This page will contain videos about Vladimir Lenin, as they become available.Vladimir LeninVladimir Ilyich Lenin (Russian: Влади́мир Ильи́ч Ле́нин listen?), original surname Ulyanov (Улья́нов) (April 22 (April 10 (O.S.)), 1870 – January 21, 1924), was a Russian revolutionary, the leader of the Bolshevik party, the first Premier of the Soviet Union, and the main theorist of Leninism, which he described as an adaptation of Marxism to "the age of imperialism". "Lenin" was one of his revolutionary pseudonyms. It has been suggested that he chose this name to show his opposition to Georgi Plekhanov who used the pseudonym Volgin, after the Volga River; i.e. Ulyanov picked the Lena which is longer and flows in the opposite direction. However, Plekhanov appears to have been a significant influence upon Lenin at that time in his life, so the veracity of this explanation is subject to question. There are other theories on where his name came from and he himself is not known to have ever stated exactly why he chose it. He is sometimes erroneously referred to in the West as "Nikolai Lenin", though he has never been known as such in Russia. Early lifeVladimir Ulyanov (Lenin) circa 1887Born in Simbirsk, Russia, Lenin was the son of Ilya Nikolaevich Ulyanov (1831 - 1886), a Russian civil service official who worked for increased democracy and free universal education in Russia, and his liberal wife Maria Alexandrovna Blank (1835 - 1916). Like many Russians, he was of mixed ethnic and religious ancestry. He had Kalmyk ancestry through his paternal grandparents, Volga German ancestry through his maternal grandmother, who was a Lutheran, and Jewish ancestry through his maternal grandfather (converted to Christianity). Vladimir Ulyanov (Lenin) himself was baptised into the Russian Orthodox Church. Vladimir distinguished himself in the study of Latin and Greek. Two tragedies occurred in his early life: in 1886, his father died of a cerebral hemorrhage. The following year, in May of 1887 his eldest brother Alexander Ulyanov was hanged for participation in a plot threatening the life of Tsar Alexander III. This radicalized Vladimir (his official Soviet biographies have this event as central to Lenin's revolutionary exploits) and later that year he was arrested, and expelled from Kazan University for participating in student protests. He continued to study independently and by 1891 had earned a license to practice law. Lenin's mug shot, Dec. 1895RevolutionaryRather than settle into a legal career, he became more involved in revolutionary propaganda efforts and the study of Marxism, much of it in St. Petersburg. On December 7, 1895, he was arrested and held by authorities for an entire year, then exiled to the village of Shushenskoye in Siberia. In July 1898, he married Nadezhda Krupskaya, who was a socialist activist. In April 1899, he published the book The Development of Capitalism in Russia [1]. In 1900, his exile ended. He travelled in Russia and elsewhere in Europe and published the paper Iskra as well as other tracts and books related to the revolutionary movement. At this period, he started using various aliases, finally settling upon Lenin, most likely in allusion to the Lena execution. He was active in the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party (RSDLP), and in 1903 he led the Bolshevik faction after a split with the Mensheviks that was partly inspired by his pamphlet What is to be Done? [2]. In 1906 he was elected to the Presidium of the RSDLP. In 1907 he moved to Finland for security reasons. He continued to travel in Europe and participated in many socialist meetings and activities, including the Zimmerwald Conference of 1915. When Inessa Armand left Russia and settled in Paris, she met Vladimir Lenin and other Bolsheviks living in exile. Inessa Armand became Lenin's partner. On April 16, 1917, he returned to Petrograd from Switzerland following the overthrow of Tsar Nicholas II, and took a leading role within the Bolshevik movement, publishing the April Theses [3]. In the April theses called for uncompromising opposition to the provisional government. Initially by this lurch to the left Lenin isolated his party. However, this uncompromising stand meant that the Bolsheviks were the obvious home for the masses as they became disillusioned and with the luxury of opposition they were freed from the responsibility for any consequences from the implementation of their policies (Christopher Read: From Tsar to soviets pp151-3). After a failed workers' uprising in July, Lenin fled to Finland for safety. He returned in October, inspiring an armed revolution with the slogan "All Power to the Soviets!", against the Provisional Government. His ideas of government were expressed in his essay "State and Revolution" [4], which called for a new form of government based on the worker's councils, or soviets. It has been largely suggested that Lenin had reached Petrograd from Switzerland with the help of the German Empire. Eye witnesses are said to have confirmed that Lenin had been carried in a sealed train on the way, escorted by Germans. Kaiser Wilhelm II himself is thought to have expected Lenin to paralyze the Russian army through revolution and end the war on the Eastern front and he saw him only as a contemporary figure that would lose power soon afterwards. Head of the Soviet stateLenin in his Kremlin office, 1918On November 8, Lenin was elected as Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars by the Russian Soviet Congress. Faced with the threat of German invasion, Lenin argued that Russia should immediately sign a peace treaty. Other Bolshevik leaders, such as Bukharin, advocated continuing the war as a means of fomenting revolution in Germany. Leon Trotsky, who led the negotiations, advocated an intermediate position, calling for a peace treaty only on the conditions that no territorial gains on either side be consolidated. After the negotiations collapsed, Germany launched an invasion that resulted in the loss of much of Russia's western territory. As a result of this turn of events, Lenin's position consequently gained the support of the majority in the Bolshevik leadership, and Russia signed the eventual Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, under disadvantageous terms (March 1918). Lenin proclaiming the power of the SovietsOne month after the October revolution, the Bolsheviks gained 25% of the votes in the Russian Constituent Assembly election, 1917. Lenin dissolved the Assembly on the same day it opened its first session. The Bolsheviks instead opened a counter-Assembly, the third Congress of Soviets, giving themselves and their allies over 90% of the seats. [5]. They formed a coalition government with the left wing of the Socialist Revolutionaries. However, their coalition collapsed after the Social Revolutionaries opposed the Brest-Litovsk treaty, and they joined other parties in seeking to overthrow the government of the soviets. The situation degenerated, with non-Bolshevik parties (including some of the socialist groups) actively seeking the overthrow of the soviet government. Lenin responded by (unsuccessfully) trying to shut down their activities. On August 30, 1918, Fanya Kaplan, a member of the Socialist Revolutionary Party, approached Lenin after he'd spoken at a meeting and was on his way to his car. She called out to Lenin, and when he turned to answer, fired three shots, two of which struck him in the shoulder and lung. Lenin was taken to his private apartment in the Kremlin, and refused to venture to a hospital, believing other assassins would be waiting there. Doctors were summoned, but decided that it was too dangerous to remove the bullets. Lenin eventually recovered, though his health declined from this point, and it is believed that the incident contributed to his later strokes. Lenin with Trotsky and soldiers in Petrograd in 1921In March, 1919, Lenin and other Bolshevik leaders met with revolutionary socialists from around the world and formed the Communist International. Members of the Communist International, including Lenin and the Bolsheviks themselves, broke off from the broader socialist movement. From that point onwards, they would be known as communists. In Russia, the Bolshevik Party was renamed the "Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks)", which eventually became the CPSU. Meanwhile, a civil war raged across Russia. A wide variety of political movements and their supporters took up arms to support or overthrow the soviet government. Although many different factions were involved in the civil war, the two main forces were the Red Army (communists) and the White Army (monarchists). Foreign powers such as France, Britain, United States and Japan also intervened in this war (on behalf of the White Army). Eventually, the Red Army won the civil war, defeating the White Russian forces and their allies in 1920 (although smaller forces remained for several more years). In the later months of 1919, successes against White Russian forces convinced Lenin that it was time to spread the revolution to the West, by force if necessary. When the newly independent Second Polish Republic began securing its eastern territories annexed by Russia in the partitions of Poland in late 18th century, it clashed with Bolshevik forces for dominance in these areas, which have led to the outbreak of the Polish-Soviet War in 1919. With revolution in Germany and Spartacist League on the rise, Lenin viewed this a perfect time and place to "to probe Europe with the bayonets of the Red Army." Lenin saw Poland as the bridge that the Red Army would have to cross in order to link up the Russian Revolution with the communist supporters in the German Revolution, and to assist other communist movements in Western Europe. However the defeat of Soviet Russia in Polish-Soviet War invalidated these plans. The long years of war had taken their toll on Russia, however, and much of the country lay in ruins. In March 1921, Lenin replaced the policy of War communism (which had been used during the civil war) with the New Economic Policy (NEP), in an attempt to rebuild industry and especially agriculture. But the same month saw the suppression of an uprising among sailors at Kronstadt ("the Kronstadt rebellion"). Nadezhda Krupskaya, Lenin, and American journalist Lincoln Eure in the Kremlin, Feb. 1920Criticisms of Lenin's regime
