Vladimir LeninBy: ADNAN AJANAH & alex

Bio

Full Name: Vladimir Ilich Ulyanov Born April 22, 1870 in Simbirsk, Russia His mother was from an upper bourgeoisie

family and his father was a regional school inspector, giving his family noble status.

He studied law at Kazan University and showed his tendency to rebel when he was expelled from University for radical policies.

Becoming a Revolutionary

Lenin always loved to learn. He finished 1st in his high school class and he was well versed in Latin and Greek.

He wasn’t seen as a rebel besides his disregard for religion. He and his other 4 siblings eventually joined the revolutionary

movement. Before his death Lenin’s dad was threatened by the government

because they feared the spread of public education. Later that year his brother Alexander was hanged for his

association with a terrorist group that planned to assassinate Alexander III.

This sparked his distrust for the government At the age of 17 Lenin became the man of the house with his

father and brother both dead. He completed his law degree as an external student, Lenin

became a full time revolutionary in St. Petersburg.

Becoming a Revolutionary continued

Lenin became a Marxist at the beginning of 1889 He learned Marxist ideologies while he and his sister

were exiled to his grandfather’s estate by authorities He met other Marxist thinkers like Georgy

Plekahanov outside of Russia and when he returned to Russia he helped form the St. Petersburg Union of Struggle for the Liberation of the Working Class (1895)

Lenin practiced more law in Samara and he got to work with and learn the struggle of poor peasants and artisans

He used law as a façade for revolutionary practices when he moved to St. Petersburg

Seizure of Power

In 1920, Lenin decided that it was time to “depose” the Provisional Government.

He did not think the parliament stood up for the rights of workers and peasants.

Therefore they should arm themselves and rule as a classless Communist state.

‘A dictatorship of the propertied minority would be better than the dictatorship of the property less majority’

Oct 20: Lenin attended a secret Bolshevik Committee meeting that lasted 10 hours before he convinced the majority of an armed takeover

Troksy’s Red Guards, along with revolutionary soldiers/sailors deposed the Provisional Government without much fight back.

Lenin became the chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars, head of the Revolutionary Government at age 47.

Crushing Opposition

After the October Revolution Lenin and the Bolshevik’s had to fight off the ‘right’ Anti-Soviet and Polish forces for 3 years

Lenin helped sustain the Red Army and fought off all opposition even when they were out resourced and numbered.

The peasants suffered during this time period because they were forced to surrender their grain during the tough economy.

Nearly 5 million died from famine Lenin’s government ruled the country because he

crushed all opposition. His goal was to inspire revolutions abroad.

Lenin in power/legacy

New Economic Policy (1921) Secret Police/ The Red Terror (At least 16000 people were in

labor Camps) Lenin wanted to apply Marxism in the Soviet Union that he

established and spread his doctrines abroad. He stressed courageous revolutionary action and a strong

communist party which he used to crush Russian capitalism and landlordism.

His ideologies were published and spread through books like “The path of struggle” “Left-Wing” Communism, an Infantile Disorder, and The April Theses.

At least 38 collections of his writing’s have been published. He dictated his warning against Stalin in his testament that

criticized other communists, before he died from a 3rd stroke. (1924)

Paper 2 Outline

Compare and contrast the rise to power of one right-wing (Hitler), and one left-wing (Lenin), leader of a single party or authoritarian state.

Hitler and Lenin both rose to power shortly after the war

Hitler was elected but Lenin gathered up an army and overthrew the government.

Hitler and Lenin were both aggressive authoritarian leaders that had different views. Lenin wanted an international brotherhood while Hitler was all about nationalism and anti-semitism.

Lenin was very educated while Hitler was seen more like a war hero.

Bibliography

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/lenin_vladimir.shtml

Lenin, Vladimir Ilich, by Albert Resis, The Making of a Revolutionary

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/367125/L-Martov

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,988151,00.html