Lenin's revolutionary activity. February revolution in Russia. Biography and career

Vladimir Ulyanov was born on April 22, 1870 in the city of Ulyanovsk. He was born into the family of the inspector of public schools of the Simbirsk province, Ilya Nikolaevich Ulyanov, the son of a former serf. Mother - Maria Alexandrovna Ulyanova.

In 1879-1887, Vladimir Ulyanov studied at the Simbirsk gymnasium and graduated with a gold medal. Entered the Faculty of Law of Kazan University.

Until 1887, nothing is known about any revolutionary activities of Vladimir Ulyanov. He accepted Orthodox baptism and until the age of 16 he belonged to the Simbirsk religious Society St. Sergius Radonezh. His grades according to the law of God in the gymnasium were excellent, as in almost all other subjects. There is only one B in his matriculation certificate - logically. The first award was presented to him already in 1880, after graduating from the first grade - a book with gold embossing on the binding: “For good behavior and success” and a certificate of merit.

In 1887, his elder brother, Alexander, was executed as a participant in a Narodnaya Volya conspiracy to assassinate Emperor Alexander III. What happened became a deep tragedy for the Ulyanov family.

At the university, Vladimir was involved in the illegal student circle of Narodnaya Volya, led by Lazar Bogoraz. Three months after admission, he was expelled for participating in student riots. According to a student inspector who suffered from student unrest, Ulyanov was in the forefront of the raging students. On next night Vladimir, along with forty other students, was arrested and sent to the police station. All those arrested, in accordance with the methods of combating “disobedience” characteristic of the reign of Alexander III, were expelled from the university and sent to their “homeland.”

Since during the police investigation, young Ulyanov’s connections with the illegal circle of Bogoraz were revealed, and also because of the execution of his brother, he was included in the list of “unreliable” persons subject to police supervision. For the same reason, he was prohibited from reinstatement at the university.

At the same time, Lenin read a lot. He studied “progressive” magazines and books of the 1860s and 1870s, especially the works of N.G. Chernyshevsky, which, in his own words, had a decisive influence on him. It was hard time for all Ulyanovs: Simbirsk society boycotted them, since connections with the family of an executed terrorist could attract unwanted attention from the police.

In 1890, the authorities relented and allowed him to study as an external student for the law exams. In November 1891, Vladimir Ulyanov passed the exams as an external student for a course at the Faculty of Law of the Imperial St. Petersburg University.

In 1893, he developed a doctrine that was new at that time, declaring contemporary Russia to be a “capitalist” country. The credo of Leninism was finally formulated in 1894: “the Russian worker, rising at the head of all democratic elements, will overthrow absolutism and lead the Russian proletariat along the straight road of open political struggle to a victorious communist revolution.”

In 1893, Lenin came to St. Petersburg, where he got a job as an assistant to the sworn attorney (lawyer) M. F. Volkenshtein. In St. Petersburg, he wrote works on the problems of Marxist political economy, the history of the Russian liberation movement, and the history of the capitalist evolution of the post-reform Russian village and industry. Some of them were published legally. At this time he also developed the program of the Social Democratic Party.

In May 1895, Ulyanov went abroad, where he met with leaders of the international labor movement, and upon returning to St. Petersburg, in 1895, together with Yu. O. Martov and other young revolutionaries, he united scattered Marxist circles into the “Union of Struggle for the Liberation of the Working Class " In December 1895, like many other members of the “Union,” Ulyanov was arrested, kept in prison for more than a year, and in 1897 exiled for 3 years to the village of Shushenskoye, Minusinsk district, Yenisei province.

So that Lenin’s “common-law” wife, N.K. Krupskaya, could follow him into exile, he had to register his marriage with her in July 1898.

After the end of their exile in February 1900, Lenin, Martov and A.N. Potresov is being circled Russian cities by establishing connections with local organizations. On February 26, 1900, Ulyanov arrived in Pskov, where he was allowed to reside after exile. In April 1900, an organizational meeting was held in Pskov to create an all-Russian workers' newspaper, Iskra. In April 1900, Lenin illegally made a one-day trip to Riga from Pskov. At the negotiations with the Latvian Social Democrats, issues of transporting the Iskra newspaper from abroad to Russia through the ports of Latvia were considered. The average circulation of the newspaper was 8,000 copies, with some issues up to 10,000 copies. The spread of the newspaper was facilitated by the creation of a network underground organizations on the territory of the Russian Empire.

From July 17 to August 10, 1903, the Second Congress of the RSDLP was held in London. Lenin, together with Plekhanov, worked on a draft party program, which consisted of two parts - a minimum program and a maximum program; the first involved the overthrow of tsarism and the establishment of a democratic republic, the destruction of the remnants of serfdom in the countryside, in particular the return to the peasants of the lands cut off from them by the landowners during the abolition of serfdom, the introduction of an eight-hour working day, the recognition of the right of nations to self-determination and the establishment of equality of nations; the maximum program determined the ultimate goal of the party - the construction of a socialist society and the conditions for achieving this goal - the socialist revolution and the dictatorship of the proletariat. The proposed wording was supported by 28 votes to 22, with 1 abstention. During the elections to the Central Committee of the RSDLP, Lenin's group received a majority. This accidental circumstance forever divided the party into “Bolsheviks” and “Mensheviks.”

The revolution of 1905-1907 found Lenin abroad, in Switzerland. At the Third Congress of the RSDLP, held in London in April 1905, Lenin emphasized that the main task of the ongoing revolution was to put an end to autocracy and the remnants of serfdom in Russia.

At the beginning of November 1905, Lenin illegally, under a false name, arrived in St. Petersburg and headed the work of the Central and St. Petersburg Bolshevik Committees elected by the congress; great attention devoted to the management of the newspaper " New life" Under the leadership of Lenin, the party was preparing an armed uprising. At the same time, Lenin wrote the book “Two Tactics of Social Democracy in the Democratic Revolution,” in which he points out the need for the hegemony of the proletariat and an armed uprising. In the struggle to win over the peasantry to his side, Lenin wrote the pamphlet “To the Rural Poor.” In December 1905, the First Conference of the RSDLP was held in Tammerfors, where V. I. Lenin and I. V. Stalin met for the first time.