According to the claims of the Black Book of Communism (Using the Julian calendar): The October revolution was on October 25. The Communists started closing down independent newspaper and radio stations the day after (p. 54). On November 13, an order was sent out that all who were suspected being an "enemy of the people" should be imprisoned (p. 55). Starting in January 1918, war prisoners were being tortured and killed on a large scale (p. 60-61). Starting in May, food was being "requisitioned" from the peasants (p. 66). Also in May, several working-class demonstrations were bloodily suppressed (p. 68). There were around 110 peasants uprisings in July and August (p. 67). In June 1918, the Cheka already had 12,000 members (p. 68). On the 9 and 10 of August, Lenin sent out telegrams ordering mass executions, deportations, and concentration camps. (p. 72-73). Trotsky also supported starting concentration camps (p. 63). After the assassination attempt on Lenin and the succesful assassination of Cheka leader Moisei Uritsky on the same day, Lenin and the other Bolshevik leaders decided to respond with overwhelming force, both as retribution and as a deterrent for any similar future attempts. This led to the particularly intensive period of oppression called the Red Terror. In May 1919, there were 16,000 people in labor camp based on the old Tsarist katorga labor camps, in September 1921 there were more than 70,000 (p. 80). There were large scale rapes of "bourgeoisie women" documented in 1920 (p. 105). In total, 50,000-200,000 summary executions of "class enemies" occurred during Lenin regime. All sides in the Russian Civil Wars of 1918-20 - the Bolsheviks, the Whites, the Anarchists, the seceding nationalities - provisioned themselves by the ancient method of "living off the land": they seized food from those who grew it, gave it to their armies and supporters, and denied it to their enemies. The Bolshevik efficiency at this is confirmed by their recently uncovered records; it is probably one cause of their victory. The American Relief Association, which Herbert Hoover had formed to help the starvation of WWI, offered assistance to Lenin in 1919, on condition that they have full say over the Russian railway network and hand out food impartially to all; Lenin refused this as interference in Russian internal affairs. This led peasants to drastically reduce their crop production. In retaliation, Lenin ordered the seizure of the food peasants had grown for their own subsistence and their seed grain. The Cheka and the army began by shooting hostages, and ended by waging a second full-scale civil war against the peasantry. The food requisitioning are documented on p. 97 and p 120-121. The war on the peasantry, including the use of poison gas, death camps, and deportations are documented on p. 92-97 and p. 116-118. In 1920 Lenin ordered increased emphasis on the food requisitioning from the peasantry, at the same time that the Cheka gave detailed reports about the large scale famine (p. 121). These practices and the accumulated disruptions of six and a half years of war produced a true famine in the early spring of 1921: a hunger so severe that it was doubtful that seed-grain would sown and not eaten. This was one of the causes of the New Economic Policy of 1921; it also helped produce an opening to the West. Lenin allowed relief organizations to bring aid, this time, but later had most of the Russian members organizing the aid liquidated. The famine continued through 1922; the A.R.A fed ten million people, and presumably was what kept most of them alive. The Bolsheviks permitted the relief agencies to continue distributing free food in 1923, while they sold grain abroad. The net effect, since grain is fungible, was that they received money for nothing from capitalist philanthropy. When this was discovered, foreign relief organizations suspended aid. Lenin's first heart attack was in the fall of 1922; and the extent of his responsibility for the grain sales is therefore unclear, but he would certainly have been pleased. Estimates on the deaths from this famine are between 3 and 10 million. For comparison, the worst crop failure of late tsarist Russia, in 1892, caused 375,000 to 400,000 deaths [6][7][8]. Of course, that was in a time of peace and order; there had not been war throughout Russia before. Premature deathLenin's health had already been severely damaged due to the intolerable strains of revolution and war. The assassination attempt earlier in his life also added to his health problems. The bullet was still lodged in his neck too close to his spine for medical techniques of the time to remove. In May 1922, Lenin had his first stroke. He was left partially paralyzed (on his right side) and his role in government declined. After the second stroke in December of the same year, he resigned from active politics. In March 1923 he suffered the third stroke and was left bedridden and no longer able to speak. Lenin died on January 21, 1924. Rumors of Lenin's syphilis sprang up shortly after his death. The official cause given for Lenin's death was cerebral arteriosclerosis, or a stroke (his fourth), but out of the 27 physicians who treated him, only eight signed onto that conclusion in his autopsy report. Therefore, several other theories regarding his death have been put forward. For example, a posthumous diagnosis by two psychiatrists and a neurologist recently published in the European Journal of Neurology claimed to show that Lenin died from syphilis. Documents released after the fall of the U.S.S.R, along with memoirs of Lenin's physicians, suggest that Lenin was treated for syphilis as early as 1895. Documents also suggest that Alexi Abrikosov, the pathologist in charge of the autopsy, was ordered to prove that Lenin did not die of syphilis. Abrikosov did not mention syphilis in the autopsy; however, the blood-vessel damage, the paralysis and other incapacities he cited are typical of syphilis. Upon a second release of the autopsy report, none of the