Lenin. Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. Biography

Lenin, Vladimir Ilyich (real name - Ulyanov) (1870 - 1924)
Lenin. Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov.
Biography
Russian politician and statesman, "continuer of the cause of K. Marx and F. Engels", organizer of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), founder of the Soviet socialist state. Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov was born on April 22 (April 10, according to the old style), 1870, in Simbirsk, in the family of an inspector of public schools, who became a hereditary nobleman. Grandfather of Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov - N.V. Ulyanov; was a serf in the Nizhny Novgorod province, later - a tailor-craftsman in Astrakhan. Father - Ilya Nikolaevich Ulyanov; after graduating from Kazan University, he taught at secondary schools in Penza and Nizhny Novgorod, later he was appointed inspector and director of public schools in the Simbirsk province. Mother - Maria Alexandrovna Ulyanova (née Blank); the doctor's daughter, having received a home education, passed the external exams for the title of teacher; buried in St. Petersburg at the Volkovo cemetery. Elder brother - Alexander Ilyich Ulyanov; in 1887 he was executed for participating in the preparation of an assassination attempt on the king Alexander III. The younger brother is Dmitry Ilyich Ulyanov. Sisters - Anna Ilyinichna Ulyanova (Ulyanova-Elizarova) and Olga Ilyinichna Ulyanova. All the children of the Ulyanov family connected their lives with the revolutionary movement.
In 1879-1887 Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov studied at the Simbirsk Gymnasium, from which he graduated with a gold medal. He entered the Faculty of Law of Kazan University, but in December 1887 he was arrested for active participation in the revolutionary gathering of students, expelled from the university as a relative of the executed brother of the People's Will and exiled to the village of Kokushkino, Kazan province. In October 1888, Vladimir Ulyanov returned to Kazan, where he joined one of the Marxist circles. In the second half of August 1890 he visited Moscow for the first time. In 1891, at St. Petersburg University, he passed the exams as an external student in the program of the Faculty of Law, and on January 14, 1892, Vladimir Ulyanov received a diploma of the 1st degree. In 1889 the Ulyanov family moved to Samara, where Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov began working as an assistant barrister and organized a circle of Marxists. In August 1893 he moved to St. Petersburg, where he joined the Marxist circle of students of the Technological Institute. In 1895 he published under the pseudonym K. Tulin. In April 1895, Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov went abroad to establish contact with the Emancipation of Labor group. In Switzerland, he met G.V. Plekhanov, in Germany - with W. Liebknecht, in France - with P. Lafargue. In September 1895, returning from abroad, he visited Vilnius, Moscow and Orekhovo-Zuevo. In the autumn of 1895, on the initiative and under the leadership of V.I. Ulyanov, the Marxist circles of St. Petersburg united into a single organization - the St. Petersburg Union of Struggle for the Emancipation of the Working Class. For participation in the organization of the Social Democratic Party in December 1895, Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov was arrested, and in February 1897 he was exiled for three years to Siberia - to the village of Shushenskoye, Minusinsk district, Yenisei province. Together with him, as a bride, Nadezhda Konstantinovna Krupskaya was also sent, also sentenced to exile for active revolutionary work. In 1898, while in Shushenskoye, N.K. Krupskaya, with whom V.I. Ulyanov met in 1894, became his wife. In exile, Ulyanov wrote over 30 works. In 1898, the First Congress of the RSDLP took place in Minsk, proclaiming the formation of a Social Democratic Party in Russia and publishing the Manifesto of the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party. In 1899 Ulyanov published under the pseudonym "V. Ilyin". Among his pseudonyms were V. Frei, Iv. Petrov, Karpov and others. On February 10 (January 29, according to the old style), 1900, after the exile, Ulyanov left Shushenskoye. In July 1900 he went abroad, where he set up the publication of the Iskra newspaper, becoming its editor. In 1900-1905 Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov lived in Munich, London, Geneva. In December 1901, one of his articles published in the Zarya magazine was first signed with the pseudonym "Lenin" (according to other sources, the pseudonym "Lenin" first appeared in January 1901 in a letter addressed to G.V. Plekhanov). In 1903, the 2nd Congress of the RSDLP was held, at which the Bolshevik Party was practically created, and Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, who wrote the Rules of the RSDLP and the Party Program demanding the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat for the socialist transformation of society, headed the left (“Bolshevik”) wing of the party. In 1904 Yu.O. Martov first used the term "Leninism" ("Struggle against the "state of siege" in the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party"). On November 21 (November 8, according to the old style), 1905, Lenin illegally arrived in St. Petersburg, where he took charge of the activities of the Central Committee and the St. Petersburg Committee of the Bolsheviks, the preparation of an armed uprising, and the activities of the Bolshevik newspapers Vpered, Proletary, and Novaya Zhizn. In two years, he changed 21 safe houses. Avoiding arrest, in August 1906 Lenin moved to the dacha "Vaza" in the village of Kuokkala (Finland). In 1907 he was unsuccessfully a candidate for the 2nd State Duma in St. Petersburg, from where he periodically traveled to St. Petersburg, Moscow, Vyborg, Stockholm, London, Stuttgart. In December 1907, he again emigrated to Switzerland, and at the end of 1908 - to France (Paris). In December 1910, the newspaper Zvezda began to be published in St. Petersburg, and on May 5 (April 22, old style) 1912, the first issue of the daily legal Bolshevik workers' newspaper Pravda was published. To train cadres of party workers in 1911, Lenin organized a party school in Longjumeau (near Paris), in which he gave 29 lectures. In January 1912, the 6th (Prague) All-Russian Conference of the RSDLP took place in Prague under his leadership. In June 1912, Lenin moved to Krakow, from where he directed the activities of the Bolshevik faction of the 4th State Duma and directed the work of the bureau of the Central Committee of the RSDLP in Russia. From October 1905 to 1912, Lenin was the representative of the RSDLP in the International Socialist Bureau of the 2nd International, leading a delegation of Bolsheviks, and took part in the work of the Stuttgart (1907) and Copenhagen (1910) international socialist congresses. August 8 (Old Style July 26), 1914 Lenin, who was in Poronin (the territory of Austria-Hungary), was arrested by the Austrian authorities on suspicion of spying for Russia and imprisoned in the city of Novy Targ, but on August 19 (Old Style 6 August), thanks to the assistance of the Polish and Austrian Social Democrats, was released. On September 5 (August 23, according to the old style), he left for Bern (Switzerland), and in February 1916 he moved to Zurich, where he lived until April (until March, according to the old style), 1917. Lenin learned about the victory of the February Revolution in Petrograd from Swiss newspapers from March 15 (Old Style March 2), 1917. April 16 (Old Style 3), 1917 Lenin returned from exile to Petrograd. A solemn meeting took place on the platform of the Finlyandsky railway station and he was presented with party card No. 600 of the Bolshevik organization of the Vyborg side. From April to July 1917 he wrote more than 170 articles, pamphlets, draft resolutions of the Bolshevik conferences and the Central Committee of the party, appeals. On July 20 (Old Style July 7) the Provisional Government ordered Lenin's arrest. In Petrograd, he had to change 17 safe houses, after which, until August 21 (August 8, according to the old style), 1917, he hid not far from Petrograd - in a hut across Lake Razliv, until early October - in Finland (Yalkala, Helsingfors, Vyborg). In early October 1917, Lenin illegally returned from Vyborg to Petrograd. On October 23 (October 10, according to the old style), at a meeting of the Central Committee of the RSDLP (b), at its proposal, the Central Committee adopted a resolution on an armed uprising. On November 6 (October 24, according to the old style), in a letter to the Central Committee, Lenin demanded to immediately go on the offensive, arrest the Provisional Government and take power. In the evening, he illegally arrived in Smolny to directly lead the armed uprising. On November 7 (October 25, according to the old style), 1917, at the opening of the 2nd All-Russian Congress of Soviets, Lenin's decrees on peace and land were adopted and a workers' and peasants' government was formed - the Council of People's Commissars, headed by Lenin. For 124 days of the "Smolninsk period" he wrote over 110 articles, draft decrees and resolutions, delivered over 70 reports and speeches, wrote about 120 letters, telegrams and notes, participated in editing more than 40 state and party documents. The working day of the chairman of the Council of People's Commissars lasted 15-18 hours. During this period, Lenin presided over 77 meetings of the Council of People's Commissars, led 26 meetings and meetings of the Central Committee, participated in 17 meetings of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and its Presidium, in the preparation and holding of 6 various All-Russian Congresses of Workers. After the Central Committee of the Party and the Soviet government moved from Petrograd to Moscow, on March 11, 1918, Lenin lived and worked in Moscow. Lenin's personal apartment and office were located in the Kremlin, on the third floor of the former Senate building. In July 1918, he led the suppression of the Armed Action of the Left SRs. On August 30, 1918, after the end of the rally at the Michelson factory, Lenin was seriously wounded by the Socialist-Revolutionary F.E. Kaplan. In 1919, on the initiative of Lenin, the 3rd, Communist International was created. In 1921, at the 10th Congress of the RCP(b), Lenin put forward the task of transitioning from the policy of "war communism" to the New Economic Policy (NEP). In March 1922, Lenin directed the work of the 11th Congress of the RCP(b), the last party congress at which he spoke. In May 1922 he fell seriously ill, but returned to work in early October. Lenin's last public speech was on November 20, 1922, at the plenum of the Moscow Soviet. On December 16, 1922, Lenin's health deteriorated sharply again, and in May 1923, due to illness, he moved to the Gorki estate near Moscow. The last time in Moscow was on October 18-19, 1923. In January 1924, his health suddenly deteriorated sharply, and on January 21, 1924 at 6 o'clock. 50 min. In the evening Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (Lenin) died.
On January 23, the coffin with the body of Lenin was transported to Moscow and installed in the Hall of Columns. The official farewell took place over five days and nights. On January 27, the coffin with the embalmed body of Lenin was placed in the Mausoleum specially built on Red Square (architect A.V. Shchusev). On January 26, 1924, after the death of Lenin, the 2nd All-Union Congress of Soviets granted the request of the Petrograd Soviet to rename Petrograd to Leningrad. The delegation of the city (about 1 thousand people) participated in Lenin's funeral in Moscow. In 1923 the Central Committee of the RCP(b) created the V.I. Lenin, and in 1932, as a result of its merger with the Institute of K. Marx and F. Engels, a single Institute of Marx - Engels - Lenin was formed under the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks (later the Institute of Marxism-Leninism under the Central Committee of the CPSU). More than 30 thousand documents are stored in the Central Party Archive of this institute, the author of which is V.I. Ulyanov (Lenin).