In 1912, he decisively broke with the Mensheviks, who insisted on the legalization of the RSDLP.

When did the first one begin? World War Lenin lived on the territory of Austria-Hungary. Due to suspicion of spying for Russian government Lenin was arrested by Austrian gendarmes. On August 6, 1914, Lenin was released from prison. 17 days later in Switzerland, Lenin took part in a meeting of a group of Bolshevik emigrants, where he announced his theses on the war. In his opinion, the war that began was imperialist, unfair on both sides, and alien to the interests of the working people.

In February 1916, Lenin moved from Bern to Zurich. Here he completed his work “Imperialism as the Highest Stage of Capitalism”, actively collaborated with the Swiss Social Democrats, and attended all their party meetings. Here he learned from newspapers about the February Revolution in Russia.

On April 3, 1917, Lenin arrived in Russia. The Petrograd Soviet organized a ceremonial meeting for him. However, Lenin’s first speech at the Finlyandsky Station immediately after his arrival ended with a call for a “social revolution” and caused confusion even among Lenin’s supporters.

The next day, April 4, Lenin made a report to the Bolsheviks. In this report, Lenin sharply opposed the sentiments that prevailed in Russia among Social Democrats in general and the Bolsheviks in particular, which boiled down to the idea of ​​​​expanding the bourgeois-democratic revolution, supporting the Provisional Government and defending the revolutionary fatherland in a war that changed its character with the fall of the autocracy. He demanded widespread anti-war propaganda, since, according to his opinion, the war on the part of the Provisional Government continued to be imperialistic and “predatory” in nature.

In July, the provisional government ordered the arrest of Lenin and a number of prominent Bolsheviks on charges of treason and organizing an armed uprising. Lenin went underground again. During this period, Lenin wrote one of his fundamental works - the book “State and Revolution”.

In 1917, on October 20, Lenin illegally arrived from Vyborg to Petrograd. Arriving in Smolny, he began to lead the uprising, the direct organizer of which was the chairman of the Petrograd Soviet L. D. Trotsky. On the night of October 25-26, the Provisional Government was arrested. On November 7, Lenin wrote an appeal for the overthrow of the Provisional Government. On the same day, at the opening of the Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets, Lenin's decrees on peace and land were adopted and a government was formed - the Council of People's Commissars, headed by Lenin. On January 5, 1918, the Constituent Assembly opened, the majority of which was won by the Socialist Revolutionaries, representing the interests of the peasants, who at that time made up 80% of the country's population. Lenin, with the support of the Left Social Revolutionaries, presented the Constituent Assembly with a choice: ratify the power of the Soviets and the decrees of the Bolshevik government or disperse. The Constituent Assembly, which did not agree with this formulation of the issue, lost its quorum and was forcibly dissolved.

In 1918, on January 15, Lenin signed the decree of the Council of People's Commissars on the creation of the Red Army. In accordance with the Peace Decree, it was necessary to withdraw from the world war. Despite the opposition of the left communists and L.D. Trotsky, Lenin achieved the conclusion of the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty with Germany. On March 3, 1918, the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries, in protest against the signing and ratification of the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty, withdrew from the Soviet government. March 10-11, fearing the capture of Petrograd by German troops, at the suggestion of Lenin, the Council of People's Commissars and the Central Committee of the RCP (b) moved to Moscow, which became the new capital of Soviet Russia.

In 1918, on August 30, an attempt was made on Lenin, according to official version- Socialist-Revolutionary Fanny Kaplan, which led to serious injury. After the assassination attempt, Lenin was successfully operated on.

The refusal of the international treaty by the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty in November 1918 significantly strengthened Lenin’s authority in the party.

By decree of the Council of People's Commissars of July 30, 1918, the “Monuments of the Republic” program was approved. In Moscow and Petrograd alone, it was planned to erect 167 monuments to revolutionaries, figures of world and Russian culture, including Andrei Rublev, Fyodor Tyutchev, Mikhail Vrubel.

Lenin paid significant attention to the development of the country's economy. He believed that in order to restore the economy destroyed by the war, it was necessary to organize the state into a “national, state “syndicate”. Soon after the revolution, Lenin set the task for scientists to develop a plan for the reorganization of industry and the economic revival of Russia, and also contributed to the development of the country's science.

In 1919, on the initiative of Lenin, the Communist International was created.

On the night of July 16-17, 1918, the former Russian Emperor Nicholas II was shot along with his family and servants by order of the Ural Regional Council in Yekaterinburg, headed by the Bolsheviks.

In February 1920, the Irkutsk Bolshevik Military Revolutionary Committee secretly shot Admiral A.V. Kolchak, who was under arrest in the Irkutsk prison, without trial.

After the end of the Civil War, Soviet Russia managed to break through the economic blockade thanks to the establishment of diplomatic relations with Germany and the signing of the Treaty of Rapallo. Were concluded peace treaties and diplomatic relations were established with a number of border states: Finland, Estonia, Poland, Turkey, Iran, Mongolia. The most active support came from Turkey, Afghanistan and Iran, which resisted European colonialism.

The economic and political situation required the Bolsheviks to change their previous policies. In this regard, at the insistence of Lenin, in 1921, at the 10th Congress of the RCP (b), “war communism” was abolished and food allocation was replaced by a food tax. The so-called New Economic Policy was introduced, which allowed private free trade and enabled large sections of the population to independently seek the means of subsistence that the state could not give them.

At the same time, Lenin insisted on the development of state-type enterprises, electrification, and the development of cooperation. Lenin believed that in anticipation of the world proletarian revolution, keeping all large industry in the hands of the state, it was necessary to gradually build socialism in one country. All this could, in his opinion, contribute to putting the backward Soviet country on par with the most developed European countries.

In 1923, shortly before his death, Lenin wrote his last works: “On cooperation”, “How can we reorganize the workers’ krin”, “Better less, but better”, in which he offers his vision of the economic policy of the Soviet state and measures to improve the work of the state apparatus and the party. On January 4, 1923, V.I. Lenin dictates the so-called “Addition to the letter of December 24, 1922,” in which, in particular, the characteristics of individual Bolsheviks claiming the role of party leader were given. Stalin in this letter an unflattering description was given.

