Lenin's Brutality

“Every year, thousands of people flock to the cold and dreary Red Square in Moscow, Russia.” Located there is something remarkably peculiar. In a cold, damp, and dark mausoleum lies Vladimir Lenin’s lifeless, preserved body. Frozen in time because of science, the body has been an attraction to many throughout the decades. While traveling thousands of miles to see the body of a man who was long dead may seem strange, the actions of Lenin makes it stranger. Although he was certainly an influential man, changing the political landscape of Russia forever and creating a global superpower, Lenin has a darker side. While the genocide of his successor, Joseph Stalin, live in infamy, Lenin is often overlooked for his evil. Lenin brutally killed thousands
during his reign and enacted policies that starved his own population. Yet his body still lays in this honorable spot in Moscow. This shows the divide in the world when it comes to how he is viewed, and for good reason. Vladimir Lenin impacted Russia by leading a communist revolution, allowing him to be ruthless in maintaining power which is why he lives in infamy throughout the western world today.

Vladimir Lenin impacted and completely changed not only 20th century Russia, but the entire world. Lenin was the leader of the Bolshevik Party- the Russian communist group which was based around the ideas of Karl Marx. Their goal was to overthrow the tsarist monarchy that currently held power and to replace it with a communist government. Although they remained a minority for a long time, the party increased in power as Russia fought in the first World War. During February of 1917, the tsarist government was overthrown and replaced with a temporary one. Lenin saw this opportunity to seize power for his party and decided to do just that. What he decided to do next changed the course of Russian history and is considered by many to be one of the most important events of the century. Lenin started and led what is called the October Revolution. During this infamous month, Lenin and his supporters got rid of the temporary government that had been put in place after the monarchy had been taken over months earlier. Lenin put himself in charge of this new government, which would become known as the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics). However, this Revolution was met with some resistance. A three year civil war followed, making the period a hard time for Russia. There was lots of hunger among the people and many fell into poverty, losing everything that they owned. These changes to the living standards in Russia were largely due to the economic plans that Lenin enacted. Another change to Russian life was Lenin’s brutality towards his own citizens in order to keep his power. This is something that his successor, Joseph Stalin, maintained. On an international level, Lenin was a the first leader of the Soviet Union, a country that would participate in the Cold War with the United States and undoubtedly become one of the most fearsome nations in history. Without Lenin, it is doubtful that the next century would have taken place the way that it did. The Soviet Union was also the first successful communist nation something that spread to other parts of the world like China. Lenin didn’t just change the world for years to come however, he also made life devastating when he was alive for his own citizens.

Lenin’s brutality towards his own people through the use of force demonstrates the true extent of his evil.
While Lenin rose to power on the ideals of fighting for the people, he committed heinous crimes against anyone who he considered was a threat to his new government. In doing so, Lenin started the Red Terror, a period of time where the new government attempted to find anti- communist or pro- monarchy citizens, often killing or enslaving those that they found. A task force that was known as the Cheka was put in place for that goal. The Cheka, a task force whose name has no formal translation, hunted down citizens who Lenin considered a threat to his regime. As the government had many that opposed the communist government, the police force created terror throughout much of the Russian population. Although the exact numbers of executions and deaths from the Red Terror is not known, some historians think that as many as half a million were killed by the Cheka. Yet, executions were not the only horrors that the Red Terror spread throughout Russia. Many members of opposition parties were sent to labor camps, which would become known in the Western world as concentration camps. The civilians unfortunate enough to be sent there were forced to work in horrendous conditions. Because of the poor working environment, many died in the labor camps. Lenin also essentially abolished Russia’s religious freedom, often persecuting minority groups such as the Orthodox Church, Catholics,
Jews, and Muslims. Although the Cheka was able to cause horrendous damage, Lenin’s economic actions caused just as much suffering. Because Lenin had declared himself a Marxist, he wanted to enact economic policies that distributed wealth. While not a bad idea on paper, the actions created a food shortage in Russia. The way that such policies were put in place made it so that if you were in the wrong class or supported the wrong political party, it was virtually impossible for you to buy food. Even supporters of Lenin suffered as the famine raged. While some food shortages and droughts happened due to environmental factors, this famine was caused almost entirely by Lenin’s government. Millions died from starvation during the tough times, something that arguably could have been prevented if Lenin hadn’t come to power. While not as brutal as the Cheka, Lenin’s famine brought just as much damage to Russian society in terms of the number of civilian casualties . Because of all of the devastation that was brought about by Lenin, it’s not surprising that most of the world views him as a villain. But, it may be shocking to know how the Russian population thinks of him.

Lenin remains a controversial figure long after his death with his name either being idolized or reviled.
Yet most everyone can agree that his impact on Russia was very large, whether for better or for worse. Surprisingly, the place that he is considered as the biggest hero would be in Russia, where his body was preserved and on display in Moscow ever since his death. Many Russians often thought of Lenin as a father figure, even while the rest of the world considered him to be a villain. Back in 2011, there was talk that Russia would remove the body from where it lay in Red Square. This agrees with what a large number of the Russian population thinks, but some think that the body needs to remain where it is. One of these people, Walter Rogers, is a man who writes for the news organization Christian Science Monitor. He argues that “Interring Lenin beside his mother in St. Petersburg may paper over, but will not expunge the bloody Bolshevik past. Shakespeare reminds us that ‘the evil men do lives after them.’ Modern Russia would dishonor communism’s victims if Lenin’s corpse is smuggled out of town on a moonless night (Heilbrunn, 3).” This controversy over where Lenin’s body remains shows how many disagree about how Lenin should be remembered. And while Russia may be struggling to come to terms with who Lenin really was, the rest of the world seems to be more decisive. According to Ellie Zolfagharifard from the UK Daily Mail, a survey found “the opinions of almost 7,000
students from 37 countries including Argentina, Pakistan, South Korea, Italy and the U.S (Zolfagharifard,1).” The results of this survey showed that Vladimir Lenin was the seventh most hated person in history, just behind communist leader Mao Zedong. That shows that most people (or at least students) recognize the damage that Lenin did to his people. On that same list were notorious killers such as Adolf Hitler, Osama bin Laden, and Joseph Stalin. Nonetheless, there is a tourism market in Moscow for all of those who wish to visit the body of the dead leader. Despite what he did and how most of the world views him, the body of Lenin as remained a popular tourist site in Russia. While the contrast in how Lenin is portrayed varies, the majority of the world that was never under communist rule thinks of him as a villain. However, his legacy carries on through more than other’s memories. The Soviet Union that Lenin created lasted until 1991, greatly influencing the events of the 20th century. It could be argued that society is still feeling what Lenin has done today. Some may be grateful for his impact while others may hate him for it, but the one thing that is for sure is that the world will never be the same.

Vladimir Lenin did a lot in his lifetime, whether that be changing the geopolitical world or enacting villainous policies on his own people, his memory will always be a controversial one. The controversy concerns not whether he was an influential or important man. That is undeniable because of his impact on Russian politics and the creation of the USSR. The debate over Lenin is over the policies that he enacted during his reign. Yet despite doing clearly villainous acts to his own citizens and being hated around the world for it, Russian citizens will defend their father figure. All of these opinions concerning Lenin’s memory bring up interesting questions about history. What Lenin did was clearly wrong, yet he still has his supporters. Why is this? Why does some of the world not think of Lenin as the villain that he was? How can some actions be wrong to some people and appear to be the right thing to another group? And most importantly, what makes a villain?