Winston Churchill wrote about Lenin: "Not a single Asian conqueror, neither Tamerlane nor Genghis Khan, enjoyed such fame as he did. An implacable avenger, growing out of the peace of cold compassion, sanity, understanding of reality. His weapon is logic, his disposition of the soul - Opportunism His sympathies are cold and wide like the Arctic Ocean His hatred is tight like a hangman's noose His destiny is to save the world His method is to blow up this world Absolute adherence to principles, at the same time willingness to change principles... He subverted everything. He overthrew God, king, country, morality, court, debts, rents, interests, laws and customs of centuries, he overthrew the whole historical structure, such as human society.In the end, he overthrew himself... Lenin's intellect was overthrown at that moment when his destructive power was exhausted and the independent, self-healing functions of his quest began to manifest, he alone could lead Russia out of the quagmire... The Russian people were left to wallow in the swamp. Their greatest misfortune was his birth, but their next misfortune was his death" (Churchill W.S., The Aftermath; The World Crisis. 1918-1928; New York, 1929).
Lenin was one of the main organizers of the "Red Terror", which took on the most brutal and mass forms in 1919-1920, the liquidation of opposition parties and their press organs, which led to the emergence of a one-party system, repressions against "socially alien elements" - the nobility, entrepreneurs, clergy, intelligentsia, the expulsion from the country of its prominent representatives who disagreed with the policy of the new government, was the initiator and ideologist of the policy of "war communism" and "new economic policy". Author of the State Plan for the Electrification of the Country (GOELRO), in accordance with which several power plants were built. On Lenin's initiative, a plan for monumental propaganda was developed: in accordance with the decree "On the Monuments of the Republic" (April 12, 1918), with the personal participation of Lenin, the demolition of "old" monuments in the Kremlin and other places in Moscow began, as well as the destruction of churches; at the same time, monuments to revolutionary figures were erected.
"In 1919, law faculties were liquidated at universities, and in 1921 the People's Commissariat of Education (Narkompros) abolished the historical and philological sciences as obsolete and useless for the dictatorship of the proletariat. [...] By February 5, 1922, 143 private publishing houses were registered in Moscow. After reading about this in the newspaper Izvestia, Lenin demanded that the Chekists collect systematic information about all professors and writers. "All these obvious counter-revolutionaries are accomplices of the Entente, an organization of its servants and spies and molesters of student youth; almost all of them are the most legitimate candidates for deportation abroad. They must be caught constantly and systematically deported". [...] May 19 (1922) the leader sent to Moscow instructions "On the expulsion abroad of writers and professors who help the counter-revolution", inscribing on the envelope: "comrade Dzerzhinsky. Personally, secretly, sew up." Ten days later he suffered a stroke. By August 18, 1922, the seriously ill Ilyich was handed over the first list of those arrested, who were announced a decision on expulsion and a warning that unauthorized entry into the USSR was punishable by execution. Lenin then said to the attending physician: "Today is perhaps the first day that my head did not hurt at all." [...] The first group of exiles received in history the name "philosophical ship". [...] It was allowed to take with you per person: one winter and one summer coat, one suit, two shirts, one sheet. No jewelry, not even pectoral crosses, not a single book. Train Moscow - Petrograd. Then many hours of loading onto the German steamer "Oberburgomaster Haken": they call out a name from the ladder, enter one by one into the control booth, interrogation and search, by touch, through the dress ... " . "There were several ships and not one train. They left for several months [...] until the end of the year. [...] in addition to those expelled from Moscow and Petrograd, there was a group of people expelled from Kiev, from Odessa, from Novorossiysk University , and there were, according to Trotsky's later confession, about 60 people expelled from Georgia.
“From the famine of 1920-1922, according to official figures, more than five million people died. Unthinkable cannibalism flourished throughout the country. I came across absolutely amazing notes, though not in the Soviet press, that brutal starving people in the Volga region ate representatives of the ARA - an American relief organization led by Hoover, the future president of the United States, it saved an unknown number of millions of people from starvation in the country.According to the assumptions of the same Bolsheviks, at least 20 million people should have died from starvation, only five died.The Bolsheviks believed that in In any case, the same Trotsky almost did not hide this, that the fewer eaters, the easier it will be for the country. (V. Topolyansky, "Leaders in Law. Essays on the Physiology of Russian Power")“Having created famine in the country by mass seizure of grain from the peasantry, the leader of the revolution wrote to Molotov: “It is now, and only now, when people are being eaten in hungry areas and hundreds, if not thousands of corpses are lying on the roads, that we can (and therefore must) carry out the seizure of church valuables with the most frenzied and merciless energy, not stopping at suppressing any kind of resistance. It is necessary now to teach this public a lesson in such a way that for several decades they will not even dare to think about any resistance. (E. Olshanskaya, broadcast "Lenin's List", July 21, 2002; Radio Liberty) “We must not forget that Lenin by that time was already just a delusional patient. In fact, he should have been considered in 1922 as an insane patient. In 1922, rumors spread throughout Moscow that Lenin was ill with syphilis, that he had progressive paralysis, that he delusional and, as even idle people said, he is persecuted by the Mother of God for all the troubles that he caused the country.In the same 1922, the foreign press actively discussed what Lenin was ill with, and came to the conclusion that those doctors who treated him, and those doctors who talked about the neurasthenic syndrome in the leader, in fact, concealed the fact that behind this neurasthenic syndrome there is a single disease - progressive paralysis ... Progressive paralysis has one feature, this is precisely the contingent of patients who, when - something overwhelmed the psychiatric departments of various clinics.As soon as the first signs of progressive paralysis appeared in the patient, this patient was immediately recognized as insane, even if he retained external signs of sanity and capacity. I cannot say from what time Vladimir Ilyich should be declared insane. In 1903, Krupskaya saw him have a rash, from which he suffered greatly, a lot indicates that this rash, most likely, was of syphilitic origin, but the appearance of a rash already means secondary syphilis. After 1903, he developed tertiary syphilis with gradual vascular damage. He did not undergo appropriate examination and treatment, including by psychiatrists. The psychiatrist Osipov was on duty with him continuously, that is, he simply lived in Gorki from 1923, and before that the Germans came to him, and one of the first to come was the famous Foerster, one of the largest specialists in neurosyphilis. It was Foerster who prescribed him anti-syphilitic therapy, which was described in detail in all medical diaries at that time. A long time ago, psychiatrists noticed one amazing thing, that progressive paralysis, before bringing a person to complete insanity, gives him the opportunity for incredible productivity and efficiency. Such excess energy can indeed be noted in Lenin in 1917-1918, even in 1919. But since 1920, more and more headaches, some kind of dizziness, attacks of weakness and loss of consciousness incomprehensible to doctors. That is, in any case, 1922 is the time of Lenin's already very serious illness, with repeated strokes, impaired consciousness, with repeated episodes of hallucinations and simply delirium described by the same doctors. [...] French psychiatry once described a very curious syndrome, it was called "insanity together". If there was a madman in a family, then the spouse sooner or later became imbued with the ideas of this madman, and it was already difficult to distinguish which of them was more crazy. As a result, if the madman himself temporarily recovered, that is, if a remission occurred, then the person induced by this madman could still keep these ideas intact. I cannot rule out that this very curious syndrome can be extended to large masses of people. I do not rule out that Lenin simply incited his closest associates with his nonsense, and then with the help of Soviet propaganda, which, it must be said, worked perfectly, these ideas were introduced into the consciousness of the entire population. And thus, Soviet civilization took place." (V. Topolyansky, "Leaders in law. Essays on the physiology of Russian power"; broadcast "Lenin's List", July 21, 2002; Radio Liberty)
Among the works of Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (Lenin) are letters, articles, brochures, books: "What are the "friends of the people" and how do they fight against the Social Democrats?" (1894), "The economic content of populism and criticism of it in the book of Mr. Struve (Reflection of Marxism in bourgeois literature)" (1894-1895), "Materials on the question of the economic development of Russia" (1895; article in the collection under the pseudonym "Tulin" ), "The Development of Capitalism in Russia" (1899; the book was published under the pseudonym "V. Ilyin"), "Economic studies and articles" (1899; the collection of articles was published under the pseudonym "V. Ilyin"), "Protest of Russian social Democrats" (1899), "What to do? Painful questions of our movement" (1902; pamphlet), "The Agrarian Program of Russian Social Democracy" (1902), "The National Question in Our Program" (1903), "One Step Forward, Two Steps back" (1904), "Two Tactics of Social Democracy in the Democratic Revolution" (August 1905), "Party Organization and Party Literature" (1905), "Materialism and Empirio-Criticism" (1909), "Critical Notes on the National Question" (1913 ), "On the Right of Nations to Self-Determination" (1914), "Imperialism, as the Highest Stage of Capitalism" (1916), "Philosophical Notebooks", "War and Russian Social Democracy" (Manifesto of the Central Committee of the RSDLP), "On the National Pride of the Great Russians" , "The Collapse of the Second International", "Socialism and War", "On the Slogan of the United States of Europe", "The Military Program of the Proletarian Revolution", "The Results of the Discussion on Self-Determination", "On the Caricature of Marxism and on "Imperialist Economism", "Letters from afar "(1917)," On the tasks of the proletariat in this revolution "(" April Theses "; 1917), The Political Situation (1917; theses), Towards Slogans (1917), State and Revolution (1917), The Threatening Catastrophe and How to Fight It (1917), Will the Bolsheviks Retain State Power? " (1917), "The Bolsheviks Must Take Power" (1917), "Marxism and Rebellion" (1917), "The Crisis Is Ripe" (1917), "Advice from an Outsider" (1917), "How to Organize a Competition?" (December 1917), "Declaration of the Rights of the Working and Exploited People" (January 1918; taken as the basis of the first Soviet Constitution of 1918), "Immediate Tasks of Soviet Power" (1918), "The Proletarian Revolution and the Renegade Kautsky" (autumn 1918), "Theses Central Committee of the RCP(b) in connection with the situation on the Eastern Front" (April 1919), "The Great Initiative" (June 1919), "Economics and Politics in the Era of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat" (autumn 1919), "From the Destruction of the Age-old Way of Life to the Creation of a New One" ( spring 1920), "The Childhood Disease of "Leftism" in Communism" (1920), "On Proletarian Culture" (1920), "On the Food Tax (The Significance of the New Policy and Its Conditions)" (1921), "On the Fourth Anniversary October revolution"(1921), "On the Significance of Militant Materialism" (1922), "On the Formation of the USSR" (1922), "Pages from a Diary" (December 1922), "On Cooperation" (December 1922), "On Our Revolution" (December 1922), "How do we reorganize the Rabkrin (Proposal to the XII Party Congress)" (December 1922), "Less is better" (December 1922)
__________
Information sources:
Encyclopedic resource www.rubricon.com (Large soviet encyclopedia, Encyclopedic reference book "St. Petersburg", Encyclopedia "Moscow", Biographical dictionary "Politicians of Russia 1917", Encyclopedia of Russian-American relations, Illustrated encyclopedic dictionary, encyclopedic Dictionary"The history of homeland")
Elena Olshanskaya, Irina Lagutina: program "Lenin's List"; July 21, 2002; Radio Liberty, magazine "Krugozor" Viktor Topolyansky. “Leaders in law. Essays on the physiology of Russian power, M. 1996 "Russian Biographical Dictionary"
Radio Liberty
Project "Russia congratulates!" - www.prazdniki.ru

Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (revolutionary pseudonym - Lenin) was born in Simbirsk on April 22, 1870. There he was baptized according to the Christian rite. His father, Ilya Nikolaevich, who managed to get an excellent education, was successfully promoted and reached the rank of 4th class in the table of ranks, which gave him the right to receive a noble title. IN last years In his lifetime, Ilya Nikolayevich served as an inspector of public schools.

Did Volodya believe in God as a child? Probably, he simply fulfilled the requirements of the elders. He always had excellent marks in the Law of God. But at the age of sixteen he consciously retreated from faith in God.

Father was buried in 1886, at the age of 54, when Volodya Ulyanov was only 16 years old. In the summer of 1887 the family left Simbirsk for Kazan.

M.M., a party comrade-in-arms, wrote about her acquaintance with the Ulyanov family. Essen.

“It was a real family, as it was drawn to us in the distant future. Vladimir Ilyich's love for his family, tender care for his mother ... runs through Lenin's whole life.

When Vladimir entered the Faculty of Law at Kazan University, he greatly upset his mentor Fyodor Mikhailovich Kerensky, who insisted on continuing his education in literature and linguistics.

In 1887, the Ulyanov family learned about the participation of their eldest son and brother Alexander in revolutionary terrorist activities. On May 8, he was executed as a terrorist who encroached on the life of Emperor Alexander 3.

In the same period, Vladimir was involved in the work of the student circle "Narodnaya Volya", which was led by Lazar Bogoraz. And already three months after enrolling in the university, Vladimir Ulyanov was expelled from it for his involvement in student demonstrations that turned into riots and was subject to expulsion from Kazan.

At the request of L. A. Ardasheva, his maternal aunt, the deported V. Ulyanov went to the village of Kokushkino, Laishevsky district, Kazan province. Here, having settled in the house of the Ardashevs, he studied the works of N.G. Chernyshevsky, reading Marxist and other literature.

In the autumn of 1888, with the permission of the authorities, he returned to Kazan, where he was introduced to one of the Marxist circles. At the meetings, the works of Marx, Engels, were comprehended and discussed.

In 1890, the authorities had mercy and allowed Vladimir Ulyanov to prepare externally for the exams for a lawyer. A year later, in November 1891, Vladimir Ilyich passed the exams for the entire course of the law faculty of the Imperial St. Petersburg University. He also studied literature on economics, and especially on agriculture.

Having received a diploma, Vladimir Ilyich worked as an assistant to the lawyer A.N. Hardin. The novice lawyer was entrusted mainly with "state protection" in criminal cases.

In May 1895, Vladimir Ilyich left for Europe, where he met:

• In Switzerland - with G. Plekhanov,
• In Germany - In Liebknecht,
• In France - P. Lafargue.

Returning to St. Petersburg, Lenin, together with Trotsky, Martov, and other future revolutionaries, set about uniting individual Marxist groups and circles into the "Union of Struggle for the Emancipation of the Working Class." The first task that Lenin set before his comrades-in-arms was the overthrow of the autocracy.

For active participation in anti-government activities, Vladimir Ulyanov was taken into custody in December 1895. For more than a year, while the investigation was ongoing, he served time in a St. Petersburg prison, and in 1897 he was in the Minusinsk district of the Yenisei province. At the same time, Nadezhda Konstantinovna Krupskaya also went into exile, who was assigned the Ufa province as her place of departure. In order for Krupskaya to be allowed to come to Shushenskoye, Vladimir Ilyich had to get married, as required by Orthodox custom and Russian law.