In March 1922, Lenin led the work of the 11th Congress of the RCP (b) - the last party congress at which he spoke.

In January 1924, Lenin's health suddenly deteriorated sharply.

The official conclusion on the cause of death in the autopsy report stated: 1) increased circulatory impairment in the brain; 2) hemorrhage into the pia mater in the quadrigeminal region.” After his death, the body of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was embalmed and placed in the Mausoleum of V.I. Lenin on Red Square near the Kremlin wall.

Titles, awards, works, performance results

Results of activities and transformations carried out under the leadership of V.I. Lenin:

The Soviet state developed its own methods of moral and material stimulation of labor: various social payments, construction of free housing, organization of free healthcare, including the development of a wide network of free sanatoriums for workers, free education, transport, industrial clothing, payments in kind, creation normal conditions, organization of recreation, after Lenin’s decree of June 14, 1918 “On vacations,” all workers for the first time in the history of Russia received a state-guaranteed right to vacation, etc. - all this contributed to increasing labor productivity and convincing the majority of the population that the new government has his main goal concern for improving the living conditions of workers. For the first time in Russian history, workers received the right to old-age pensions.

Despite the largely fair accusations of political opponents of the socialist system of excessive equalization of the socialist wage system, this system contributed to the formation of social homogeneity and the constitution of the Soviet people, having a common civic identity, although the socialist wage system, in the context of its equalization, was also criticized by senior Soviet officials, it constantly developed and differentiated on the basis of many criteria, where one of the main ones was evaluation real contribution of a citizen to labor and social life countries.

The most important element in overcoming social inequality and building a new society for V. Lenin was the development of education, ensuring equal access to education for all workers, regardless of their national origin and gender differences. In October 1918, at the suggestion of V.I. Lenin, the “Regulations on the Unified Labor School of the RSFSR” were introduced, which introduced free and cooperative education for school-age children. Modern researchers note that the communist attack on the system of distribution of scientific statuses began in 1918 and the matter ended not so much in the “re-education of the bourgeois professors”, but in the establishment of equal access to education and the destruction of class privileges, which included the privilege of being educated.

Lenin's policy in the field of education, ensuring its accessibility for all groups of workers served as the basis for the fact that in 1959, political opponents of the USSR believed that the Soviet education system, especially in engineering and technical specialties, occupied a leading position in the world.

Lenin's health care policy, based on the principles of free and equal access medical care for all social groups of the population contributed to the fact that medicine in the USSR was recognized as one of the best in the world.

In the USSR, a lot of memoirs, poems, poems, short stories, stories and novels about Lenin were published. Many films about Lenin were also made. In Soviet times, the opportunity to play Lenin in films or on stage was considered for an actor a sign of high trust shown by the leadership of the CPSU.

Monuments to Lenin have become an integral part of the Soviet tradition of monumental art.

In the USSR, five collected works of Lenin and forty “Lenin collections” were published, compiled by the Lenin Institute, specially created by decision of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks for the study of Lenin’s creative heritage. However, even the last, 5th, collected works in 55 volumes, called “complete,” could not claim either objectivity and academic quality, or completeness. Many of the works included in it were edited and corrected before publication, and many of Lenin's works were not included in it at all.

In Soviet times, a collection of selected works was periodically published in two to four volumes. In addition, “Selected Works” were published in 10 volumes (11 books) in 1984-1987.

Lenin's main works:

What are “friends of the people” and how do they fight against the Social Democrats? (1894)

"On the Characteristics of Economic Romanticism", (1897)

What inheritance are we giving up? (1897)

The Development of Capitalism in Russia (1899)

What to do? (1902)

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back (1904)

Party organization and party literature (1905)

Two Tactics of Social Democracy in the Democratic Revolution (1905)

Marxism and Revisionism (1908)

Materialism and Empirio-Criticism (1909)

Three Sources and Three Components of Marxism (1913)

On the Right of Nations to Self-Determination (1914)

On the breakdown of unity covered by cries for unity (1914)

Karl Marx (a short biographical sketch outlining Marxism) (1914)

Socialism and War (1915)

Imperialism as the highest stage of capitalism (popular essay) (1916)

State and Revolution (1917)

Tasks of the proletariat in our revolution (1917)

The Impending Catastrophe and How to Deal with It (1917)

On dual power (1917)

How to Organize a Competition (1918)

The Great Initiative (1919)

The childhood disease of “leftism” in communism (1920)

Tasks of youth unions (1920)

About the food tax (1921)

Pages from a diary, About cooperation (1923)

About the pogrom persecution of Jews (1924)

What is Soviet power? (1919, publ.: 1928)

On leftist childishness and petty-bourgeoisism (1918)

About our revolution (1923)

Letter to the Congress (1922, read out: 1924, published: 1956)

Speeches recorded on gramophone records:

In 1919-1921 V.I. Lenin recorded 16 speeches on gramophone records - among them “The Third Communist International”, “Appeal to the Red Army” and the especially popular “What is Soviet power?”, which was considered the most successful in technical terms.

During the next recording session on April 5, 1920, 3 speeches were recorded - “On work for transport,” part 1 and part 2, “On labor discipline” and “How to forever save workers from the oppression of landowners and capitalists.” Another recording, most likely dedicated to the outbreak of the Polish war, was damaged and lost in the same 1920.

Five speeches recorded during the last session on April 25, 1921, were technically unsuitable for mass production. Of these, only three were restored and released for the first time on long-playing discs - one of the two speeches “On the tax in kind”, “On consumer and trade cooperation” and “Non-party people and Soviet power”.

In addition to the second speech “On the Tax in Kind” that has not been found, the 1921 entry “On Concessions and the Development of Capitalism” has not yet been published. The first part of the speech, “On Work for Transport,” has not been reissued since 1929, and the speech, “On the pogrom persecution of the Jews,” has not appeared on disk since the early 1940s.

Lenin's biography is one of the most interesting and mysterious among world-famous politicians. After all, it was Lenin who was the main organizer of the October Revolution of 1917, which radically changed the history of not only Russia, but also the world.

Vladimir Lenin wrote many works concerning Marxism, communism, socialism and political philosophy.