organs, major arteries or brain areas usually affected by syphilis were cited. In 1923, Lenin's doctors treated him with Salvarsan, the only drug at the time specifically used to treat syphilis, and potassium iodine, which was also customary at the time in treating the disease. Although he might have had syphilis, so did a large percentage of Russians at this time. Also, he had no visible lesions on his body that accompany the last stages of the disease. Most historians still agree that the most likely cause of his death was a stroke induced by the bullet still lodged in his neck from the assassination attempt. The city of Petrograd was renamed Leningrad in his honor; this remained the name of the city until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, when it reverted to its original name, St Petersburg. Lenin's body in the Lenin Mausoleum in MoscowLenin's preserved body is on permanent display in Moscow. After his first stroke, Lenin published a number of papers indicating future directions for the government. Most famous of these is Lenin's Testament, which among other things criticized top-ranking communists such as Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin. Of Stalin, who had been the Communist Party's general secretary since April 1922, Lenin said that he had "unlimited authority concentrated in his hands" and suggested that "comrades think about a way of removing Stalin from that post". Lenin's wife discovered the paper in Lenin's study, and read it to the central committee, who while believing parts of it, did not take it to heart, and as such, these sharp criticisms of the internal party were not more widely released. During the early 1920s the Russian movement of cosmism was quite popular and there was an intent to cryogenically preserve Lenin's body in order to revive him in the future. Necessary equipment was purchased abroad, but for a variety of reasons the plan was not realised. Instead his body was embalmed and placed on permanent exhibition in the Lenin Mausoleum in Moscow. The Lenin Mausoleum at Red Square in Moscow Despite Lenin's expressed wish shortly before death that no memorials be created for him, various politicians sought to better their own position vicariously by association with Lenin after his death, and his character was elevated to almost mythical status, with statue after monument after memorial springing up in his honor. Lenin's brain studyLenin's brain was removed before his body was embalmed. The Soviet government commissioned the well-known German neuroscientist Oskar Vogt to study Lenin's brain and to locate the precise location of the brain cells that are responsible for genius. The Institute of Brain was created in Moscow for this purpose. Vogt published a paper on the brain in 1929 where he reported that some pyramidal neurons in the third layer of Lenin's cerebral cortex were very large. However the conclusion of its relevance to genius was contested. Vogt's work was considered unsatisfactory by the Soviets. Further research was continued by the Soviet team, but the work on Lenin's brain was no longer advertised. Contemporary anatomists no longer believe that morphology alone can determine the functioning of the brain. This page about Vladimir Lenin includes information from a Wikipedia article. 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Contemporary anatomists no longer believe that morphology alone can determine the functioning of the brain. He is 1-2 in All-Star games, putting him in a tie for the most losses. Further research was continued by the Soviet team, but the work on Lenin's brain was no longer advertised. Smoltz gave up a solo home run to Miguel Tejada in the second inning of the American League's 7-5 victory and received the loss. Vogt's work was considered unsatisfactory by the Soviets. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa selected Smoltz as a member of the 2005 NL All-Star team. However the conclusion of its relevance to genius was contested. As a result, St. Vogt published a paper on the brain in 1929 where he reported that some pyramidal neurons in the third layer of Lenin's cerebral cortex were very large. At the All-Star break, Smoltz was 9-5 with an ERA of 2.68, better than his career average. The Institute of Brain was created in Moscow for this purpose. After these initial difficulties, things would fall into place. The Soviet government commissioned the well-known German neuroscientist Oskar Vogt to study Lenin's brain and to locate the precise location of the brain cells that are responsible for genius. Because of poor run support, Smoltz would lose his next two decisions despite pitching well. Lenin's brain was removed before his body was embalmed. He allowed six earned runs in only 1 2/3 innings--matching the shortest starts of his career--as the Braves were blown out on Opening Day by the Florida Marlins. Despite Lenin's expressed wish shortly before death that no memorials be created for him, various politicians sought to better their own position vicariously by association with Lenin after his death, and his character was elevated to almost mythical status, with statue after monument after memorial springing up in his honor. Smoltz's revived career as a starter began inauspiciously. Instead his body was embalmed and placed on permanent exhibition in the Lenin Mausoleum in Moscow. Smoltz had also lobbied for a return to the rotation since his conversion to closer, citing evidence by his