In Siberia, the study "The Development of Capitalism in Russia", directed against populist theories, and more than 30 other books were written. He corresponded regularly with the Social Democrats of Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod and other major Russian cities. Provided legal assistance to local farmers. In revolutionary circles, Vladimir Ilyich was known as K. Tulin.

On July 29, 1900, Lenin emigrated to Switzerland, where he began publishing a newspaper, and later a theoretical journal. The editorial board included Plekhanov, V. I. Zasulich, P. B. Axelrod, representing the emigrant group "Emancipation of Labor", and three representatives of the "Union of Struggle" - Lenin, Martov and Potresov.

The first issue of Iskra was printed on December 24, 1900. The revolutionary newspaper came out with a circulation of 8 to 10 thousand copies. In April 1901, Krupskaya also arrived in Munich.

In the autumn of 1905, Lenin illegally arrived in the capital to lead the preparations for an armed uprising. During this period, 2 books were created:

• "Two Tactics of Social Democracy in the Democratic Revolution",
• "To the rural poor".

In December 1905, the first conference of the RSDLP took place, at which Lenin met I. Stalin.

Lenin and Krupskaya returned to Geneva in 1908, where they lived until April 1917. After the defeat of the first revolution, he decided not to give up. "Broken armies learn well." They have been living in exile for 9 years. It was then, in 1909, that an important event happened in Lenin's biography - an acquaintance with Inessa Armand. They will be together for 11 years, until her death. However, he does not abandon Krupskaya. It is believed that Armand was his mistress all these years, although their relationship may have been platonic.

At the party conference of 1912 there was a final disengagement from the Mensheviks.

On May 5, 1912, the Bolshevik newspaper Pravda began to be published in St. Petersburg, which was first edited by Stalin, and later by Kamenev.

There is evidence that the Germans, the enemies of Russia in the First World War, were engaged in pre-revolutionary financing of the Bolsheviks. With their money, Lenin and his comrades launched active propaganda against the tsar and against (which was extremely important for Germany) the war.

After the February Revolution, the Germans send the leader and several of his comrades to Russia in a sealed wagon. There they were actively involved in political life, and in April 1917 Lenin put forward his famous ones.

In October 1917, Lenin led the revolution. In an address written on October 25 (old style), Lenin announced the overthrow of the provisional government. On the same day, the II All-Russian Congress of Soviets opened, which approved the decrees on land and peace. At the congress, a new government was formed, headed by V. I. Lenin - the Council of People's Commissars.

On March 3, 1918, Lenin signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. It was a humiliating treaty for Russia, but it provided a respite from the war. In protest against this treaty, the social revolutionaries left the government.

Fearing the capture of Petrograd by the Germans, the Council of People's Commissars and the Central Committee of the RCP (b) relocated to Moscow. Since then, Moscow has regained the status of the capital, becoming the main city of the new state.

On August 30 of the same year, Lenin was committed. He was badly wounded. The Bolsheviks responded to this assassination attempt by the Decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR of 09/05/1918 "On the Red Terror". A few months earlier, on July 26, Lenin wrote that it was necessary to encourage the energy and mass character of terror against counter-revolutionaries.

On January 20, 1918, the Decree on Freedom of Conscience, Church and Religious Societies was adopted. According to this decree, all the property of church societies was declared public property. It was declared that “every citizen can profess any religion or not profess any. Any right deprivation associated with the confession of any faith or non-profession of any faith is canceled.

However, in fact, believers were persecuted at the level of party and public organizations, in schools and universities. Lenin himself actively hated the Russian Orthodox Church, stigmatizing it as "a department of police Orthodoxy." The church lost the rights of a legal entity, the representatives of the clergy lost their political rights and freedoms. Monasteries and churches were closed, property was nationalized. Since the beginning of 1922, a mass execution of clergy began. Even when he was ill, Lenin waged an uncompromising struggle with the church.

For the last 3 years, Lenin lived in Gorki. He couldn't work properly. The last time he publicly spoke on November 20, 1922 at the plenum of the Moscow City Council. His health was deteriorating, and presumably one of the reasons for this was the encroachment that took place in 1918, the other reason was his overwork. Doctors recognized that Lenin had atherosclerosis of blood vessels and their premature wear.

Now his body is in the Mausoleum on Red Square in Moscow.

years of government: 1917-1924)

  LENIN (Ulyanov) Vladimir Ilyich(10 (22). 04.1870-21.01.1924) - statesman and politician, founder of the Bolshevik Party and the Soviet state.

Born in Simbirsk in the family of I.N. Ulyanov, a figure of public education who received hereditary nobility. In 1887 he graduated from the gymnasium with a gold medal. In the same year, Vladimir's elder brother, Alexander, who was a supporter of the terrorist wing of populism, was executed for preparing an assassination attempt on Alexander III. In 1887, V. Ulyanov entered the law faculty of Kazan University. In December of the same year, he was arrested for participating in a student meeting and expelled from the university. Exiled to the family estate in the village of Kokushkino, Kazan province. The death of his brother forced V. Ulyanov to turn to revolutionary activity. He took up the study of Marxism.

In 1891 he passed the exams at the university as an external student. From 1892 to 1893 worked in Samara as an assistant to a barrister. Since 1893 - a member of the student circle of Marxists of the Technological Institute, conducted propaganda in working circles. In 1894-1895. his first major works were published with criticism of populism and the justification of Marxism "What are the "friends of the people" and how they fight against the social democrats", "The economic content of populism ...". Then he met N.K. Krupskaya, who after 4 years became his wife. In 1895 - one of the founders of the Union of Struggle for the Emancipation of the Working Class. Was arrested. In 1897 V.I. Ulyanov (Lenin) for 3 years in the village of Shushenskoye, Yenisei province. Since then, he has become a professional revolutionary.

In 1900 he went abroad. Together with G.V. Plekhanov began publishing the Iskra newspaper. He published his works under various pseudonyms, one of which - Lenin - was forever attached to him. At the II Congress of the RSDLP (1903) he headed the Bolshevik faction. In 1904 Yu.O. Martov was the first to use the term "Leninism", denoting the current of Lenin's supporters. During the revolution of 1905-1907. Lenin directed the Bolsheviks towards an armed uprising against tsarism, towards the establishment of a democratic republic. In November 1905, he illegally returned to Russia and led the work of the party. In December 1907 he emigrated. After the revolution of 1905-1907. took a number of steps to strengthen the Bolshevik wing of the RSDLP. He actively participated in the restoration of the central organs of the party, which, after the defeat of the revolution, were in crisis.

At the 6th Prague Party Conference in 1912, he separated the Bolshevik wing of the RSDLP into a separate party - the RSDLP (Bolsheviks). He was elected a member of the Central Committee, on his initiative the newspaper "Pravda" was created. He supported actions of violent expropriation of funds (robbery of banks, etc.) to replenish the party fund.

At the beginning of World War I, while on the territory of Austria-Hungary (Poronino), he was arrested on suspicion of spying for Russia. After his release, he moved to Switzerland. He spoke out against the war, put forward the slogan of turning the imperialist war into a civil war. By the end of the summer of 1915, he concluded that in the era of imperialism " the victory of socialism is possible initially in a few or even in one single capitalist country".

He learned about the victory of the February Revolution of 1917 from Swiss newspapers. On March 6, after the refusal of the British and French governments to let political emigrants into Russia, a meeting of their representatives accepted Martov's proposal (at the suggestion of an agent of the German General Staff, Parvus) to return through Germany. Extraterritoriality was assigned to the carriage in which the political emigrants were to travel, passengers under no circumstances were to leave it. On March 27, the carload of emigrants left Switzerland. Hoping that the activities of the Bolsheviks would weaken the Russian army, Germany provided them with financial assistance.

