Carlos Gutierrez 9E #11 5/8/17

Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Lenin was, without a doubt, one of the most controversial yet influential
figures of the 20th century. Renowned as an ideological revolutionary that changed the
trajectory of a country and took part in the formation of the Soviet Union. He was also
one of the key players that led the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917 and later took over as
the head of the newly formed Union of Socialist Republics (USSR). Before moving on
with his adult and political life, lets step back in time and take a look at where it all
began. Vladimir Ilich Ulyanov was born on April 22, 1870, in Simbirsk (Ulyanovsk),
Russia. Most people know or knew him by his nickname, Lenin, that he had adopted
after undergoing party work.

He was born to a well-educated family of six children with Lenin being the third. It
is easy to say that the academic part was probably one of the most important aspects of
Lenins childhood. This is all thanks to his parents, who sprouted a passion for studying
and learning, especially in Lenin. He was even pushed to his limits and consequently
led him to questioning his teachers with ideas that some may call radical. On top of that,
his family had some revolutionary ideologies in their blood. The first case came when
the Russian government had threatened Lenins father with an early retirement over
suspicions of the influence public schools had on society. The second, but most serious
situation occurred in 1887. Lenins older brother, Aleksandr, was arrested and later
executed when it was discovered that he made part of a group that was planning to
assassinate Emperor Alexander III. But these are not all the cases, each member of
Lenins family was revolutionary up to a certain point.

Despite having to deal with family-related difficulties, Lenin moved on and

enrolled at Kazan University to study law. However, he was soon expelled on his first
term due to his radical activity. This didnt stop him from obtaining from obtaining his law
degree as an external student on 1891. At the time, Lenin had already considered
himself a Marxist since he was heavily influenced by the books he had read in his
grandfathers estate, located in the village of Kokushkino. Therefore, he established in
St. Petersburg, Russias capital at the time, where he quickly went on to become a
professional revolutionary. Lenin made ties with several other Marxists and became
largely involved in their activities. This led to their arrest and to Lenins 3-year exile to
Siberia. Again, this was not enough to stop him as he went on to become a very
symbolic figure in the international revolutionary movement and later became the leader
of the Bolshevik faction of the Russian Social Democratic Workers Party. He envisioned
a different Russia and wanted the members of the party to stick to that promise too.
Lenin said, give us an organization of revolutionaries, and we will overturn Russia.

It wasnt until 1904, where things started to get heated up among Russian
citizens. At that time, Russia was in a war with Japan and had already suffered a
number of defeats causing a mismanagement of the governments domestic budget.
This resulted in the citizens discontent over the countrys political structure and
demanded a reform. Another event that continued to anger Russias citizens was
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Bloody Sunday, and ignited the Russian Revolution of 1905 and led Tsar Nicholas II to
the formation of October Manifesto to calm down the anger of citizens.

It is important to mention that not all Marxists were in full agreement with Lenins
policies like the Mensheviks. They thought Lenins ideology paved the way to a
dictatorship, something that went against the people Lenin wanted to empower.
Unfortunately for Lenin, the Bolsheviks lost power to the Mensheviks and later caused
his exile to Switzerland once WW1 begun.

In 1917, a tired Russia had overthrown the tsars. Lenin returned and saw this as
a chance to demonstrate how ruthless he really was in his desire to secure power. In
fact, he launched a campaign called the Red Terror that would soon become very
popular and would be used to crush the opposition, in this case, the Whites. Despite
having lived through an assassination attempt, Lenin was able to recover and
miraculously succeed in the Revolution. Unfortunately, the kind of country he dreamed
of never became a reality. This was mainly due to the social and political instability from
wars including the civil war that he had created. This led to even more famine and
poverty that led to outbreaks that destabilized Lenins government.

On top of that, Lenin suffered a stroke in May 1922 and another one in
December of the same year. Fearing that his days would soon come to an end, he
turned his thoughts on how the USSR would be governed during his absence.
Therefore, he expressed remorse over the dictatorial ideology that lied in the Soviet
government. Most noticeably, he was very upset with the rising of Joseph Stalin, the
general secretary of the Communist Party. Lenin dealt with another stroke on March 10,
1923, that took away his ability to speak, resulting in the end of his political career.

Sadly, Lenin passed away nearly 10 months later on January 21, 1924, leaving
behind a remarkable legacy. He planted Marxist values in the people of Russia with the
desire to end with the long-lasting tyranny and move to a better tomorrow. Lenin helped
overthrow the tsar, pave the way for the USSR, and a new era for the nation.
Unfortunately, Lenin was not able to fulfil his dream on properly reconstructing the
nation, but his intention is felt by many Russians. Perhaps he made mistakes, some
more significant than others, but he left us a lesson to learn. Lenin questioned
established beliefs as well as the way of life, in contrast to the phrase: war is peace.
Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength. George Orwell

Bibliography:
"Vladimir Lenin". Biography.com. N.p., 2017. Web. 8 May 2017.

"BBC - History - Historic Figures: Vladimir Lenin (1870 - 1924)". Bbc.co.uk. N.p., 2017. Web. 8 May 2017.