The Roles Of Vladimir Lenin And Leninism In Russia

Lenin was an incredible historical figure. He founded a powerful communist faction, the Bolsheviks, the party that caused the October Revolution of 1917. Under his rule, the world’s first socialist state was proclaimed. This state, the core of what eventually became the USSR, survived against all odds. Lenin and the communist leadership pulled Russia out of the First World War and overcame its first civil war. By setting up the Communist International, Lenin imprinted himself upon politics in the entire continent for eternity. The USSR became a beacon to socialists and a threat to conservatives and liberals. Lenin interpreted the doctrines of Marx and Engels, and his writing became a sacred text for communists everywhere. Thus, at his death, it was dubbed Marxism – Leninism. After the Second World War, the communist model (the one-party state, the monopolization of ideology, the elimination of rival authority, and ruling by fear) was adopted by Eastern Europe, China, South eastern Asia, and eventually parts of Africa and the Caribbean. Communism was overruled in Europe in 1989 and in the USSR in 1991. However, no one had a greater impact on the development of communism than Vladimir Lenin.

Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov was born April 22, 1870 in Simbirsk, Russia. Similar to many future revolutionaries, he was born into an upper class family. His father was a college educated government worker, inspecting schools in service to the Czar. His mother, almost equally notable, was the child of a prestigious German doctor. As a child, Lenin lived a pleasant if not lavish lifestyle, as his father earned the title of “State Councilor,” which essentially put him in the league of royalty. Lenin, as well as his 8 siblings w...

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...irst issue (Because of the prohibitory nature of the Czarist regime, the papers were printed in Germany and then illegally imported into Russia). It was at that time that Lenin felt the need to adopt the pseudonym “Lenin,” naming himself after the Lena river. As Lenin was Iskra’s primary writer, it occupied most of his time. Between 1900 and 1903 Lenin did not return to Russia; instead he traveled across Europe giving speeches and writing articles. In 1901 Lenin once again began devoting his time to his pamphlet What is to be Done?, a prototype for his interpretation of a Marxist Revolution. Iskra became so notorious for its Marxist views, that Lenin and Plekhanov decided to shift their base from Germany to England, where they would be less likely to be arrested and deported to Russia. This move was made in 1902, and Iskra was published in London from then on.