April 3, 1917 V.I. Lenin returned to Russia. On April 4, he proposed a program for the transition from the bourgeois-democratic revolution to the socialist revolution under the slogan "All power to the Soviets!" ("April theses"). G.V. Plekhanov assessed this program as an insane, extremely harmful attempt " sow anarchist turmoil on Russian soil". At the 1st Congress of Soviets in June 1917, where Lenin was supported by only 10% of the delegates, he announced that the Bolshevik Party was ready to take power. In the July days, due to unrest among the soldiers of the St. Petersburg garrison, which was supposed to be sent to front, the Bolsheviks tried to achieve the transfer of power to the soviets, but unsuccessfully. The Bolsheviks were accused of treason, Lenin and Zinoviev were forced to hide. In early October 1917, Lenin illegally returned to Petrograd. At a meeting of the Central Committee on October 10 and 16, together with Trotsky, despite the objections Kamenev and Zinoviev, achieved a decision to start an armed uprising.In the evening of October 24, he was in the Smolny Palace, from where he led the uprising.On October 26, at the 2nd All-Russian Congress of Soviets, according to his reports, decrees on peace and land were adopted, the congress formed the first Bolshevik government - the Council of People's Commissars , whose chairman was elected Lenin.

Standing at the head of the government, Lenin began to oust the "right" parties from the political life of Russia, some of them were banned, and freedom of speech was put an end to. In January 1918, by decree of Lenin, the Constituent Assembly was dispersed, which refused to recognize the power of the Bolsheviks.

In the beginning. 1918 Lenin actively fought against the "left communists" and Trotsky over the Brest Peace. As a result, the "shameful" Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany was signed, Germany occupied a huge part of the territory of Russia. Resistance to the policies of the Bolsheviks resulted in the Civil War.

After the suppression of the Left SR rebellion in July 1918, Lenin became the undisputed leader of the party and head of state. August 30, 1918 for the life of V.I. Lenin was assassinated, he was seriously wounded. After that, the "Red Terror" was declared in the country, which led to numerous victims.

Lenin became the ideologist of the policy of "war communism". During the period of "war communism" free trade was prohibited in the country, commodity-money relations were replaced by exchange in kind, and surplus appropriation was introduced. The policy of "war communism" aroused the discontent of the peasantry. Peasant uprisings took place all over the country. In response, hundreds of political opponents of the Bolsheviks were arrested, imprisoned in concentration camps, deported from the country, and a blow was dealt to the Russian Orthodox Church. According to Lenin's personal instructions, more than 8,000 priests and monks were shot, monasteries and cathedrals were desecrated and plundered.

As a result of "war communism" and the Civil War, the country lost approx. 10 million people, industrial production decreased by 1920 compared to 1913 by 7 times. But, despite the support of the anti-Bolshevik speeches by the Entente countries and the complete international isolation of Lenin's government, the Bolsheviks under his leadership managed to win the Civil War. In 1917-1922. Lenin's unique organizational talent, his will to win by any means, manifested itself.

The sharp deterioration of the economic situation in the country, caused by a devastating fratricidal war, required a change in policy. At the 10th Party Congress in March 1921, Lenin put forward a program of "new economic policy" (NEP), which soon brought positive results. The process of economic growth began, but Lenin did not have to pursue this economic policy, a serious illness put him out of action for a long time. His forced departure from the leadership soon caused a struggle for power in the country and the party, Stalin and Trotsky claimed the role of leader. Already at the beginning 1923 Lenin, foreseeing a split in the Central Committee, in his "Letter to the Congress" gave a description of all the leading figures of the Central Committee and proposed to remove I.V. Stalin from the post of General Secretary. He also spoke out against the growth of the bureaucratic apparatus, for the strengthening of workers' control. However, his health deteriorated sharply, the last months of his life Lenin was paralyzed, died of a cerebral hemorrhage. He was buried in Moscow in the Mausoleum on Red Square.

After his death, a grandiose myth was created around the name of Lenin, his biography was constantly "varnished" in accordance with the requirements of the current political moment. Nowadays, only one thing is indisputable, that he was a world-class politician who determined the development of world history in the 20th century for many years.

Page 1 of 15

Vladimir Ilyich Lenin.
Biography.

Chapter first

CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH. THE BEGINNING OF REVOLUTIONARY ACTIVITIES

We stand wholly on the basis of Marx's theory: for the first time it transformed socialism from a utopia into a science.

V.I.Lenin

Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (Lenin) was born on April 10 (22), 1870 in the city of Simbirsk (now Ulyanovsk), located on the banks of the great Volga River. His parents belonged to the advanced Russian raznochintsy intelligentsia. Lenin's father - Ilya Nikolaevich Ulyanov - was from the poor townspeople of the city of Astrakhan.

Documents have recently been found that contain important information about the grandfather of V.I. Lenin - N.V. Ulyanov: a list of peasants who arrived in the Astrakhan province before 1793. The list contains an entry: “Nikolai Vasiliev, the son of Ulyanin (this surname was written both as Ulyanin, Ulyaninov, and as Ulyanov, - Auth.) ... In the Nizhny Novgorod province of the Sergachev district of the village of Androsov, the landowner Stepan Mikhailov Brekhov, the peasant went away in 701.” Consequently, Lenin's grandfather came from the serfs of the Nizhny Novgorod province and was himself a serf. Before arriving in Astrakhan, N. V. Ulyanov lived in the Novopavlovsky village of the Astrakhan province. Later, he was listed as a statesman: a peasant, and then was assigned to the petty-bourgeois class as a tailor; died in great poverty.

The father of Vladimir Ilyich had to overcome many difficulties, which were associated with obtaining education for immigrants from the people under the conditions of tsarism. In early childhood, he lost his father, and only the help of his older brother gave him the opportunity to receive a secondary, and then a higher education.

Thanks to persistent work and outstanding abilities, overcoming poverty, I. N. Ulyanov managed to graduate from Kazan University and soon became a teacher of mathematics and physics in secondary schools in Penza, and then Nizhny Novgorod. The appointment of Ilya Nikolaevich to this position was signed by the famous mathematician N. I. Lobachevsky, who at that time was an assistant trustee of the Kazan educational district. At his suggestion, I. N. Ulyanov was entrusted with the duty of conducting meteorological observations at the Penza meteorological station.

I. N. Ulyanov was loved by his students. One of them, P.F. Filatov, father of the famous physician B.P. Filatov, recalled Ilya Nikolaevich as a bright personality, as a person who belonged to those few teachers “who brought an honest look and high moral principles into our lives .. ... aversion to careerism and material gain.

The pedagogical views of Ilya Nikolaevich are vividly characterized by the surviving documents. So. speaking at the meeting pedagogical council at the Nizhny Novgorod Men's Gymnasium on the issue of the teacher's educational activities in the classroom, I. N. Ulyanov said that "he constantly takes care of accustoming pupils to independent work through amateur performance."

In connection with the proposal to introduce the teaching of the basics of topography in the gymnasium, Ilya Nikolaevich wrote: “A wonderful idea; the application of knowledge to business, the application of scientific information to life, enlivens science itself and gives it practical significance” 1 .

I. N. Ulyanov was close to the views of Russian enlighteners of the 60s of the XIX century. Motivated by lofty ideals, he devoted his life to serving the people, to their enlightenment. In 1869, Ilya Nikolaevich left his job as a teacher and became an inspector, and then director of public schools in the Simbirsk province.

He was repeatedly awarded orders and medals for his years of service. The order he was awarded in 1882 entitles him to the nobility.

An enthusiast of public education, a teacher by vocation, he passionately loved his work and devoted himself entirely to it. I. N. Ulyanov had a deep faith in the people and the forces hidden in it.

The nature of the work required Ilya Nikolaevich to travel constantly around the province, through villages and villages. He was away from home for weeks and months. At any time of the year - in severe frosty winters, in spring thaws and rainy autumns - he traveled to the most remote places, creating zemstvo schools, helping teachers to organize the education of peasant children. It was no easy matter. It cost IN Ulyanov a lot of health and strength. It was necessary to fight the resistance of officials, landlords and kulaks, who in every possible way prevented the creation of schools, it was not easy to overcome the darkness, the prejudices of the backward part of the peasants, to ensure that they understood the need and benefits of literacy.

Alien bureaucratic spirit with his servility and careerism, disregard for the people, I. N. Ulyanov was a true democrat. He often communicated with the peasants, had a friendly conversation with them, he could be seen sitting on the mound of some hut or speaking at a rural gathering.

I. N. Ulyanov paid great attention to the enlightenment of non-Russian peoples who inhabited the Volga region. He treated them with a sense of respect and understanding, took care of the organization of public schools for them. The efforts of I. N. Ulyanov have borne fruit: for almost 20 years of his work, the number of schools in the Simbirsk province has grown significantly. He brought up many advanced folk teachers, who were called "Ulyanovites".

