Vladimir Lenin Biography

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Vladimir Lenin In western society, one of the greatest misconceptions about Vladimir Lenin is that he was a ruthless killer that wanted to exploit his people and ruled the Soviet Union with an iron fist. He is often compared to the infamous Joseph Stalin, his successor. While Stalin was a killer who cared little for his people, Lenin wanted to liberate the people that he claimed were being oppressed; the Proletariat or the working class people. He sought to demolish the Bourgeoisie who were the rich factory owners and spread the wealth out amongst the masses. Due to the fact that he died in 1924 three years after the establishment of the USSR, his legacy has been greatly twisted into that of a murderer. It was twisted even further in the post World War 2 years in the west as the war time alliance between the USA and the USSR soured. Whether he is perceived as good or bad, the revolution he commanded in the former Russian Empire had a profound effect on the rest of the world. Born Vladimir Ulyanov on April 22, 1870, Lenin grew up a rather lavish lifestyle in the city of Simbirsk (Present day Ulyanovsk) on the Volga River (“Vladimir Lenin Biography”). His parents had six children including him (“Lenin: A Biography). In 1887, his elder brother Alexander was hung for plotting to kill the Tsar (“Vladimir Lenin Biography”). Lenin was only 17. This event greatly affected his youth and it helped bring out the inner rebel within Lenin. Lenin at the time of his brother’s death was studying law at Kazan University (“Vladimir Lenin Biography”). Kazan is city North of Simbirsk and it also lies on the Volga. The same year as his brother death, Lenin was expelled from the University for taking part in a student protest. (“Vladimir Lenin Biograph... ... middle of paper ... ...conomic equality. This same year Lenin suffers a massive stroke. He survives but is confined to a wheelchair (“Commanding Heights”). The following year, Lenin unveils what he called “The Testament.” The Testament was a collection of Lenin’s writings which expressed his dissatisfaction with the direction the Soviet government was taking and his former second in command Joseph Stalin. In 1924, two years after the establishment of his country, Lenin suffers a second stroke that takes his life. He dies in Gorki, a suburb south of Moscow at the age of 53. Lenin’s work to make a sort of Heaven on Earth has been greatly distorted due to other communist leaders such as Mao Zedong or Lenin’s successor Joseph Stalin as well as the Cold War. Vladimir Lenin was a man who never figured out that his good intentioned plan worked out on paper but didn’t last long in real life.

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