Some consider him the greatest revolutionary and reformer, while others accuse him of serious crimes and call him a madman. So who is he, Vladimir Lenin, a genius or a villain?

In this article we will highlight the most significant events in Lenin’s biography, and also try to understand why his activities still evoke radically opposing opinions and assessments.

Biography of Lenin

Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov was born on April 10, 1870 in Simbirsk (now Ulyanovsk). His father, Ilya Nikolaevich, worked as an inspector of public depositories, and his mother, Maria Alexandrovna, was a home teacher.

Childhood and youth

During the biography period 1879-1887. Vladimir Lenin studied at the Simbirsk gymnasium, from which he graduated with honors. In 1887, his older brother Alexander was executed for preparing an assassination attempt on the Tsar.

This event shocked the entire Ulyanov family, because no one even knew that Alexander was engaged in revolutionary activities.

Lenin's education

After high school, Lenin continued his studies at Kazan University at the Faculty of Law. It was then that he began to become seriously interested in politics.

The execution of his brother greatly influenced his worldview, so it is not surprising that he quickly became interested in new political movements.

Without studying at the university for even six months, Vladimir Ulyanov-Lenin was expelled from it for participating in student riots.

At the age of 21, he graduated from the law department of St. Petersburg University as an external student. After this, Lenin worked for some time as an assistant to a sworn attorney.

But this work did not bring him inner satisfaction, because he dreamed of great achievements.

Personal life

Lenin's only official wife was Lenin, who supported her husband in everything.

The last years of Lenin's life

It is obvious that many political events that occurred in Lenin’s biography over the past few years could not but affect his health.

Thus, in the spring of 1922, he suffered 2 strokes, but at the same time retained his sanity. Lenin's last public speech took place on November 20, 1922 at the plenum of the Moscow Soviet.

On December 16, 1922, his health condition again deteriorated sharply, and on May 15, 1923, due to illness, he moved to the Gorki estate near Moscow.

But even in this state, Lenin, with the help of a stenographer, dictated letters and various notes. A year later he suffered a third stroke, which left him completely disabled.

Farewell to the leader of the world proletariat took place over 5 days. On the sixth day after his death, Lenin's body was embalmed and placed in the Mausoleum.

Many cities and streets of the USSR were named after the leader. It was difficult to find a city where there was no street or square named after Lenin, not to mention the tens of thousands of monuments erected throughout Russia.

After Lenin, he took over the Soviet Union and ruled for almost 30 years.

• An interesting fact is that during his life Vladimir Lenin wrote about 30,000 documents. At the same time, he managed to speak at hundreds of rallies and lead a huge state.
• Lenin played chess all his life.
• Ilyich had a party nickname, which was used by his comrades and himself: “Old Man.”
• Lenin's height was 164 cm.
• Russian inventor Lev Theremin, who personally met Lenin, noted that he was very surprised by the leader’s bright red hair.
• According to the recollections of many contemporaries, Lenin was a very cheerful person who loved a good joke.
• At school, Lenin was an excellent student, and upon graduation he received a gold medal.

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Vladimir Ilyich Lenin ( real name Ulyanov, maternal surname - Blank)
Years of life: April 10 (22), 1870, Simbirsk - January 22, 1924, Gorki estate, Moscow province
Head of the Soviet government (1917–1924).

Revolutionary, founder of the Bolshevik Party, one of the organizers and leaders of the October Socialist Revolution of 1917, chairman of the Council of People's Commissars (government) of the RSFSR and the USSR. Marxist philosopher, publicist, founder of Leninism, ideologist and creator of the 3rd (Communist) International, founder of the Soviet state. One of the most famous political figures of the 20th century.
Founder of the USSR.

Biography of Vladimir Lenin

V. Ulyanov's father, Ilya Nikolaevich, was an inspector of public schools. After being awarded the Order of St. Vladimir, III degree, in 1882, he received the right to hereditary nobility. Mother, Maria Aleksandrovna Ulyanova (née Blank), was a teacher, but did not work. There were 5 children in the family, among whom Volodya was the third. There was a friendly atmosphere in the family; parents encouraged their children's curiosity and treated them with respect.

In 1879 - 1887 Volodya studied at the gymnasium, which he graduated with gold medal.

In 1887, his elder brother Alexander Ulyanov (a people's revolutionary revolutionary) was executed for preparing an attempt on the life of Emperor Alexander III. This event affected the lives of all members of the Ulyanov family (the formerly respected noble family was subsequently expelled from society). The death of his brother shocked Volodya, and from then on he became an enemy of the tsarist regime.

In the same year, V. Ulyanov entered the Faculty of Law at Kazan University, but in December he was expelled for participating in a student meeting.

In 1891, Ulyanov graduated as an external student from the Faculty of Law of St. Petersburg University. Afterwards he came to Samara, where he began working as an assistant sworn attorney.

In 1893, in St. Petersburg, Vladimir joined one of the many revolutionary circles and soon became known as an ardent supporter of Marxism and a propagandist of this teaching in working-class circles. In St. Petersburg, his affair began with Apollinaria Yakubova, a revolutionary and friend of his older sister Olga.

In 1894 – 1895 Vladimir’s first major works were published, “What are “friends of the people” and how they fight against the Social Democrats” and “The Economic Content of Populism,” which criticized the populist movement in favor of Marxism. Soon Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov meets Nadezhda Konstantinovna Krupskaya.

In the spring of 1895, Vladimir Ilyich went to Geneva to meet with members of the Liberation of Labor group. And in September 1895 he was arrested for creating the St. Petersburg “Union of Struggle for the Liberation of the Working Class.”

In 1897, Ulyanov was exiled to the village of Shushenskoye, Yenisei province, for 3 years. During his exile, Ulyanov married Nadezhda Krupskaya...

Many articles and books on revolutionary topics were written in Shushenskoye. The works were published under various pseudonyms, one of which was Lenin.

Lenin - years of life in exile

In 1903, the famous Second Congress of the Social Democratic Party of Russia took place, during which a split into Bolsheviks and Mensheviks occurred. He became the head of the Bolsheviks, and soon created the Bolshevik Party.

In 1905, Vladimir Ilyich led the preparations for the revolution in Russia.
He directed the Bolsheviks to an armed uprising against tsarism and the establishment of a truly democratic republic.

