Vladimir Lenin Research Paper
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, or Vladimir Lenin as he is more popularly known, was a well-known communist revolutionary in Russia who went on to be one of the most dominant revolutionary leaders. Many historians agree that Lenin is one of the most influential political leaders in history. The disagreement among historians is most likely to concern just how Lenin became as influential as he did. Some will argue it was his upbringing, others believe it is the tragedies he faced in his early life and some historians still are not quite sure what exactly molded him into the great political leader he was.
Vladimir Lenin was born on April 22, 1870 in Simbirsk, Russia to a humble family. His mother was the daughter of a doctor and his father, son of a serf, had earned a college degree and eventually worked as a school superintendent. At home, …show more content…
Lenin’s parents encouraged open discussion and allowed their children to decide for themselves what they would believe in politically. They were also Russian, German, Swedish and Jewish. As historian Jennifer Llewellyn writes, “Their humble background provided the Ulyanovs with empathy with Russia’s peasant and working classes; they were also politically informed and liberal-minded.” This is perhaps, where he began adopting leftist political ideologies related to communism. The liberal beliefs are based on the idea that all people should be equal under the law because no human life is superior to another. Peasants and people of the working class, to Lenin, should have equal opportunities and be treated no worse than the upper class.
Tragedy struck Lenin in childhood.
First his father died then his brother was killed for allegedly being involved in a plan to overthrow the tsar. Jennifer Llewellyn believes this to be the turning point in his life as she writes, “This event resulted in the entire Ulyanov family being condemned and ostracized as revolutionaries. Both his father’s death and his brother’s execution had a significant impact on the young Lenin: he lost faith in God and religion” These events led Lenin to abandon his Jewish upbringing. He became atheist and shifted politically to socialist ideologies. He very closely followed in his brothers footsteps with his radical socialist ideas and beliefs. Historian Christopher Hill would agree with these events as being a major turning point for Lenin, politically. In his book, Lenin and the Russian Revolution, he writes, “this tragedy made a deep impression on Vladimir, who had loved and admired Alexander. The two brothers had already had many discussions on politics.” Still, some argue that this great shift did not occur until he was a student at Kazan University, where “he was exposed to radical
thinking.”
As a student Lenin was, in fact, exposed to radical ideas. He attended a school that was almost exclusive to the upper class, most of whom supported the tsar. Despite the majority belief, Lenin still disagreed strongly with the form of government in Russia. While in school, Lenin participated in a demonstration of his radical views and was expelled from the university. He went to live on the family estate and continued his education off-campus with the same university until 1891 when he earned a law degree.
Historian Albert Resis, unlike Llewellyn, believes that Lenin was not fully radicalized until after he was expelled from university and living on his grandfather’s estate. Resis writes, “During this period of enforced idleness, he met exiled revolutionaries of the older generation and avidly read revolutionary political literature, especially Marx’s Das Kapital. He became a Marxist in January 1889.” Resis would agree with Llewellyn that Lenin was exposed to radical views in his early life and also very prominently in college, but would argue that he did not become a Marxist until after his expulsion and did not adopt all of the radical ideologies until then. Historian Rob Sewell, on the other hand, believes the expulsion to be the tragedy that forced Lenin into Marxism as he writes, “This increased his political thirst and led to his eventual contact with Marxist circles. This progressed to a study of Marx’s Capital, which was circulating in small numbers.” In adulthood he continued to hold on closely to his Marxist identity and gained sympathy for the working class. He believed capitalism was based on treating lower classes unfairly and that it promoted inequality. One historian writes, “Lenin accepted most of Marx's thought without alteration…attacking any new idea that struck him as heretical.” As a revolutionary thinker, most historians including Resis and Llewellyn agree that he was one of the most influential and extremely well-educated. Llewellyn states that “when he wasn’t reading, Lenin was writing or speaking in workers’ circles or at underground meetings.” His Marxist rhetoric, along with his family history, made him a wanted man. He lived under pseudonyms, one being Lenin, to avoid capture. Lenin was eventually captured and sent to Serbia from 1895 to 1898. By 1900 he