doctors that starting games would be less stressful on his pitching arm. Necessary equipment was purchased abroad, but for a variety of reasons the plan was not realised. The change in roles came as a result of the Atlanta Braves losing starting pitchers Paul Byrd to the Anaheim Angels, Russ Ortiz to the Arizona Diamondbacks, Jaret Wright to the New York Yankees, and the acquisition of reliever Danny Kolb, who was the closer for the Milwaukee Brewers from 2003 to 2004 -- even though Kolb has been ineffective and has since lost the closer role to Chris Reitsma. During the early 1920s the Russian movement of cosmism was quite popular and there was an intent to cryogenically preserve Lenin's body in order to revive him in the future. In 2005, Smoltz returned to the starting rotation. Lenin's wife discovered the paper in Lenin's study, and read it to the central committee, who while believing parts of it, did not take it to heart, and as such, these sharp criticisms of the internal party were not more widely released. While he posted fewer saves in a season abbreviated by injury in 2003 with 45, Smoltz posted a minuscule 1.12 ERA – 8 ERs in 64.3 innings pitched. Of Stalin, who had been the Communist Party's general secretary since April 1922, Lenin said that he had "unlimited authority concentrated in his hands" and suggested that "comrades think about a way of removing Stalin from that post". In his first full season as a closer, in 2002, Smoltz broke the National League saves record with 55 saves (the previous record was 53; Eric Gagne would equal Smoltz's new record the next year). Most famous of these is Lenin's Testament, which among other things criticized top-ranking communists such as Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin. Adjustments to convert Smoltz from a starter to a closer began in 2001 after several seasons of increased fatigue and fewer innings pitched, culminating in Tommy John surgery after the 1999 season. After his first stroke, Lenin published a number of papers indicating future directions for the government. He won the National League Cy Young with 26 of the 28 first-place votes. Lenin's preserved body is on permanent display in Moscow. Smoltz's best personal year came in 1996, when he went 24–8 with a 2.94 ERA and 276 strikeouts. The city of Petrograd was renamed Leningrad in his honor; this remained the name of the city until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, when it reverted to its original name, St Petersburg. All three are strong possibilities for the Baseball Hall of Fame. Most historians still agree that the most likely cause of his death was a stroke induced by the bullet still lodged in his neck from the assassination attempt. During the period of 1991 to 1998, Smoltz, Maddux and Glavine won 7 National League Cy Young Awards (6 with Atlanta – Maddux won in 1992 with the Chicago Cubs). Also, he had no visible lesions on his body that accompany the last stages of the disease. Before the 1993 season the Braves signed renowned control pitcher Greg Maddux, completing what many consider to be the most accomplished starting trio ever assembled on a single Major League team. Although he might have had syphilis, so did a large percentage of Russians at this time. The Braves won the World Series in 1995 – but with little help from Smoltz, who had the worst postseason of his career. In 1923, Lenin's doctors treated him with Salvarsan, the only drug at the time specifically used to treat syphilis, and potassium iodine, which was also customary at the time in treating the disease. He has more postseason career wins than any other player in history. Upon a second release of the autopsy report, none of the organs, major arteries or brain areas usually affected by syphilis were cited. Over his postseason career, he has a 12-4 record and 2.72 ERA as a starter (14-4 overall). Abrikosov did not mention syphilis in the autopsy; however, the blood-vessel damage, the paralysis and other incapacities he cited are typical of syphilis. Smoltz made his first of many postseason appearances in 1991, pitching well in a losing cause. Documents also suggest that Alexi Abrikosov, the pathologist in charge of the autopsy, was ordered to prove that Lenin did not die of syphilis. Together with teammate Tom Glavine, who also pitched a break-out year in 1989, there was plenty of reason for optimism about the future of Atlanta's pitching staff. Documents released after the fall of the U.S.S.R, along with memoirs of Lenin's physicians, suggest that Lenin was treated for syphilis as early as 1895. In 29 starts, he recorded a 12–11 record and 2.94 ERA while pitching 208 innings. For example, a posthumous diagnosis by two psychiatrists and a neurologist recently published in the European Journal of Neurology claimed to show that Lenin died from syphilis. In 1989, Smoltz gave the first of what would be many exceptional seasons at the Major League level. Therefore, several other theories regarding his death have been put forward. His year-end record was 2–7 with a 5.48 ERA. The official cause given for Lenin's death was cerebral arteriosclerosis, or a stroke (his fourth), but out of the 27 physicians who treated him, only eight signed onto that conclusion in his autopsy report. Granted the opportunity to make 12 starts that season, Smoltz did not fare well. Rumors of Lenin's syphilis sprang up shortly after his death. He made his Major League debut on July 23, 1988. Lenin died on