Vladimir Lenin: Difference between revisions

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'''Vladimir Ilyich Lenin''' was a Russian [http://real-life-villains.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Communists 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.

Born to a wealthy middle-class family in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simbirsk Simbirsk], Lenin gained an interest in revolutionary leftist politics following the execution of his brother in 1887. Briefly attending the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Kazan University of Kazan], he was ejected for his involvement in anti-Tsarist protests, devoting the following years to gaining a law degree and to radical politics, becoming a Marxist. In 1893 he moved to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Petersburg St. Petersburg], becoming a senior figure within the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/League_of_Struggle_for_the_Emancipation_of_the_Working_Class League of Struggle for the Emancipation of the Working Class]. Arrested for sedition and exiled to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siberia Siberia] for three years, he married [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nadezhda_Krupskaya Nadezhda Krupskaya], and fled to Western Europe, living in Germany, England and Switzerland. Following the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_Revolution February Revolution] of 1917, in which the Tsar was overthrown and a provisional government took power, he returned home.

As the leader of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolshevik Bolshevik] faction of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Social_Democratic_Labour_Party Russian Social Democratic Labour Party], he took a senior role in orchestrating the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_Revolution October Revolution] in 1917, which led to the overthrow of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Provisional_Government Russian Provisional Government] and the establishment of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Socialist_Federative_Soviet_Republic Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic], the world's first constitutionally [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialist_state socialist state]. Immediately afterwards, Lenin proceeded to implement socialist reforms, including the transfer of estates and crown lands to workers' [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_%28council%29 soviets]. Faced with the threat of German invasion, he argued that Russia should immediately [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Brest-Litovsk sign a peace treaty]—which led to Russia's exit from the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_World_War First World War]. In 1921 Lenin proposed the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Economic_Policy New Economic Policy], a system of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_capitalism state capitalism] that started the process of industrialisation and recovery from the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Civil_War Russian Civil War]. In 1922, the Russian SFSR [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_on_the_Creation_of_the_USSR joined] former territories of the Russian Empire in becoming the Soviet Union, with Lenin as its leader. The Bolshevik faction later became the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_Party_of_the_Soviet_Union Communist Party of the Soviet Union], which acted as a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanguard_party vanguard party] presiding over a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single-party_state single-party] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dictatorship_of_the_proletariat dictatorship of the proletariat].

After his death, Marxism–Leninism developed into a variety of schools of thought, namely [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalinism Stalinism], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trotskyism Trotskyism] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maoism Maoism]. Lenin remains a controversial and highly divisive world figure. Detractors have labelled him a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dictatorship dictator] whose administration oversaw multiple human rights abuses, but supporters have countered this criticism citing the limitations on his power and have promoted him as a champion of the working class. He has had a significant influence on the international Communist movement and was one of the most influential figures of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/20th_century 20th century].

==Early life==

===Childhood: 1870–1887===