Vladimir Ilyich's mother, Maria Alexandrovna, was the daughter of Alexander Dmitrievich Blank, an educated, talented doctor, a pioneer in the field of physiotherapy. A. D. Blank came from the middle class. He was widowed early and left with 6 small children. Fate threw him to different corners of Russia: either to the Smolensk wilderness, then to the Olonets province, then to the Urals. A man of direct, independent judgments, he did not get along with the authorities. After retiring, A.D. Blank settled with his large family near Kazan, in the village of Kokushkino (now the village of Lenino), where he lived until his death. Growing up in the countryside, Maria Alexandrovna was able to receive only a home education. The lack of funds did not allow her to study further, which she always regretted. But gifted with great abilities, she mastered several foreign languages, which she later taught her children, played the piano well, and read a lot. Having independently prepared, Maria Alexandrovna passed an external exam for the title of teacher. Like Ilya Nikolaevich, she was attracted by the cause of public education. But she did not have to work at school: taking care of a large family, raising children, housekeeping, which had to be run very economically in order to make ends meet, completely absorbed her time.

Notes:

1 State apxiv of the Gorky region, f. 303, op. 407, unit ridge 1066.

In the family and the gymnasium

In the house of the Ulyanovs, harmony and love always reigned. Ilya Nikolaevich was an exemplary family man, a passionately loving husband and father. There were eight children in the family (two of them died very young). Vladimir Ilyich was the fourth born. The remaining Anna, Alexander, Vladimir, Olga, Dmitry and Maria grew up in pairs close in age. Parents tried to give them a versatile education, brought them up honest. hardworking, sensitive to the needs of the people, the working people. Subsequently, they all became revolutionaries.

The personal example of parents had a great influence on children. The children saw how much effort the father devotes to the cause of public education, how strictly he treats himself and his duties, what joy the opening of each new village school brings him. My father's whole life, his energy, his ability to devote himself entirely to his beloved work, his attentive attitude towards working people, his modesty in everything had a great educational value. Very simple in dealing with people and in his needs, he had the most beneficial influence in this respect. A strict attitude towards himself and his duties, a high sense of duty, which always distinguished Lenin later, was largely laid down in him from the very early years father. The authority of the father and love for him in the family were very great.

Raising children, Ilya Nikolayevich proceeded from the pedagogical views of the revolutionary democrat N. A. Dobrolyubov - he forged a strong will in them, developed a desire for knowledge, taught him to understand life, to be demanding in his actions, to be sincere and truthful. He often read in the family circle of his beloved poet N. A. Nekrasov, he liked to sing the forbidden poem set to music by the poet-Petrashevist A. N. Pleshcheev, in which he singled out the words with special force:

We are brothers in spirit.
We both believe in redemption
And we will feed to the grave
Hostility to the scourges of the native country.

The children felt that the father puts his whole soul into this song, that her words are sacred to him.

Ilya Nikolayevich rejoiced at the constant success of his children in school, but he could not stand vanity and instilled this feeling in them. Ilya Nikolaevich devoted all his leisure time to his family. He followed the activities of children, developed their literary and artistic taste, took an active part in their games and walks. Children in the presence of their father felt free, he never brushed off their questions, patiently explained the incomprehensible. He was a captivating and funny storyteller.

Maria Alexandrovna had a rare educational talent. Friendly, even, she never unnecessarily embarrassed the children, but at the same time she knew how to maintain discipline. Always neat, organized, thrifty and modest, especially in everything that concerned her personally, she was able to pass on these qualities to her children. Fragile in appearance, Maria Alexandrovna possessed great courage, selflessness and stamina, which many times and with such amazing strength manifested themselves in the years of the most difficult trials that subsequently fell to the lot of the Ulyanov family.

The family environment and upbringing conditions were favorable for the development of the mind and character of children. Parents not only did not suppress, but even encouraged the natural liveliness and playfulness of children. When little Volodya, living in the summer in the village of Kokushkino, decided to shorten his way to the street and began to climb out the window, his parents did not scold him. On the contrary, in order to make it more convenient for the baby to climb over and so that he would not get hurt, the father made wooden steps in the room and on the street near the window. At one time, older children decided to publish a home magazine. Everyone cooperated to the best of their ability. How much joy and fun this home-made magazine, handwritten, illustrated with caricatures, the material for which was the most amusing cases from the life of the family, brought them. Parents took an active part in reading and discussing the home magazine.

The Ulyanovs carefully taught children to work. From a very early age, they had to serve themselves, help the elders; the girls made sure that their and the boys' clothes were always in order. Behind the house of Ulyanov 1 was a garden, lovingly looked after by his mother. But all the children helped her in this. In the summer, they had to fill two large tubs with water. One of the guys pumped water, the rest carried it in buckets, watering cans and jugs. They worked happily together. The children enjoyed a family tea party in the open air in the gazebo. The eldest, Sasha, carried the samovar, the rest - chairs, dishes. Having finished drinking tea, the girls helped their mother wash the dishes, the boys carried away the chairs. The work was feasible, and everyone did it willingly.

Volodya Ulyanov grew up as a frisky, healthy, cheerful child. In appearance, he was very similar to his father, and inherited from him a cheerful, sociable character. He was a tireless instigator of various games and amusements. From the memoirs of relatives it is known that he was very fair in games, could not stand fights. “This is not a game, this is a disgrace, I will not participate in it,” he said when the game turned into a fight. Curious, he learned to read at the age of five and spent a lot of time reading books.

From nine to seventeen, Volodya Ulyanov studied at the Simbirsk Classical Gymnasium. 2 Already in these years, self-discipline and organization brought up in the family are manifested in his behavior. Every morning at exactly 7 o'clock he got out of bed - and no one woke him up - ran to wash up to the waist, made the bed. Before breakfast, he always had time to repeat his lessons and at half past eight he was at the gymnasium, to which he had to walk several blocks. So it was every day; for eight years the established regime was not violated.

In the gymnasium, Volodya's abilities and diligence immediately manifested themselves. A lively, inquisitive mind, a serious attitude to studies made him the best student; moving from class to class, he received the first awards. He drew attention to himself with his composure, his ability to bring the work he started to the end, his sociability, sincerity and simplicity in dealing with his comrades, and his readiness to help them in preparing difficult lessons. Among the youth, he was known as a good swimmer, skater and chess player.

Note:

1 Now it is the world-famous House-Museum of V. I. Lenin.

2 Secondary educational institution, where, along with new languages, ancient Greek and Latin were studied.

Formation of revolutionary views

Childhood and youthful years of Vladimir Ulyanov passed in an atmosphere of cruel reaction that prevailed at that time in Russia. Every manifestation of free, bold thought was persecuted. Subsequently, Vladimir Ilyich characterized this time as a period of "unbridled, incredibly senseless and bestial reaction" 1 . Therefore, the gymnasium could not contribute to the formation of advanced social ideals.

Lenin's views in the years of his youth took shape under the influence of family upbringing, the example of his parents, under the influence of revolutionary-democratic literature and contact with the life of the people. His brother Alexander, who was an indisputable authority for him, had a very strong influence on Volodya. The boy tried to be like his brother in everything, and if they asked him what he would do in this or that case, he invariably answered: "like Sasha." Over the years, the desire to be equal to the older brother has not passed, but has become deeper and more meaningful. From Alexander Volodya learned about Marxist literature, for the first time I saw K. Marx's Capital by him.

Alexander Ulyanov was an exceptionally gifted young man. From childhood, he showed a strong will, high moral qualities. “Sasha,” recalled Anna Ilyinichna. - was an extremely serious, thoughtful and strictly related to his duties boy. He was also distinguished not only by a firm, but also by a fair, sensitive and affectionate character and enjoyed the great love of all the younger ones. Volodya imitated his older brother ... "2

How Alexander Ulyanov imagined the moral character of a person is vividly shown by one of his surviving gymnasium essays on the topic: “What is required in order to be useful to society and the state.” He wrote:

“In order to be useful to society, a person must be honest and accustomed to persevering work, and in order for his work to bring as great results as possible, for this a person needs intelligence and knowledge of his business ... Honesty and a correct view of one's duties in relation to people around should be educated in a person from early youth, since it depends on these convictions which branch of labor he chooses for himself, and whether he will be guided in this choice by social benefit or an egoistic sense of his own benefit ...

Love for work should extend not only to light and insignificant things, but also to what at first glance seems insurmountable. In order to be a truly useful member of society, a person must be so accustomed to persevering work that he does not stop at any difficulties and obstacles, neither at the pace that external circumstances present to him, nor before those that present his own shortcomings and weaknesses: for all he must be able to control his will and develop for himself a firm and unshakable character.