January 21, 1924. Smoltz developed in the Detroit farm system for a few years until, on August 12, 1987, he was traded to the Atlanta Braves for Doyle Alexander. In March 1923 he suffered the third stroke and was left bedridden and no longer able to speak. John Smoltz was an All-State baseball and basketball at Waverly High School in Lansing, Michigan before the Detroit Tigers drafted him in the 22nd round of the 1985 amateur draft. After the second stroke in December of the same year, he resigned from active politics. . He was left partially paralyzed (on his right side) and his role in government declined. He mixes in a curveball on occasion as well. In May 1922, Lenin had his first stroke. Smoltz throws a four-seam fastball that tops out in the low- to mid-90s, a 91MPH slider that has long been considered one of the best in the league, and a 92MPH split-finger fastball that he uses as a strikeout pitch. The bullet was still lodged in his neck too close to his spine for medical techniques of the time to remove. In 2002 he became only the second pitcher in history to have both a season with 20 wins and a season with 50 saves in his career (the other was Dennis Eckersley). The assassination attempt earlier in his life also added to his health problems. While he is predominantly known as a starter and former Cy Young Award winner, in 2001 he became a closer. Lenin's health had already been severely damaged due to the intolerable strains of revolution and war. John Andrew Smoltz (born May 15, 1967 in Detroit, Michigan, USA) is a Major League Baseball player. Of course, that was in a time of peace and order; there had not been war throughout Russia before. Atlanta Braves (1988–present). For comparison, the worst crop failure of late tsarist Russia, in 1892, caused 375,000 to 400,000 deaths [6][7][8]. Led the National League in saves (2002, with 55). Estimates on the deaths from this famine are between 3 and 10 million. Led the National League in wins (1996, with 24). Lenin's first heart attack was in the fall of 1922; and the extent of his responsibility for the grain sales is therefore unclear, but he would certainly have been pleased. Finished 4th in National League Cy Young Award voting (1998). When this was discovered, foreign relief organizations suspended aid. Finished 3rd in National League Cy Young Award voting (2002). The net effect, since grain is fungible, was that they received money for nothing from capitalist philanthropy. Finished 8th in National League MVP voting (2002). The Bolsheviks permitted the relief agencies to continue distributing free food in 1923, while they sold grain abroad. National League Rolaids Relief Man of the Year Award winner (2002). The famine continued through 1922; the A.R.A fed ten million people, and presumably was what kept most of them alive. National League Championship Series MVP (1992). Lenin allowed relief organizations to bring aid, this time, but later had most of the Russian members organizing the aid liquidated. National League Cy Young Award winner (1996). This was one of the causes of the New Economic Policy of 1921; it also helped produce an opening to the West. Seven-time All-Star (1989, 1992-93, 1996, 2002-03, 2005). These practices and the accumulated disruptions of six and a half years of war produced a true famine in the early spring of 1921: a hunger so severe that it was doubtful that seed-grain would sown and not eaten. 121). In 1920 Lenin ordered increased emphasis on the food requisitioning from the peasantry, at the same time that the Cheka gave detailed reports about the large scale famine (p. 116-118. 92-97 and p. The war on the peasantry, including the use of poison gas, death camps, and deportations are documented on p. 97 and p 120-121. The food requisitioning are documented on p. The Cheka and the army began by shooting hostages, and ended by waging a second full-scale civil war against the peasantry. In retaliation, Lenin ordered the seizure of the food peasants had grown for their own subsistence and their seed grain. This led peasants to drastically reduce their crop production. The American Relief Association, which Herbert Hoover had formed to help the starvation of WWI, offered assistance to Lenin in 1919, on condition that they have full say over the Russian railway network and hand out food impartially to all; Lenin refused this as interference in Russian internal affairs. The Bolshevik efficiency at this is confirmed by their recently uncovered records; it is probably one cause of their victory. All sides in the Russian Civil Wars of 1918-20 - the Bolsheviks, the Whites, the Anarchists, the seceding nationalities - provisioned themselves by the ancient method of "living off the land": they seized food from those who grew it, gave it to their armies and supporters, and denied it to their enemies. In total, 50,000-200,000 summary executions of "class enemies" occurred during Lenin regime. 105). There were large scale rapes of "bourgeoisie women" documented in 1920 (p. 80). In May 1919, there were 16,000 people in labor camp based on the old Tsarist katorga labor camps, in September 1921 there were more than 70,000 (p. This led to the particularly intensive period of oppression called the Red Terror. After the assassination attempt on Lenin and the succesful assassination of Cheka leader Moisei Uritsky on the same day, Lenin and the other Bolshevik leaders decided to respond with overwhelming force, both as retribution and as a deterrent for any similar future attempts. 