During the revolution of 1905 - 1907. Ulyanov lived illegally in St. Petersburg and led the Bolshevik Party.

The years 1907 - 1917 were spent in exile.

In 1910, in Paris, he met Inessa Armand, the relationship with whom continued until Armand’s death from cholera in 1920.

In 1912, at the Social Democratic Party Conference in Prague, the left wing of the RSDLP was separated into a separate party, the RSDLP(b) - the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party of the Bolsheviks. He was immediately elected head of the central committee (CC) of the party.

During the same period, thanks to his initiative, the newspaper Pravda was created. Ulyanov organizes the life of his new party, encouraging expropriation Money(actually robbery) into the party fund.

In 1914, at the beginning of World War I, he was arrested in Austria-Hungary on suspicion of espionage for his country.

After his liberation, he went to Switzerland, where he put forward a slogan calling to turn the imperialist war into a civil war, to overthrow the government that dragged the state into the war.

In February 1917, I learned about the revolution that had taken place in Russia from the press. On April 3, 1917 he returned to Russia.

On April 4, 1917, in St. Petersburg, the communist theorist outlined a program for the transition from the bourgeois-democratic revolution to the socialist one (“All power to the soviets!” or “April Theses”). He began preparing for an armed uprising and put forward plans to overthrow the Provisional Government.

In June 1917 passed I Congress of Soviets, at which he was supported by only about 10% of those present, but he declared that the Bolshevik Party was ready to take power in the country into its own hands.

On October 24, 1917, he led the uprising in the Smolny Palace. And on October 25 (November 7), 1917, the Provisional Government was overthrown. The Great October Socialist Revolution took place, after which Lenin became chairman of the Council of People's Commissars - the Council of People's Commissars. He built his policy, hoping for the support of the world proletariat, but did not receive it.

At the beginning of 1918, the leader of the revolution insisted on signing the Brest Peace Treaty. As a result, Germany lost a huge part of Russian territory. The disagreement of the majority of the Russian population with the policies of the Bolsheviks led to the Civil War of 1918–1922.

The left-SR rebellion that took place in St. Petersburg in July 1918 was brutally suppressed. After this, a one-party system is established in Russia. Now V. Lenin is the head of the Bolshevik Party and all of Russia.

On August 30, 1918, an attempt was made on the life of the Head of the Party, he was seriously wounded. After which “Red Terror” was declared in the country.

Lenin developed the policy of "war communism".
Main ideas - quotes from his works:

• The main goal of the Communist Party is to carry out the communist revolution and subsequently build a classless society free from exploitation.
• There is no universal morality, but only class morality. The morality of the proletariat is what is moral that meets the interests of the proletariat (“our morality is completely subordinated to the interests of the class struggle of the proletariat”).
• The revolution will not necessarily happen all over the world simultaneously, as Marx believed. It may first occur in one single country. This country will then help the revolution in other countries.
• Tactically, the success of the revolution depends on the rapid capture of communications (mail, telegraph, train stations).
• Before building communism, an intermediate stage is necessary - the dictatorship of the proletariat. Communism is divided into two periods: socialism and communism proper.

According to the policy of “war communism”, free trade was prohibited in Russia, natural exchange (instead of commodity-money relations) and surplus appropriation were introduced. At the same time, Lenin insisted on the development of state-type enterprises, electrification, and the development of cooperation.

A wave of peasant uprisings took place across the country, but they were brutally suppressed. Soon, on the personal order of V. Lenin, persecution of the Russian Orthodox Church. About 10 million people became victims of “war communism”. Russia's economic and industrial indicators have declined sharply.

In March 1921, at the Tenth Party Congress, V. Lenin put forward a program of “new economic policy” (NEP), which slightly changed the economic crisis.

In 1922, the leader of the world proletariat suffered 2 strokes, but did not stop leading the state. In the same year, Russia renamed itself the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).

At the beginning of 1923, realizing that there was a split in the Bolshevik party and his health was deteriorating, Lenin wrote a “Letter to the Congress.” In the letter, he characterized all the leading figures of the Central Committee and proposed to remove Joseph Stalin from the post of General Secretary.

In March 1923, he suffered a third stroke, after which he was paralyzed.

January 21, 1924 V.I. Lenin died in the village. Gorki (Moscow region). His body was embalmed and placed in the Mausoleum on Red Square in Moscow.

After the breakup Soviet Union in 1991, the question was raised about the need to remove the body and brain of the first leader of the USSR from the Mausoleum and bury it. IN modern times There are still discussions about this by various government officials, political parties and forces, as well as representatives of religious organizations.

V. Ulyanov had other pseudonyms: V. Ilyin, V. Frey, Iv. Petrov, K. Tulin, Karpov, etc.

In addition to all his deeds, Lenin stood at the origins of the creation of the Red Army, which won the civil war.

The only official state award, which the fiery Bolshevik was awarded, was the Order of Labor of the Khorezm People's Socialist Republic (1922).

Lenin's name

The name and image of V. I. Lenin was canonized by the Soviet government along with The October Revolution and Joseph Stalin. Many cities, towns and collective farms were named after him. There was a monument to him in every city. Numerous stories about “Grandfather Lenin” were written for Soviet children; the words “Leninists”, “Leniniada”, etc. came into use among the inhabitants of the country.

Images of the leader were on the front side of all tickets of the State Bank of the USSR in denominations from 10 to 100 rubles from 1937 to 1992, as well as on 200, 500 and 1 thousand “Pavlovian rubles” of the USSR issued in 1991 and 1992.

Lenin's works

According to a FOM survey in 1999, 65% of the Russian population considered the role of V. Lenin in the history of the country to be positive, and 23% - negative.
He wrote a huge number of works, the most famous:

• “The Development of Capitalism in Russia” (1899);
• "What to do?" (1902);
• “Karl Marx (a short biographical sketch outlining Marxism)” (1914);
• “Imperialism as the highest stage of capitalism (popular essay)” (1916);
• "State and Revolution" (1917);
• “Tasks of youth unions” (1920);
• “On the pogrom persecution of Jews” (1924);
• “What is Soviet power?”;
• "About our revolution."