was back in exile. Russia was in need of rapid industrialization. The Russian Revolution was looking to do just that. Political change would bring on industrialization more quickly while establishing a government that grants people more freedom. Christopher Hill writes, “Liberalism's first chance in Russia came after the disastrous defeats of the Crimean War. They showed that wars could no longer be won without a modern industry, and exposed the cumbrous disorganization of the state machine.” The defeats in war initially came as a surprise. Russia is such a large nation with a large army. The lack of industry caused the losses. This set up the origins of the revolution. The nation desperately needed to industrialize and the tsar was not doing it. This opened a window for the socialists to spread their ideas. The biggest political party to emerge in Russia during the revolution was the Bolsheviks. Led by Lenin, the Bolsheviks wanted reform for the working class. Lenin had big ideas for the communist Bolshevik party. According to Llewellyn, Lenin planned that “membership would be restricted to keep out infiltrators, interlopers and the half-hearted. Ideological and tactical decisions would be made by an intellectual elite, and not subject to the whims and self-interest of the masses.” Only certain people would be allowed to enroll in the communist party. They would have to be the smartest people and go through a lengthy process starting in early childhood. Lenin believed that “the liberal bourgeoisie could not lead the revolution as they were tied to landlordism and imperialism, therefore the workers should lead the revolution supported by the peasants. They would form a ‘democratic dictatorship of the proletariat and peasantry’, which would provoke the socialist revolution in the West. In turn, this would come to the aid of the Russian revolution.” And this is exactly the platform with which he led the Bolsheviks. Llewellyn also explains that the movement was able to gain so much momentum because the peasant population in Russia did not care about political affairs and did not make any effort to stop a revolution. Lenin took control power in 1917 and served until his death in 1924. If there is one thing historians can agree on it would be Lenin’s impact on the world. His impact on Russia was enormous but his political actions affected the rest of the world, too. Many parts of the world were curious to see how communism would play out, but most were still afraid to have it spread over the globe. Rob Sewell says, “Lenin and the Bolsheviks changed the world” Christopher Hill recognizes that the “Russian Revolution has demonstrated that the common people of the earth can take over power and run the state infinitely more effectively than their ‘betters.’”
“Vladimir Lenin was a profoundly influential figure in world history.” He recognized Russia’s need for rapid industrialization, organized a political party and seized government power. He
Vladimir Lenin was born on April 22, 1870 in Simbirsk, Russia to a humble family. His mother was the daughter of a doctor and his father, son of a serf, had earned a college degree and eventually worked as a school superintendent. At home, …show more content…
Lenin’s parents encouraged open discussion and allowed their children to decide for themselves what they would believe in politically. They were also Russian, German, Swedish and Jewish. As historian Jennifer Llewellyn writes, “Their humble background provided the Ulyanovs with empathy with Russia’s peasant and working classes; they were also politically informed and liberal-minded.” This is perhaps, where he began adopting leftist political ideologies related to communism. The liberal beliefs are based on the idea that all people should be equal under the law because no human life is superior to another. Peasants and people of the working class, to Lenin, should have equal opportunities and be treated no worse than the upper class.
Tragedy struck Lenin in childhood.
First his father died then his brother was killed for allegedly being involved in a plan to overthrow the tsar. Jennifer Llewellyn believes this to be the turning point in his life as she writes, “This event resulted in the entire Ulyanov family being condemned and ostracized as revolutionaries. Both his father’s death and his brother’s execution had a significant impact on the young Lenin: he lost faith in God and religion” These events led Lenin to abandon his Jewish upbringing. He became atheist and shifted politically to socialist ideologies. He very closely followed in his brothers footsteps with his radical socialist ideas and beliefs. Historian Christopher Hill would agree with these events as being a major turning point for Lenin, politically. In his book, Lenin and the Russian Revolution, he writes, “this tragedy made a deep impression on Vladimir, who had loved and admired Alexander. The two brothers had already had many discussions on politics.” Still, some argue that this great shift did not occur until he was a student at Kazan University, where “he was exposed to radical
thinking.”
