Vladimir Lenin

Vladimir Ilyich Lenin Владимир Ильич Ульянов
Born	Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov 22 April 1870 Simbirsk, Russian Empire, now Russia
Died	21 January 1924 Gorki Leninskie, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, now Russian Federation
Cause of death	Stroke
Nationality	Russian
Ideology	Marxism Bolshevism
Political party	Russian Social Democratic Labor Party 1903–1912 Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) 1912–1924

Vladimir Lenin (22 April 1870–21 January 1924) was a Soviet revolutionary, theorist, and politician from Russia. He is regarded as the third classic of Marxism–Leninism because of his contributions to Marxism-Leninism, of which is named after him; as well as for his leadership of the Bolshevik faction of the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. He was the first head of state of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and he played an instrumental role in the October Revolution. Lenin served as the Chairman of the Council of the People's Commissars of the Russian SFSR and later the Chairman of the Council of the People's Commissars of the Soviet Union.

Biography

Early Life

Lenin was born as Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov on 22 April 1870 to a middle-class family in Simbirsk (now Ulyanovsk), Russia. His father, Ilya Ulyanov, was a school inspector, and his mother, Maria Alexandrovna, came from a well-educated family. Lenin possessed a large family, having five brothers and sisters. Although his parents were largely loyal to the Tsarist autocracy, he and his siblings were exposed to radical concepts. Lenin's early years were marked by tragedy, as his brother was executed for his involvement in a plot to assassinate Tsar Alexander III when Lenin was just 16 years old.

Ideological Development

Lenin was exposed to revolutionary ideas during his university years in Kazan and later in St. Petersburg. He became deeply influenced by the writings of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, adopting a Marxist perspective on class struggle and the need for a proletarian revolution to establish socialism. Lenin further developed his own interpretation of Marxism, adapting it to the specific conditions of Russia. He argued that the Russian bourgeoisie was too weak to lead a successful bourgeois revolution and that the working class, led by a disciplined party of professional revolutionaries, should play a leading role in establishing socialism.

Revolutionary career

Lenin emerged as a central figure in the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) and later became the leader of the Bolshevik faction. He advocated for a more radical approach and a more centralized party structure compared to the Menshevik faction, which favored a more gradual and moderate (reactionary) transition to 'socialism'. Lenin's leadership style was characterized by his emphasis on party discipline and the necessity of a vanguard party to guide the working class. He argued for the establishment of a dictatorship of the proletariat under socialism as a transitional phase to communism, where the working class would hold political power, influenced by Marx's and Engels' vision.

See also

• Marxism–Leninism
• Russian Social Democratic Labour Party
• Bolshevism
• Great October Socialist Revolution
• Joseph Stalin