The speeches of the fiery revolutionary were recorded on many gramophone records.
Named after him:

• Tank "Freedom Fighter Comrade Lenin"
• Electric locomotive VL
• icebreaker "Lenin"
• "Electronics VL-100"
• Vladilena (852 Wladilena) - minor planet
• numerous cities, villages, collective farms, streets, monuments.

Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian statesman and political figure, the founder of the Soviet state and the Communist Party. Under his leadership, the date of Lenin’s birth and death of the leader took place - 1870, April 22, and 1924, January 21, respectively.

Political and government activities

In 1917, after arriving in Petrograd, the leader of the proletariat led the October Uprising. He was elected Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars (Council of People's Commissars) and the Council of Peasant and Workers' Defense. was a member of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. Since 1918, Lenin lived in Moscow. In conclusion, the leader of the proletariat played a key role. It was discontinued in 1922 due to serious illness. The date of Lenin's birth and death of the politician, thanks to his active work, went down in history.

Events of 1918

In 1918, on August 30, began coup d'etat. Trotsky was absent from Moscow at that time - he was on Eastern Front, in Kazan. Dzerzhinsky was forced to leave the capital in connection with the murder of Uritsky. A very tense situation has developed in Moscow. Colleagues and relatives insisted that Vladimir Ilyich not go anywhere or attend any events. But the leader of the Bolsheviks refused to violate the schedule of speeches by the leaders of the regional authorities. A performance was planned in the Basmanny district, at the Bread Exchange. According to the recollections of the secretary of the Yampolskaya district committee, Lenin’s security was entrusted to Shablovsky, who was then supposed to escort Vladimir Ilyich to Zamoskvorechye. However, two or three hours before the expected start of the meeting, it was reported that the leader had been asked not to speak. But the leader still came to the Bread Exchange. He was guarded, as expected, by Shablovsky. But there was no security at the Mikhelson plant.

Who killed Lenin?

Kaplan (Fanny Efimovna) was the perpetrator of the attempt on the life of the leader. From the beginning of 1918, she actively collaborated with the right Socialist Revolutionaries, who were then in a semi-legal position. The leader of the proletariat, Kaplan, was brought to the place of speech in advance. She shot from a Browning almost point-blank. All three bullets fired from the weapon hit Lenin. The leader's driver, Gil, witnessed the assassination attempt. He did not see Kaplan in the dark, and when he heard the shots, as some sources testify, he was confused and did not shoot back. Later, deflecting suspicion from himself, Gil said during interrogations that after the leader’s speech, a crowd of workers came out into the factory yard. This is what prevented him from opening fire. Vladimir Ilyich was wounded, but not killed. Subsequently, according to historical evidence, the perpetrator of the assassination attempt was shot and her body was burned.

The leader’s health deteriorated, moving to Gorki

In 1922, in March, Vladimir Ilyich began to have quite frequent seizures, accompanied by loss of consciousness. IN next year With right side body developed paralysis and speech impairment. However, despite this serious condition, doctors hoped to improve the situation. In May 1923, Lenin was transported to Gorki. Here his health improved noticeably. And in October he even asked to be transported to Moscow. However, he did not stay in the capital for long. By winter, the Bolshevik leader’s condition had improved so much that he began to try to write with his left hand, and during the Christmas tree in December, he spent the entire evening with the children.

Events of the last days before the death of the leader

As People's Commissar of Health Semashko testified, two days before his death, Vladimir Ilyich went hunting. This was confirmed by Krupskaya. She said that the day before Lenin was in the forest, but, apparently, he was very tired. When Vladimir Ilyich was sitting on the balcony, he was very pale and kept falling asleep in his chair. In recent months he has not slept at all during the day. A few days before her death, Krupskaya already felt the approach of something terrible. The leader looked very tired and exhausted. He turned very pale, and his gaze, as Nadezhda Konstantinovna recalled, became different. But, despite the alarming signals, a hunting trip was planned for January 21. According to doctors, all this time the brain continued to progress, as a result of which parts of the brain “switched off” one after another.

Last day of life

Professor Osipov, who treated Lenin, describes this day, testifying to the leader’s general malaise. On the 20th he had poor appetite and was in a sluggish mood. He didn't want to study that day. At the end of the day, Lenin was put to bed. He was prescribed a light diet. This state of lethargy was observed the next day; the politician remained in bed for four hours. He was visited in the morning, in the afternoon and in the evening. During the day, an appetite appeared, the leader was given broth. By six o'clock the malaise increased, cramps appeared in the legs and arms, and the politician lost consciousness. The doctor testifies that the right limbs were very tense - it was impossible to bend the leg at the knee. Convulsive movements were also observed in the left side of the body. The seizure was accompanied by increased cardiac activity and increased breathing. Quantity breathing movements approached 36, and the heart was beating at a speed of 120-130 beats per minute. Along with this, a very threatening sign appeared, which consisted of a violation of the correct breathing rhythm. This type of cerebral breathing is very dangerous and almost always indicates the approach of a fatal end. After some time, the condition stabilized somewhat. The number of respiratory movements decreased to 26, and the pulse decreased to 90 beats per minute. Lenin’s body temperature at that moment was 42.3 degrees. This increase was caused by a convulsive continuous state, which gradually began to weaken. Doctors began to harbor some hope for normalization of the condition and a favorable outcome of the seizure. However, at 18.50, blood suddenly rushed to Lenin’s face, it turned red and purple. Then the leader took a deep breath, and the next moment he died. After it was applied artificial respiration. Doctors tried to bring Vladimir Ilyich back to life for 25 minutes, but all manipulations were ineffective. He died of cardiac and respiratory paralysis.

The mystery of Lenin's death

The official medical report stated that the leader had progressed widespread cerebral atherosclerosis. At one point, due to circulatory disorders and hemorrhage into the soft membrane, Vladimir Ilyich died. However, a number of historians believe that Lenin was assassinated, namely: he was poisoned. The leader's condition worsened gradually. According to the historian Lurie, Vladimir Ilyich suffered a stroke in 1921, as a result of which right part body was paralyzed. However, by 1924 he was able to recover enough that he was able to go hunting. Neurologist Winters, who studied the medical history in detail, even testified that several hours before his death the leader was very active and even talked. Shortly before the fatal end, several convulsive seizures occurred. But, according to the neurologist, it was just a manifestation of a stroke - these symptoms are characteristic of this pathological condition. However, it was not only and not so much a matter of illness. So why did Lenin die? According to the conclusion of the toxicological examination, which was carried out during the autopsy, traces were found in the leader’s body. Based on this, experts concluded that the cause of death was poison.