As a student Lenin was, in fact, exposed to radical ideas. He attended a school that was almost exclusive to the upper class, most of whom supported the tsar. Despite the majority belief, Lenin still disagreed strongly with the form of government in Russia. While in school, Lenin participated in a demonstration of his radical views and was expelled from the university. He went to live on the family estate and continued his education off-campus with the same university until 1891 when he earned a law degree.
Historian Albert Resis, unlike Llewellyn, believes that Lenin was not fully radicalized until after he was expelled from university and living on his grandfather’s estate. Resis writes, “During this period of enforced idleness, he met exiled revolutionaries of the older generation and avidly read revolutionary political literature, especially Marx’s Das Kapital. He became a Marxist in January 1889.” Resis would agree with Llewellyn that Lenin was exposed to radical views in his early life and also very prominently in college, but would argue that he did not become a Marxist until after his expulsion and did not adopt all of the radical ideologies until then. Historian Rob Sewell, on the other hand, believes the expulsion to be the tragedy that forced Lenin into Marxism as he writes, “This increased his political thirst and led to his eventual contact with Marxist circles. This progressed to a study of Marx’s Capital, which was circulating in small numbers.” In adulthood he continued to hold on closely to his Marxist identity and gained sympathy for the working class. He believed capitalism was based on treating lower classes unfairly and that it promoted inequality. One historian writes, “Lenin accepted most of Marx's thought without alteration…attacking any new idea that struck him as heretical.” As a revolutionary thinker, most historians including Resis and Llewellyn agree that he was one of the most influential and extremely well-educated. Llewellyn states that “when he wasn’t reading, Lenin was writing or speaking in workers’ circles or at underground meetings.” His Marxist rhetoric, along with his family history, made him a wanted man. He lived under pseudonyms, one being Lenin, to avoid capture. Lenin was eventually captured and sent to Serbia from 1895 to 1898. By 1900 he was back in exile. Russia was in need of rapid industrialization. The Russian Revolution was looking to do just that. Political change would bring on industrialization more quickly while establishing a government that grants people more freedom. Christopher Hill writes, “Liberalism's first chance in Russia came after the disastrous defeats of the Crimean War. They showed that wars could no longer be won without a modern industry, and exposed the cumbrous disorganization of the state machine.” The defeats in war initially came as a surprise. Russia is such a large nation with a large army. The lack of industry caused the losses. This set up the origins of the revolution. The nation desperately needed to industrialize and the tsar was not doing it. This opened a window for the socialists to spread their ideas. The biggest political party to emerge in Russia during the revolution was the Bolsheviks. Led by Lenin, the Bolsheviks wanted reform for the working class. Lenin had big ideas for the communist Bolshevik party. According to Llewellyn, Lenin planned that “membership would be restricted to keep out infiltrators, interlopers and the half-hearted. Ideological and tactical decisions would be made by an intellectual elite, and not subject to the whims and self-interest of the masses.” Only certain people would be allowed to enroll in the communist party. They would have to be the smartest people and go through a lengthy process starting in early childhood. Lenin believed that “the liberal bourgeoisie could not lead the revolution as they were tied to landlordism and imperialism, therefore the workers should lead the revolution supported by the peasants. They would form a ‘democratic dictatorship of the proletariat and peasantry’, which would provoke the socialist revolution in the West. In turn, this would come to the aid of the Russian revolution.” And this is exactly the platform with which he led the Bolsheviks. Llewellyn also explains that the movement was able to gain so much momentum because the peasant population in Russia did not care about political affairs and did not make any effort to stop a revolution. Lenin took control power in 1917 and served until his death in 1924. If there is one thing historians can agree on it would be Lenin’s impact on the world. His impact on Russia was enormous but his political actions affected the rest of the world, too. Many parts of the world were curious to see how communism would play out, but most were still afraid to have it spread over the globe. Rob Sewell says, “Lenin and the Bolsheviks changed the world” Christopher Hill recognizes that the “Russian Revolution has demonstrated that the common people of the earth can take over power and run the state infinitely more effectively than their ‘betters.’”
“Vladimir Lenin was a profoundly influential figure in world history.” He recognized Russia’s need for rapid industrialization, organized a political party and seized government power. He