Profile
Vladimir Lenin: The Revolutionary Who Founded the Soviet State
Leader of the Bolshevik Revolution and first head of Soviet Russia
Born Vladimir Ulyanov in Simbirsk on the Volga, he grew up in an educated family. His life turned when his elder brother Alexander was executed in 1887 for plotting against the tsar. Lenin turned to Marxism, was exiled to Siberia, and spent most of the next two decades abroad.
In April 1917 he returned to Russia on a train arranged by Germany, which hoped he would weaken Russia's war effort. In October 1917 his Bolsheviks seized power in Petrograd. He pulled Russia out of the First World War and led the Reds to victory in a brutal civil war.
His rule used mass arrests and terror against opponents, while his New Economic Policy briefly allowed small private trade. In 1922 he oversaw the creation of the Soviet Union. Weakened by strokes, he died in 1924, and his ideas, known as Leninism, shaped communist movements for the rest of the century.
Career highlights
- 1887Brother executed: Alexander hanged for plotting against the tsar
- 1897Exile to Siberia: three years for revolutionary activity
- 1903Bolsheviks: leads the radical wing of Russian Marxists
- 1917October Revolution: Bolsheviks seize power
- 1918Treaty of Brest-Litovsk: Russia leaves the First World War
- 1921New Economic Policy: limited private trade allowed
- 1922Soviet Union: USSR formally created
Did you know?His adopted name 'Lenin' is thought by many historians to come from the Lena River in Siberia.
