Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Lenin, original name Vladimir Ulyanov (1870-1924). Russian revolutionary and Marxist theoretician. His eldest brother was hanged (1887) for an assassination attempt on Tsar Alexander III. Banished to Siberia for revolutionary activities in 1895, he formed the Bolsheviks (Russian Communist Party) in 1903, three years after his release. When the Russian Revolution broke out in 1917 he returned to Russia from Switzerland and, partnered by Trotsky, led the Bolsheviks in the October Revolution. Following the civil war (1918-20) the Soviet Union was established, with Lenin as its first leader. He had been instrumental in forming the Comintern (the Communist International Organization) in 1919. In 1922 he fell ill and a bullet he had received in an assassination attempt (1918) was re-moved from his neck. He recovered but remained an invalid and later suffered several strokes. His classics of political theory include What is to be Done? (1902) and Imperialism (1917).