Researchers' versions

If the leader was poisoned, then who killed Lenin? After a while they began to move forward different versions. Stalin became the main "suspect". According to historians, it was he who benefited more than anyone else from the death of the leader. Joseph Stalin sought to become the leader of the country, and only by eliminating Vladimir Ilyich could he achieve this. According to another version of who killed Lenin, suspicion fell on Trotsky. However, this conclusion is less plausible. Many historians are of the opinion that it was Stalin who ordered the murder. Despite the fact that Vladimir Ilyich and Joseph Vissarionovich were comrades-in-arms, the former was against the appointment of the latter as the leader of the country. In this regard, realizing the danger, Lenin, on the eve of his death, tried to build a tactical alliance with Trotsky. The death of the leader guaranteed Joseph Stalin absolute power. Quite a lot of political events took place in the year of Lenin's death. After his death, personnel changes began in the management apparatus. Many figures were eliminated by Stalin. New people took their place.

Opinions of some scientists

Vladimir Ilyich died in middle age (it’s easy to calculate how old Lenin died). Scientists say that the walls of the leader’s cerebral vessels were less strong than necessary for his 53 years. However, the causes of destruction in brain tissue remain unclear. There were no objective provoking factors for this: Vladimir Ilyich was young enough for this and did not belong to the risk group for pathologies of this kind. In addition, the politician did not smoke himself and did not allow smokers to visit him. He was neither overweight nor diabetic. Vladimir Ilyich did not suffer from hypertension or other heart pathologies. After the death of the leader, rumors appeared that his body was affected by syphilis, but no evidence of this was found. Some experts talk about heredity. As you know, the date of Lenin’s death is January 21, 1924. He lived a year less than his father, who died at the age of 54. Vladimir Ilyich could have a predisposition to vascular pathologies. In addition, the party leader was in a state of stress almost constantly. He was often haunted by fears for his life. There was more than enough excitement both in youth and in adulthood.

Events after the death of the leader

There is no exact information about who killed Lenin. However, Trotsky in one of his articles claimed that Stalin poisoned the leader. In particular, he wrote that in February 1923, during a meeting of members of the Politburo, Joseph Vissarionovich announced that Vladimir Ilyich urgently required him to join him. Lenin asked for poison. The leader began to lose the ability to speak again and considered his situation hopeless. He did not believe the doctors, he suffered, but kept his thoughts clear. Stalin told Trotsky that Vladimir Ilyich was tired of suffering and wanted to have poison with him so that when it became completely unbearable, he would end everything. However, Trotsky was categorically against it (at least, that’s what he said then). This episode is confirmed - Lenin’s secretary told the writer Beck about this incident. Trotsky argued that with his words, Stalin was trying to provide himself with an alibi, having actually planned to poison the leader.

Several facts refuting that the leader of the proletariat was poisoned

Some historians believe that the most reliable information in the official doctors' report is the date of Lenin's death. The autopsy of the body was carried out in compliance with the necessary formalities. Got that taken care of general secretary- Stalin. During the autopsy, doctors did not look for poison. But even if there were insightful specialists, they would most likely put forward a version of suicide. It is assumed that the leader did not receive poison from Stalin after all. Otherwise, after Lenin’s death, the successor would have destroyed all the witnesses and people who were close to Ilyich so that not a single trace would remain. Moreover, at the time of his death, the leader of the proletariat was practically helpless. Doctors did not predict significant improvements, so the likelihood of restoration of health was low.

Facts confirming poisoning

It should be said, however, that the version according to which Vladimir Ilyich died from poison has many supporters. There are even a number of facts that confirm this. For example, the writer Soloviev devoted many pages to this issue. In particular, in the book “Operation Mausoleum” the author confirms Trotsky’s reasoning with a number of arguments:

There is also evidence from doctor Gabriel Volkov. It should be said that this doctor was arrested shortly after the death of the leader. While in the detention center, Volkov told Elizabeth Lesotho, his cellmate, about what happened on the morning of January 21. The doctor brought Lenin a second breakfast at 11 o’clock. Vladimir Ilyich was in bed, and when he saw Volkov, he tried to get up and extended his hands to him. However, the politician lost his strength, and he fell onto the pillows again. At the same time, a note fell out of his hand. Volkov managed to hide her before the doctor Elistratov came in and gave a calming injection. Vladimir Ilyich fell silent and closed his eyes, as it turned out, forever. And only in the evening, when Lenin had already died, Volkov was able to read the note. In it, the leader wrote that he was poisoned. Solovyov believes that the politician was poisoned with mushroom soup, which contained dried poisonous mushroom cortinarius ciosissimus, which caused Lenin’s quick death. The struggle for power after the death of the leader was not violent. Stalin received absolute power and became the leader of the country, eliminating all people he disliked. The years of Lenin's birth and death became memorable for the Soviet people for a long time.

“Arguments and Facts” continues the story about the last year of life, illness and “adventures” of the body of the leader of the world proletariat (beginning in).

The first bell about the illness, which in 1923 turned Ilyich into a weak and feeble-minded person, and soon brought him to the grave, rang in 1921. The country was overcoming the consequences of the civil war, the leadership rushed from war communism to the new economic policy (NEP). And the head of the Soviet government, Lenin, whose every word the country eagerly hung on, began to complain of headaches and fatigue. Later, numbness of the limbs, up to complete paralysis, and inexplicable attacks of nervous excitement are added to this, during which Ilyich waves his arms and talks some nonsense... It gets to the point that Ilyich “communicates” with those around him using just three words: “ just about", "revolution" and "conference".