63). Trotsky also supported starting concentration camps (p. 72-73). (p. On the 9 and 10 of August, Lenin sent out telegrams ordering mass executions, deportations, and concentration camps. 68). In June 1918, the Cheka already had 12,000 members (p. 67). There were around 110 peasants uprisings in July and August (p. 68). Also in May, several working-class demonstrations were bloodily suppressed (p. 66). Starting in May, food was being "requisitioned" from the peasants (p. 60-61). Starting in January 1918, war prisoners were being tortured and killed on a large scale (p. 55). On November 13, an order was sent out that all who were suspected being an "enemy of the people" should be imprisoned (p. 54). The Communists started closing down independent newspaper and radio stations the day after (p. According to the claims of the Black Book of Communism (Using the Julian calendar): The October revolution was on October 25. But the same month saw the suppression of an uprising among sailors at Kronstadt ("the Kronstadt rebellion"). In March 1921, Lenin replaced the policy of War communism (which had been used during the civil war) with the New Economic Policy (NEP), in an attempt to rebuild industry and especially agriculture. The long years of war had taken their toll on Russia, however, and much of the country lay in ruins. However the defeat of Soviet Russia in Polish-Soviet War invalidated these plans. With revolution in Germany and Spartacist League on the rise, Lenin viewed this a perfect time and place to "to probe Europe with the bayonets of the Red Army." Lenin saw Poland as the bridge that the Red Army would have to cross in order to link up the Russian Revolution with the communist supporters in the German Revolution, and to assist other communist movements in Western Europe. When the newly independent Second Polish Republic began securing its eastern territories annexed by Russia in the partitions of Poland in late 18th century, it clashed with Bolshevik forces for dominance in these areas, which have led to the outbreak of the Polish-Soviet War in 1919. In the later months of 1919, successes against White Russian forces convinced Lenin that it was time to spread the revolution to the West, by force if necessary. Eventually, the Red Army won the civil war, defeating the White Russian forces and their allies in 1920 (although smaller forces remained for several more years). Foreign powers such as France, Britain, United States and Japan also intervened in this war (on behalf of the White Army). Although many different factions were involved in the civil war, the two main forces were the Red Army (communists) and the White Army (monarchists). A wide variety of political movements and their supporters took up arms to support or overthrow the soviet government. Meanwhile, a civil war raged across Russia. In Russia, the Bolshevik Party was renamed the "Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks)", which eventually became the CPSU. From that point onwards, they would be known as communists. Members of the Communist International, including Lenin and the Bolsheviks themselves, broke off from the broader socialist movement. In March, 1919, Lenin and other Bolshevik leaders met with revolutionary socialists from around the world and formed the Communist International. Lenin eventually recovered, though his health declined from this point, and it is believed that the incident contributed to his later strokes. Doctors were summoned, but decided that it was too dangerous to remove the bullets. Lenin was taken to his private apartment in the Kremlin, and refused to venture to a hospital, believing other assassins would be waiting there. She called out to Lenin, and when he turned to answer, fired three shots, two of which struck him in the shoulder and lung. On August 30, 1918, Fanya Kaplan, a member of the Socialist Revolutionary Party, approached Lenin after he'd spoken at a meeting and was on his way to his car. Lenin responded by (unsuccessfully) trying to shut down their activities. The situation degenerated, with non-Bolshevik parties (including some of the socialist groups) actively seeking the overthrow of the soviet government. However, their coalition collapsed after the Social Revolutionaries opposed the Brest-Litovsk treaty, and they joined other parties in seeking to overthrow the government of the soviets. They formed a coalition government with the left wing of the Socialist Revolutionaries. [5]. The Bolsheviks instead opened a counter-Assembly, the third Congress of Soviets, giving themselves and their allies over 90% of the seats. Lenin dissolved the Assembly on the same day it opened its first session. One month after the October revolution, the Bolsheviks gained 25% of the votes in the Russian Constituent Assembly election, 1917. As a result of this turn of events, Lenin's position consequently gained the support of the majority in the Bolshevik leadership, and Russia signed the eventual Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, under disadvantageous terms (March 1918). After the negotiations collapsed, Germany launched an invasion that resulted in the loss of much of Russia's western territory. Leon Trotsky, who led the negotiations, advocated an intermediate position, calling for a peace treaty only on the conditions that no territorial gains on either side be consolidated. Other Bolshevik leaders, such as Bukharin, advocated