Such was the spiritual image of Alexander Ulyanov himself.

Even in his early youth, Vladimir Ilyich began to peer intently into the life around him. Sincere, not tolerating any lies and hypocrisy, he breaks with religion. The impetus for this was a scene that angered him to the core. Once, in a conversation with a guest, Ilya Nikolaevich said about his children that they did not attend church well. Looking at Vladimir the guest said: “Slash, you need to whip!” The angry young man ran out of the house and, in protest, tore off his pectoral cross.

Observing life, Vladimir Ulyanov saw in what need the people lived, what inhuman treatment the workers and peasants were subjected to. He carefully listened to his father's stories about the darkness and ignorance that reigned in the village, about the arbitrariness of the authorities and the plight of the peasantry. Communicating with working people, he also saw how especially powerless and humiliating was the situation of non-Russian nationalities: Chuvash, Mordovians, Tatars, Udmurts and others. The young man's heart was filled with a burning hatred for the oppressors of the people.

The following fact testifies to the naked Lenin's sympathy for the nationalities oppressed by tsarism. In the last grades of the gymnasium, he taught classes with the teacher of the Chuvash school I. M. Okhotnikov, preparing him for the matriculation exam. Chuvash by nationality, a man of great mathematical abilities, Okhotnikov passionately dreamed of getting a higher education. But for admission to the university, a matriculation certificate was required, which he did not have. To get a certificate, it was necessary to take exams in many subjects, including ancient languages. It was difficult for Okhotnikov to learn these languages ​​on his own, and he did not have the means to hire a teacher. Having learned about the hopeless situation of Okhotnikov. Vladimir Ilyich undertook to prepare it free of charge and for a year and a half systematically, three times a week, studied with him. Okhotnikov successfully passed the matriculation exam and entered the university.

In search of an answer to his questions, Vladimir Ilyich read a lot. Works by A. S. Pushkin, M. Yu. Lermontov, N. V. Gogol. I. S. Turgeneva, N. L. Nekrasova. M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, L. N. Tolstoy were his favorite books. He absorbed the revolutionary spirit of the work of V. G. Belinsky, A. I. Herzen, N. G. Chernyshevsky. N. A. Dobrolyubova, D. I. Pisareva. The writings of the revolutionary democrats aroused in him hatred for the socio-political system of tsarist Russia and helped shape his revolutionary convictions. Young Lenin was fond of the poems of the poets of the satirical magazine Iskra, one of the prominent organs of the press of the revolutionary-democratic direction, which opposed feudal reaction and noble-bourgeois liberalism.

The revolutionary mood of the young man was manifested even in his classwork. Once the director of the gymnasium, F. M. Kerensky (father of the later notorious Socialist-Revolutionary A. F. Kerensky), who always set Ulyanov’s works as an example to other students, warned: “What oppressed classes are you writing about here, what does it have to do with it?”

Already in his youth, Vladimir Ilyich had to go through difficult life trials. In January 1886, at the age of 54, Ilya Nikolayevich died suddenly from a cerebral hemorrhage. The orphaned family was left without a livelihood. Maria Alexandrovna began to apply for a pension, in anticipation of the appointment of which several months passed.

Before the family had time to recover from one blow, a new misfortune fell upon it - on March 1, 1887, in St. Petersburg, Alexander Ulyanov was arrested for participating in the preparation of the assassination attempt on Tsar Alexander III. Following him, his sister Anna, who studied in St. Petersburg, was also arrested.

The family did not know about the revolutionary activities of Alexander Ilyich. He brilliantly studied at St. Petersburg University. His research in the field of zoology and chemistry attracted the attention of prominent scientists such as N. P. Wagner and A. M. Butlerov; each of them wanted to leave him at the university in his department. One of his works on zoology, completed in the third year, was awarded a gold medal. Alexander Ulyanov was expected to become a professor. During the last summer he spent at home, he devoted all his time to the preparation of his dissertation and, it seemed, completely devoted himself to science. No one knew that while in St. Petersburg, Alexander Ilyich participated in circles of revolutionary youth and conducted political propaganda among the workers. Ideologically, he was on the way from Narodnaya Volya to Marxism.

His comrades loved him for his intelligence and moral purity, devotion to his cause and exceptional modesty. Among those who studied with him at the same time were students whose names later became widely known. Among them are the writer A. S. Serafimovich, the revolutionary poet of Latvia Jan Rainis, one of the associates of V. I. Lenin - P. I. Stuchka and others.

A relative of the Ulyanovs wrote about the arrest of Alexander and Anna in Simbirsk, but, fearing for Maria Alexandrovna, she sent a letter not to her, but to a close friend of their family, teacher V.V. Kashkadamova. She immediately summoned Vladimir from the gymnasium and gave him the letter to read. “Ilyich's eyebrows moved tightly, he was silent for a long time ... - recalled Kashkadamova. “But this is a serious matter,” he said, “it could end badly for Sasha.” A difficult task fell on Vladimir - to prepare his mother for the sad news and in this difficult moment to be her moral support.

The news of the incident quickly spread through the city. And immediately everyone who had visited them before, the entire liberal Simbirsk "society" recoiled from the Ulyanov family. It was then for the first time that young Lenin saw the cowardly face of liberal intellectuals.

Maria Alexandrovna was present at the trial of Alexander and his comrades, heard her son's speech, in which he boldly denounced the tsarist autocracy and spoke of the historical inevitability of the victory of the new social system - socialism.

“I was surprised how well Sasha spoke: so convincingly, so eloquently,” Maria Alexandrovna told her daughter Anna. I didn't think he could talk like that. But it was so insanely hard for me to listen to him that I could not sit through until the end of his speech and had to leave the hall.

On May 8, 1887, Alexander Ulyanov, at the age of 21, was executed by the tsar's executioners in Shlisselburg.

The execution of Alexander Ulyanov excited all honest people and aroused their indignation at the arbitrariness of the tsarist autocracy. Newspapers in many countries wrote then about the courage of Alexander Ulyanov. Thus, the English "Daily News" and the Swiss-published "Der Sozialdemokrat" Special attention gave him speeches at the court; the French newspaper Cri du People wrote about his fearlessness during the execution. The Polish newspaper "Przedswit" published the poem "Ulyanov", dedicated to his heroism and courage. The death of Alexander Ulyanov was a huge loss for science as well. No wonder the great Mendeleev was so sorry that the revolution took away from him two of his outstanding students - Kibalchich and Ulyanov.

The execution of his brother shocked the young Lenin and at the same time strengthened his revolutionary views. A. I. Ulyanova-Yelizarova wrote exciting words about the brothers: “Alexander Ilyich died as a hero, and his blood, with the glow of a revolutionary fire, lit up the path of his brother, Vladimir, who followed him” 6 .

Bowing before the blessed memory of his brother, his dedication and courage, Vladimir, however, rejected the path of terrorist struggle chosen by Alexander. "No, we're not going that way," he decided. “That is not the way to go.”

In the tragic days for the Ulyanov family, the self-control and stamina of the young man had an effect from all over. He saw with what courage his mother endures her inconsolable grief. The example of his mother could not but affect him, and, no matter how hard it was for him, he pulled himself together and brilliantly passed the exam for the matriculation certificate. The youngest in the class, he was the only one who passed the exam to receive a gold medal. The gymnasium authorities hesitated: whether to give the brother of the executed "state criminal" a medal. But the extraordinary abilities and deep knowledge of Vladimir Ilyich were so obvious that it was impossible not to give him a medal. In the description of the director of the gymnasium, it was noted: "Very talented, constantly diligent and accurate, Ulyanov was the first student in all classes and at the end of the course he was awarded a gold medal, as the most worthy in terms of success, development and behavior." 7

It is characteristic that at the meeting of the board of trustees of the Kazan educational district, which discussed the work of gymnasium graduates, those made by Vladimir Ulyanov from the Simbirsk gymnasium were especially noted.

Note:

1 V. I. Lenin. Works, vol. 1, p. 295.

2 Memories of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. In five volumes. T. 1. M., 1968, p. 22.

4 N. K. Krupskaya. About Lenin. M., 1965, p. 36.

6 Memories of V. I. Lenin, vol. 1, 1968, p. 25.

7 "Young Guard", 1924, No. 1, p. 89.

First revolutionary baptism

At the end of June 1887, the Ulyanov family threw in Simbirsk. For a month she lived in the village of Kokushkino, and then settled in Kazan, where Vladimir Ilyich entered the law faculty of the university. Determined to devote himself to the revolutionary struggle, he sought to study social disciplines: “Now. - he said, - such a time, you need to study the sciences of law and political economy.