In 1923, the Politburo was already doing without Lenin. Photo: Public Domain

“Makes some strange noises”

Doctors are being prescribed to Lenin all the way from Germany. But neither the “gast-arbeiters” from medicine nor the domestic luminaries of science can in any way diagnose him. Ilya Zbarsky, son and assistant of a biochemist Boris Zbarsky, who embalmed Lenin’s body and for a long time headed the laboratory at the Mausoleum, being familiar with the history of the leader’s illness, described the situation in the book “Object No. 1”: “By the end of the year (1922 - Ed.), his condition is noticeably deteriorating, he Instead of articulate speech, he makes some unclear sounds. After some relief in February 1923, complete paralysis sets in right hand and legs... The gaze, previously penetrating, becomes expressionless and dull. German doctors invited for big money Förster, Klemperer, Nonna, Minkowski and Russian professors Osipov, Kozhevnikov, Kramer completely at a loss again.”

In the spring of 1923, Lenin was transported to Gorki - essentially to die. “In the photograph taken by Lenin’s sister (six months before his death - Ed.), we see a thinner man with a wild face and crazy eyes,” continues I. Zbarsky. - He cannot speak, he is tormented by nightmares at night and during the day, at times he screams... Against the background of some relief, on January 21, 1924, Lenin felt a general malaise, lethargy... Professors Förster and Osipov, who examined him after lunch, did not reveal any alarming symptoms. However, at about 6 o'clock in the evening the patient's condition sharply worsens, convulsions appear... pulse 120-130. Around half past seven the temperature rises to 42.5°C. At 18:50... doctors pronounce death.”

The broad masses of the people took the death of the leader of the world proletariat to heart. On the morning of January 21, Ilyich himself tore off a page of the desk calendar. Moreover, it is clear that he did it with his left hand: his right was paralyzed. In the photo: Felix Dzerzhinsky and Kliment Voroshilov at Lenin’s tomb. Source: RIA Novosti

What happened to one of the most extraordinary figures of his time? Doctors discussed epilepsy, Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, and even lead poisoning from a bullet fired as possible diagnoses. Fanny Kaplan in 1918. One of the two bullets - it was removed from the body only after Lenin's death - broke off part of the shoulder blade, touched the lung, and passed in close proximity to vital arteries. This allegedly could also cause premature sclerosis of the carotid artery, the extent of which became clear only during the autopsy. He cited excerpts from the protocols in his book Academician of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences Yuri Lopukhin: sclerotic changes in Lenin’s left internal carotid artery in its intracranial part were such that blood simply could not flow through it - the artery turned into a solid dense whitish cord.

Traces of a stormy youth?

However, the symptoms of the disease were little similar to ordinary vascular sclerosis. Moreover, during Lenin’s lifetime, the disease most closely resembled progressive paralysis due to brain damage due to late complications of syphilis. Ilya Zbarsky draws attention to the fact that this diagnosis was definitely meant at that time: some of the doctors invited to Lenin specialized in syphilis, and the drugs that were prescribed to the leader constituted a course of treatment specifically for this disease according to the methods of that time. However, some facts do not fit into this version. Two weeks before his death, on January 7, 1924, on Lenin’s initiative, his wife and sister organized a Christmas tree for children from the surrounding villages. Ilyich himself seemed to feel so good that, sitting in a wheelchair, for some time he even took part in the general fun in winter garden former manor house. On the last day of his life, he tore off a piece of a desk calendar with his left hand. Based on the results of the autopsy, the professors who worked with Lenin even made a special statement about the absence of any signs of syphilis. Yuri Lopukhin, however, in this regard refers to a note he saw from the then People's Commissar of Health Nikolai Semashko pathologist, future academician Alexey Abrikosov- with a request to “convert Special attention on the need for strong morphological evidence of the absence of luetic (syphilitic) lesions in Lenin in order to preserve the bright image of the leader.” Is this to reasonably dispel rumors or, conversely, to hide something? “The bright image of the leader” remains a sensitive topic today. But, by the way, to put an end to the debate about the diagnosis - from scientific interest- it’s never too late: Lenin’s brain tissue is stored in the former Brain Institute.

Hastily, in 3 days, the knocked together Mausoleum-1 was only about three meters in height. Photo: RIA Novosti

"Relics with communist sauce"

Meanwhile, while Ilyich was still alive, his comrades began a behind-the-scenes struggle for power. By the way, there is a version why on October 18-19, 1923, the sick and partially immobilized Lenin made his way from Gorki to Moscow for the only time. Formally - to an agricultural exhibition. But why did you stop by the Kremlin apartment for the whole day? Publicist N. Valentinov-Volsky, who emigrated to the USA, wrote: Lenin in his personal papers looked for those who had compromised Stalin documentation. But apparently someone has already “thinned out” the papers.

While the leader was still alive, members of the Politburo in the fall of 23 began to lively discuss his funeral. It is clear that the ceremony should be majestic, but what should be done with the body - cremated according to the proletarian anti-church fashion or embalmed according to the latest word of science? “We... instead of icons, we hung leaders and will try for Pakhom (a simple village peasant - Ed.) and the “lower classes” to discover the relics of Ilyich under a communist sauce,” the party ideologist wrote in one of his private letters Nikolai Bukharin. However, at first it was only about the farewell procedure. Therefore, Abrikosov, who performed the autopsy of Lenin’s body, also carried out embalming on January 22 - but an ordinary, temporary one. “...When opening the body, he injected into the aorta a solution consisting of 30 parts of formaldehyde, 20 parts of alcohol, 20 parts of glycerin, 10 parts of zinc chloride and 100 parts of water,” explains I. Zbarsky in the book.

On January 23, the coffin with Lenin’s body, in front of a large crowd of people who had gathered, despite the severe frost, was loaded into a funeral train (the locomotive and carriage are now in the museum at the Paveletsky Station) and taken to Moscow, to the Column Hall of the House of Unions. At this time, near the Kremlin wall on Red Square, in order to arrange the tomb and foundation of the first Mausoleum, deep frozen ground is being crushed with dynamite. Newspapers of that time reported that about 100 thousand people visited the Mausoleum in a month and a half, but a huge line was still lining up at the door. And in the Kremlin they are starting to frantically think about what to do with the body, which in early March begins to rapidly lose its presentable appearance...

For the materials provided, the editors thank the Federal Security Service of Russia and Dr. historical sciences Sergei Devyatov.

Read about how the leader was embalmed, Mausoleum-2 was built and destroyed, and his body was evacuated from Moscow during the war in the next issue of AiF.