paley Vladimir Paley] (son of Grand Duke [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Duke_Paul_Alexandrovich_of_Russia Paul Alexandrovich]), all of them in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alapaevsk Alapaevsk], a hundred miles from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburg].
 Earlier, in October, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lev_Kamenev Lev Kamenev] and cohort, had warned the Party that terrorist rule was inevitable, given Lenin's assumption of sole command. In late 1918, when he and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Bukharin Nikolai Bukharin] tried curbing Chekist excesses, Lenin overruled them; in 1921, via the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politburo Politburo], he expanded the Cheka's discretionary death-penalty powers.
@@ Line 199: / Line 199: @@
 When already sick, Lenin remembered that, since 1917, he had only rested twice: once, while hiding from the Kerensky Provisional Government (when he wrote [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_and_Revolution ''The State and Revolution'']), and while recovering from Fanya Kaplan's failed assassination. In March 1922, when physicians examined him, they found evidence of neither nervous nor organic [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pathology pathology], but, given his [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatigue_%28medical%29 fatigue] and the headaches he suffered, they prescribed rest. Upon returning to St. Petersburg in May 1922, Lenin suffered the first of three strokes, which left him unable to speak for weeks, and severely hampered motion in his right side; by June, he had substantially recovered. By August he resumed limited duties, delivering three long speeches in November. In December 1922, he suffered the second stroke that partly [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paralysis paralyzed] his right side, he then withdrew from active politics. In March 1923, he suffered the third stroke that rendered him [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muteness mute] and bed-ridden until his death.
-After the first stroke, Lenin dictated government papers to Nadezhda; among them was ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenin%27s_Testament Lenin's Testament]'' (changing the structure of the soviets), a document partly inspired by the 1922 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgian_Affair Georgian Affair], which was a conflict about the way in which social and political transformation within a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republics_of_the_Soviet_Union constituent republic] was to be achieved. It criticized high-rank Communists, including [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Stalin Joseph Stalin], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grigory_Zinoviev Grigory Zinoviev], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lev_Kamenev Lev Kamenev], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Bukharin Nikolai Bukharin], and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Trotsky Leon Trotsky]. About the Communist Party's General Secretary (since 1922), Joseph Stalin, Lenin reported that the "unlimited authority" concentrated in him was unacceptable, and suggested that "comrades think about a way of removing Stalin from that post." His phrasing, ''"Сталин слишком груб"'', implies "personal rudeness, unnecessary roughness, lack of finesse", flaws "intolerable in a Secretary-General".
+After the first stroke, Lenin dictated government papers to Nadezhda; among them was ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenin%27s_Testament Lenin's Testament]'' (changing the structure of the soviets), a document partly inspired by the 1922 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgian_Affair Georgian Affair], which was a conflict about the way in which social and political transformation within a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republics_of_the_Soviet_Union constituent republic] was to be achieved. It criticized high-rank Communists, including [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Stalin Joseph Stalin], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grigory_Zinoviev Grigory Zinoviev], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lev_Kamenev Lev Kamenev], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Bukharin Nikolai Bukharin], and Leon Trotsky. About the Communist Party's General Secretary (since 1922), Joseph Stalin, Lenin reported that the "unlimited authority" concentrated in him was unacceptable, and suggested that "comrades think about a way of removing Stalin from that post." His phrasing, ''"Сталин слишком груб"'', implies "personal rudeness, unnecessary roughness, lack of finesse", flaws "intolerable in a Secretary-General".
 At Lenin's death, Nadezhda mailed his testament to the central committee, to be read aloud to the 13th Party Congress in May 1924. However, to remain in power, the ruling ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troika_%28triumvirate%29 troika]''—Stalin, Kamenev, Zinoviev—suppressed ''Lenin's Testament''; it was not published until 1925, in the United States, by the American [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectual intellectual] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Eastman Max Eastman]. In that year, Trotsky published an article minimising the importance of ''Lenin's Testament'', saying that Lenin's notes should not be perceived as a will, that it had been neither concealed, nor violated; yet he did invoke it in later anti-Stalin polemics.