continuing the war as a means of fomenting revolution in Germany. Faced with the threat of German invasion, Lenin argued that Russia should immediately sign a peace treaty. On November 8, Lenin was elected as Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars by the Russian Soviet Congress. Kaiser Wilhelm II himself is thought to have expected Lenin to paralyze the Russian army through revolution and end the war on the Eastern front and he saw him only as a contemporary figure that would lose power soon afterwards. Eye witnesses are said to have confirmed that Lenin had been carried in a sealed train on the way, escorted by Germans. It has been largely suggested that Lenin had reached Petrograd from Switzerland with the help of the German Empire. His ideas of government were expressed in his essay "State and Revolution" [4], which called for a new form of government based on the worker's councils, or soviets. He returned in October, inspiring an armed revolution with the slogan "All Power to the Soviets!", against the Provisional Government. After a failed workers' uprising in July, Lenin fled to Finland for safety. However, this uncompromising stand meant that the Bolsheviks were the obvious home for the masses as they became disillusioned and with the luxury of opposition they were freed from the responsibility for any consequences from the implementation of their policies (Christopher Read: From Tsar to soviets pp151-3). Initially by this lurch to the left Lenin isolated his party. In the April theses called for uncompromising opposition to the provisional government. On April 16, 1917, he returned to Petrograd from Switzerland following the overthrow of Tsar Nicholas II, and took a leading role within the Bolshevik movement, publishing the April Theses [3]. Inessa Armand became Lenin's partner. When Inessa Armand left Russia and settled in Paris, she met Vladimir Lenin and other Bolsheviks living in exile. He continued to travel in Europe and participated in many socialist meetings and activities, including the Zimmerwald Conference of 1915. In 1907 he moved to Finland for security reasons. In 1906 he was elected to the Presidium of the RSDLP. He was active in the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party (RSDLP), and in 1903 he led the Bolshevik faction after a split with the Mensheviks that was partly inspired by his pamphlet What is to be Done? [2]. At this period, he started using various aliases, finally settling upon Lenin, most likely in allusion to the Lena execution. He travelled in Russia and elsewhere in Europe and published the paper Iskra as well as other tracts and books related to the revolutionary movement. In 1900, his exile ended. In April 1899, he published the book The Development of Capitalism in Russia [1]. In July 1898, he married Nadezhda Krupskaya, who was a socialist activist. On December 7, 1895, he was arrested and held by authorities for an entire year, then exiled to the village of Shushenskoye in Siberia. Petersburg. Rather than settle into a legal career, he became more involved in revolutionary propaganda efforts and the study of Marxism, much of it in St. He continued to study independently and by 1891 had earned a license to practice law. This radicalized Vladimir (his official Soviet biographies have this event as central to Lenin's revolutionary exploits) and later that year he was arrested, and expelled from Kazan University for participating in student protests. The following year, in May of 1887 his eldest brother Alexander Ulyanov was hanged for participation in a plot threatening the life of Tsar Alexander III. Two tragedies occurred in his early life: in 1886, his father died of a cerebral hemorrhage. Vladimir distinguished himself in the study of Latin and Greek. Vladimir Ulyanov (Lenin) himself was baptised into the Russian Orthodox Church. He had Kalmyk ancestry through his paternal grandparents, Volga German ancestry through his maternal grandmother, who was a Lutheran, and Jewish ancestry through his maternal grandfather (converted to Christianity). Like many Russians, he was of mixed ethnic and religious ancestry. Born in Simbirsk, Russia, Lenin was the son of Ilya Nikolaevich Ulyanov (1831 - 1886), a Russian civil service official who worked for increased democracy and free universal education in Russia, and his liberal wife Maria Alexandrovna Blank (1835 - 1916). . He is sometimes erroneously referred to in the West as "Nikolai Lenin", though he has never been known as such in Russia. There are other theories on where his name came from and he himself is not known to have ever stated exactly why he chose it. However, Plekhanov appears to have been a significant influence upon Lenin at that time in his life, so the veracity of this explanation is subject to question. Ulyanov picked the Lena which is longer and flows in the opposite direction. It has been suggested that he chose this name to show his opposition to Georgi Plekhanov who used the pseudonym Volgin, after the Volga River; i.e. "Lenin" was one of his revolutionary pseudonyms. Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (Russian: Влади́мир Ильи́ч Ле́нин listen?), original surname Ulyanov (Улья́нов) (April 22 (April 10 (O.S.)), 1870 – January 21, 1924), was a Russian revolutionary, the leader of the Bolshevik party, the first Premier of the Soviet Union, and the main theorist of Leninism, which he described as an adaptation of Marxism to "the age of imperialism". |