Vladimir Lenin: Early Life

Vladimir Lenin was a leader that spearheaded the efforts of the Bolsheviks, and was a major revolutionary figure in Soviet Union history (Trotsky). He was the first leader of the Soviet State, and to this day, his body of work is engrained in Communist theory. After his death, the term “Marxist-Leninism”1 was coined to describe the set of ideals that the Communist party is based on, a theory which has lasted the test of time and is still culturally relevant today (Trotsky).

Vladimir Lenin was born on April 22, 1870 as Vladimir Ilich Ulyanov to Ilya Nikolayevich and Maria Alexandrova (Prilezhayeva)2. From a young age, it was clear that he had above average levels of intelligence. He grew up in a nurturing family who wanted nothing but for the best for him. His parents were incredibly well educated and cultured, and so, Lenin was able to thrive in this environment. He was an exceptionally intelligent student, graduating first in his high school class (Trotsky). Due to his level of intelligence, his teachers encouraged him to apply to university at St. Petersburg, but he was unable to go due to the fact that his older brother, Alexander Ulyanovm, was arrested and hung for conspiring to kill Tsar Alexander III (Prilezhayeva). Instead, he went to Kazan University, hoping that he would thrive there. How wrong he was.

Beginnings of Revolutionary Mindset

Kazan University was not a place of intellectual nurture for Lenin. Due to the recent conspiracy to murder Tsar Alexander III, the university was swarming with inspectors with their eyes out for anyone saying anything remotely suspicious towards the Tsar (Prilezhayeva). Naturally, this was not constructive for the education of Lenin, and so he fought back. On December 4, 1887, Lenin participated in an illegal gathering of students. Afterwards, he was arrested and expelled from Kazan University. Shortly afterwards, he was banished to Kokushkino, a village in the Russian countryside. (Prilezhayeva). This was the event that started Lenin’s journey as a revolutionary.

For the most part, he spent his time in Kokushkino studying the great revolutionaries that came before him. More specifically, he began reading the works of Karl Marx. He was deeply intrigued by Marxism, and so, he became a self-proclaimed Marxist in 1889 and began participating in local Marxist circles (Trotsky). In 1891, he was admitted to the bar and practiced law in Samara from 1892-93. However, he despised it. He absolutely hated the class bias that was present in the legal system, an idea that would influence his later body of work (Trotsky). While this period of time began his formation of his way of thinking, he did not begin to get involved with Marxist revolutionaries until he moved to St. Petersburg in 1894 (Trotsky).

When he moved to St. Petersburg, Lenin began his journey as a revolutionary. In 1895, him and fellow Marxists organized the Union for the struggle for the liberation of the Working Class, which supported the working class and their ability to unionize (Trotsky), and on December 8th, 1895, it was decided that a newspaper would be published by the union, with Lenin writing the major articles. However, that same night, when Lenin got home from this meeting, he was arrested on charges of treason (Prilezhayeva). Lenin spent the entirety of 1896 in prison. After his sentence was up, he spent the next three years exiled in Siberia. While in Siberia, he married a fellow revolutionary by the name of Nadezhda Konstantinovna (Trotsky). His work continued through the 19th century, with the crux of it being his work on the illegal paper Spark (Trotsky).

1905 Russian Revolution

In October of 1905, the Russian Worker’s Strike commenced, with Lenin at the forefront of protecting the rights of workers (Trotsky). During this time period, Lenin outlined three key principles that led the October Revolution and eventually caused the creation of the Soviet Union (Trotsky). In Two Tactics of Social-Democracy in the

Democratic Revolution, Lenin resolved that the Tsarist leadership currently in place was strengthening the power of the Bourgeoisie and taking away power from the Proletariat, and due to the necessity of workers rights, the Tsarist regime government needed to be overthrown (Tactics 21). Lenin called for a “complete socialist revolution” and for everyone involved to be hostile towards the bourgeoisie, especially the Tsar (Tactics 22). While this revolution was not successful, it laid the ground for Lenin’s later ideals on how to go about the overthrow of the Tsarist government in 1918.

October Revolution

The October Revolution was one of the most pivotal moments in Soviet history, as it led to the creation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. On October 25th, 1917, the second Congress of the Soviets opened, and on October 27th, they drafted the decree that they founded the Soviet Union on (Revolution 2). The proletariat was made aware, newspapers were distributed, and the party entered prominence. Quickly, news of the revolution spread. Much to Lenin’s delight3, the proletariat began to take their land back from the bourgeoisie that ruled them, and shortly after, the Soviets took power. Lenin worked exceptionally hard to see this through, and naturally, he was delighted to be in power. He went from an exiled revolutionary to the leader of the Soviet Union. He later passed away in 1924, leaving the Soviet Union standing (Trotsky).

Lenin was a revolutionary thinker. His body of text is immense, and his work is nothing short of impressive. He was involved in some of the most pivotal moments of human history. He will be remembered forever for his tireless work for the establishment of the Soviet Union, whether that be good or bad. 

1 It should be noted that the term “Marxist-Leninism” is essentially the same thing as Stalinism. A more apt description would be exclusively Leninism.

2 Ulyanov took the pseudonym Lenin after being exiled in Siberia in 1901. (Britannica)

3 Trotsky recalled his conversations with Lenin during the October Revolution in his biography about Lenin. According to him, Lenin was bordering on giddy.

Works Cited

Avalon Project - Foreign Relations of the United States : 1918 the Conclusion of the Peace of Brest Litovsk - the Peace Treaty of Brest-Litovsk 1918.

Bayulev, Boris. Lenin and the Bourgeois Press. 1977.

Goode, W. T. “21 October 1919: An Interview With Lenin.” The Guardian, 21 Oct. 1919.

Lenin, Vladimir. Imperialism: The Highest Stage Of Capitalism. 1917.

Lenin, Vladimir. Results of Party Week in Moscow and Our Tasks.

Lenin, Vladimir. The State and Revolution. 1917.

Lenin, Vladimir. Two Tactics of Social-Democracy in the Democratic Revolution. 1905.

Prilezhayeva, Maria. V. I. Lenin: The Story Of His Life. 1973.

Trotsky, Leon. “Leon Trotsky on Lenin | Revolutionary, Marxist and Political Ideologies.” Encyclopedia Britannica.

Trotsky, Leon. Leon Trotsky: Lenin (the Revolution).