April 20, 1870 -
January 21, 1924
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, known to the
world as Lenin, turned the theory of Communism into a practical reality.
As a prosperous Russian middle-class youth he was untouched by politics,
but the death of his older brother at the hands of the Tsarist regime
convinced him that only Communism could solve the problems of society.
He dedicated his brilliant intellect, immense energy and iron will to
its victory. His goal was absolute power, but his dream was freedom for
mankind. He endured prison, exile in Siberia and poverty-stricken years
in London and Switzerland while he worked to crush opposition to his
leadership of the revolutionary movement, and in 1917 seized control of
the Russian Revolution. Triumph turned to tragedy as Lenin, confined
helplessly to his sickbed, watched a man he despised take charge of the
state he had created. Today countless Russians yearly visit his tomb,
while revolutionaries the world over study his writings and his life.
Whether Lenin was an agent for good or evil remains a subject of fierce
debate-but his towering importance cannot be denied.
In Celebration of Vladimir Lenin's 130th Birthday
—
Land
of the Tsars - Lenin's childhood and a brief history of Russia.
Childhood
and Youth - family, upbringing, daily life in Simbirsk.
Schooldays
in Simbirsk - school, life, family in the city of Simbirsk.
The
Trial - Alexander Ulyanov, and the move to Samara.
The
Samara Period - life on the estate in Samara.
The
Conspirator - Lenin in St. Petersburg during the 1890s.
Brief
Biography - by Henry M. Christman.
Full
Biography - by Nina Gourfinkel
Prison, deportation, Siberian exile,
travels, escapes, clandestine frontier crossings, dangerous illegal work,
years of obscurity in the libraries of half of Europe - and then suddenly,
with fantastic abruptness, the seizure of power in an empire equal to
one-sixth of the earth's surface. Such is the career of this remarkable
man, set forth here with a wealth of personal detail and unusual insight.
Nina Gourfinkel has written a biography at once sympathetic and objective,
recreating the exciting drama, idealism, successes, and bitter
disappointments of a generation of Russian revolutionaries. Illustrated
with a rare collection of photographs, it offers a concise and
authoritative account of the origins and development of the Russian
revolution. The long-suppressed "testament" of Lenin, in which
he warned against Stalin, is reprinted as an appendix.
The Autopsy
of Vladimir Lenin - full autopsy report from 1924.
Timeline
- of Vladimir Lenin's life.
Joseph
Stalin's speech about Lenin
Luncharsky
about Lenin
Photographs of Lenin's
Childhood
Photographic Portraits of
Lenin
1870
22 April:
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, who later adopted the pseudonym Lenin, is born
in Streletskaya Ulitsa, Simbirsk (now Ulyanovsk), the son of Ilya
Nikolaevich Lllyanov (26 July 1831-24 January 1886), an inspector of
schools, and Maria Aleksandrovna Ulyanov (md.name Blank) (18 March
1835-25 July 1916). Lenin's father was the son of the tailor and former
serf Nikolai Vasilevich Ulyanov (1765-1838) from Astrakhan and of Anna
Aleksevna Uyanov (md.name Smirnov), 25 years younger than her husband
and of Kahnyk origin. Ilya, in spite of his poor circumstances, was able
to study and taught mathematics and physics in Penza where he married
Anna Blank in August 1863. She came from a Russified Volhynian German
family; her father Aleksandr Dmitrievich Blank (1802-1873) was a doctor
and her mother, Anna Ivanovna Groschopf, came from a family which traced
its origins back to a well-to-do middle class family in Liibeck. The
Ulyanovs moved to Nizhny Novgorod (now Gorky) in 1863 where Ilya again
taught and then moved, in the autumn of 1869, to Simbirsk where Ilya
Ulyanov became an inspector of primary schools.
Vladimir Ilyich was the fourth child.
Those born before him were: Anna (1864-1935), Aleksandr (1866-1887) and
Olga (born and died 1868). After Vladimir came Olga (1871-1891), Nikolai
(born and died 1873), Dmitri (I 874-1943) and Maria (1878-1937).
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