Overview

‘Lenin’ was one of his pseudonyms, inspired perhaps by the name of the river Lena. Lenin never divulged details of his name’s origin. Lenin was a Russian revolutionary who took over political power together with the Bolsheviks. Lenin became the leader of the newly installed regime, and influenced the country as he pleased.

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Lenin was the founder of the USSR, leader of the Bolshevik Party. He was a disciple of Marx, the first head of government of the Soviet Union, and the founder of the Leninist ideology. He was the creator of the first Bolshevik state in the world. After his death, the communists created a cult around his name.

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The Bolshevik regime led by Lenin took Russia out of the First World War and made peace with the Central Powers. This treaty was not in Russia’s favor, as she lost approx. one-third of her agricultural territory.

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Lenin was the main actor in the spread of communism in the world, and in the establishment of communism in Russia. He was the one who conceived the New Economic Policy, promoting new principles for the organization of Russian life. A vast literary career is linked to Lenin’s name. His ideas and principles were fundamental to the administration of communist states.

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After taking power, the Bolshevik regime executed the entire Tsarist family in Russia, ending the Romanov dynasty. These executions are associated with Lenin’s name.

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Family

Lenin came from a modest, regular family, of a liberal mindset. They were religious people, who raised their three children in love and sincerity, inspiring a love for study in them.

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He was born in the town of Simbirsk, modern-day Ulyanovsk, in Russia. Lenin’s father, Ilya Nikolayevich Ulyanov, was a high-ranking civil servant. He campaigned for greater democracy and for the right to education for all Russians. Lenin’s mother, Maria Alexandrovna Blank, was the daughter of a doctor, called Berg. She, like her husband, had a liberal worldview.

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Lenin’s older brother, Aleksandr Ulyanov, a student at the University in Petersburg, was publically executed by hanging, because he participated in a failed assassination plot against Tsar Alexander III. This event marked Lenin’s life and contributed greatly to his radicalization.

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Lenin married Nadezhda Konstantinovna Krupskaya, a Russian Marxist revolutionary. She had a strong impact on him and supported him in his political and literary career. His wife was a close ally and his only secretary.

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Lenin was not one of ‘the people’, so he didn’t conform to the official standard of ‘healthy origins’. His father had been a loyal servant of the Tsarist regime and a faithful son of the Orthodox Church. His mother was the daughter of a minor aristocratic doctor.

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