Vladimir Ilyich was not immediately admitted to the university. The university authorities were afraid to take responsibility and enroll him as a student. A resolution was superimposed on his petition: "Delay until a characterization is received." And only after he received a brilliant testimonial from the Simbirsk gymnasium, he was admitted to the university.

At Kazan University, Vladimir Ilyich became an active member of the illegal Samara-Simbirsk community. The tsarist authorities, who planted investigation and espionage, forbade any student organizations, pursued also fraternities. The university charter of 1884 punished participation in them with expulsion from higher educational institutions. Having established contacts with advanced students, Lenin took an active part in the revolutionary circle, which the police characterized as a circle of "extremely harmful direction."

Students strongly opposed the establishment of a police regime in the universities. On December 4, 1887, a meeting of students took place in the assembly hall of Kazan University, demanding the abolition of the reactionary university charter, permission to organize student societies, the return of previously expelled students and bringing to justice the limes guilty of their expulsion. Vladimir Ilyich was one of the active participants in the student demonstration. The trustee of the Kazan educational district later reported to the department of education that Ulyanov "rushed into the assembly hall in the first game", and the university inspector noted him "as one of the most active participants in the gathering, whom he saw in the burrows, very excited, almost with compressed fists." Leaving the gathering. Lenin was one of the first to leave his student admission card.

The revolutionary performance of the students seriously alarmed the Kazan authorities. In the courtyard of the building adjacent to the university, a battalion of soldiers was at the ready.

In protest, Lenin decided to leave the university. On December 5, he wrote the following petition addressed to the rector: “Not recognizing it as possible to continue my education at the University under the present conditions of university life, I have the honor to humbly ask Your Excellency to make a proper order to remove me from the students of the Imperial Kazan University.” 2

By order of the Kazan governor, Lenin was arrested and imprisoned. On the way to prison, a remarkable conversation took place between Lenin and the police officer accompanying him: “Well, why are you rebelling, young man, it’s a wall!” - didactically said the bailiff. "Wall, but rotten - poke, and fall apart!" 3 - boldly answered the young man.

In the prison cell, the arrested students shared their opinions and plans for the future. When asked by his comrades what he was thinking of doing after leaving prison. Vladimir Ilyich replied that there was only one road before him, the road of revolutionary struggle. On December 5, Lenin, along with other active participants in the gathering, was expelled from the university. He was forbidden to live in Kazan, and on December 7 he was deported to the village of Kokushkino under covert police surveillance 4 . The covered wagon in which he rode was accompanied by a policeman to the city limits.

Thus, at the age of seventeen, Lenin embarked on the path of revolutionary struggle, and thus he received his first revolutionary baptism.

Having sent the young man to the village, the gendarmes could not calm down. The director of the police department sent an order to the head of the Kazan provincial gendarmerie department: “Order ... to establish strict covert surveillance of Vladimir Ulyanov, who was deported to the village of Kokushkino, Laishevsky district.”

In exile, Vladimir Ilyich diligently studies socio-political, economic and statistical literature. With the help of his relatives, he receives books and magazines from Kazan, picked up in libraries. He later recalled: “It seems that never later in my life, even in prison in St. Petersburg and Siberia, did I read as much as in the year after my deportation to the village in Kazan. It was reading voraciously from early morning until late.” 5 . The young man's classes were strictly systematized. He studied university courses, read the magazines Sovremennik, Otechestvennye Zapiski, Vestnik Evropy, Russkoye Bogatstvo, the Russkiye Vedomosti newspaper, fiction, especially the works of N. A. Nekrasov. Many times Lenin re-read his favorite authors - N. G. Chernyshevsky and N. A. Dobrolyubov, made notes and made extracts from their works. He deeply studied the works of the great Russian revolutionary democrat Chernyshevsky, imbued with the spirit of class struggle, in which the idea of ​​a peasant revolution was carried out, the idea of ​​the struggle to overthrow the autocracy and the abolition of serfdom, expounded his materialistic philosophical views and socialist ideas. Subsequently, Vladimir Ilyich repeatedly emphasized the great significance of Chernyshevsky's works. who knew how to educate real revolutionaries with censored articles.

Young Lenin was reading the novel "What is to be done?" - one of the favorite books of his executed brother. In this novel, Chernyshevsky clothed his socialist ideas in an artistic form, he was the first in Russian literature to create the image of a revolutionary, a selfless fighter for the freedom and happiness of the people. Book "What to do?" so fascinated Vladimir Ilyich that in the summer of 1888 he read it five times over the course of several weeks, finding more and more exciting thoughts in it (he first became acquainted with the novel at the age of 14-15). Later, Vladimir Ilyich said that he sent a letter to Nikolai Gavrilovich.

Note:

1 N. Veretennikov. Volodya Ulyanov. U., 1967, p. 60.

2 V. I. Lenin. Works, vol. 1, p. 551.

3 Memories of V. I. Lenin, vol. 2, 1969, p. 173.

4 Now in Kokushkino-Lenino, the House-Museum of V. I. Lenin has been created.

5 "Questions of Literature", 1957, No. 8, p. 133.

In the Marxist circle

Lenin spent about a year in exile. In the autumn of 1888 he was able to move to Kazan 1 , but he was not allowed to enter the university. The trustee of the Kazan educational district, objecting to the return of Lenin to the university, wrote to the department of public education: "... with outstanding abilities and very good information, he cannot be recognized as a trustworthy person either morally or politically yet." The department imposed a resolution: “Is this not the brother of that Ulyanov. After all, also from the Simbirsk gymnasium? .. By no means should you take it. Deprived of the opportunity to continue his education in Russia, Vladimir Ilyich petitions for permission to go abroad to continue his studies. And again he is denied. The Kazan governor received an order from the police department to Vladimir Ulyanov "not to issue a foreign passport ...".

Soon Lenin joined one of the Marxist circles organized by N. E. Fedoseev, one of the first revolutionaries in Russia, who proclaimed his commitment to Marxism. Under the terms of the conspiracy, the members of the circles he organized in Kazan did not communicate with each other, the names were not called without special need, each knew only the members of his circle. Therefore, Vladimir Ilyich, being a member of one of the circles, never met Fedoseev. At that time in Kazan there were several illegal revolutionary circles in which the works of K. Marx and F. Engels, which were distributed in illegal editions and handwritten translations, were studied and discussed, heated debates were held around the works of G. V. Plekhanov directed against the populists.

It was a time when the revolutionary-minded intelligentsia was under the ideological influence of populism. The idealistic and anti-historical assertions of the Narodniks that capitalism in Russia is a superficial, completely accidental phenomenon, that the country would come to socialism only through the peasant community, their judgments about the expediency of the tactics of individual terror as a means of political struggle were very popular among the intelligentsia. Lenin later noted: “Almost everyone in their early youth enthusiastically bowed to the heroes of terror. The rejection of the charming impression of this heroic tradition was worth the struggle, accompanied by a break with people who at all costs wanted to remain loyal to Narodnaya Volya and whom the young Social Democrats highly respected. The struggle forced me to study, to read illegal works of all kinds ... "2

Vladimir Ilyich himself “never got carried away with the idea of ​​populism,” his elder sister noted, “never swam along this path ... I remember his heated conversations about Marx, which he then seriously studied, and was skeptical of populist illusions since the autumn of 1888 » 3 .

The views of the populists were in clear contradiction with reality. After the abolition of serfdom in 1861, capitalism began to develop rapidly in Russia. In St. Petersburg, in the center and in the south of the country, plants and factories grew up in the Urals.

The song was widely known then:

The old system was destroyed by sovereign capital,
He uprooted noble families,
Men and boys from their native Palestine
He drove to factories, shipyards, factories.

Railway lines stretched from the center to the outskirts. In the face of the working class in Russia, a great revolutionary force grew and grew stronger. The working class, which had not yet realized its might, was already beginning to struggle against the landlord-bourgeois system. Strikes broke out spontaneously, and the first proletarian organizations were created.

In 1883, the first Russian Marxist organization was created abroad - the Emancipation of Labor group, headed by G. V. Plekhanov. The group played a prominent role in spreading the idea of ​​scientific socialism in Russia, in the Marxist coverage of the economic situation in the country, and in the struggle against populism. Great was the significance of the works of G. V. Plekhanov, such as Socialism and the Political Struggle and Our Differences, which were read with enthusiasm and heatedly discussed in the Marxist circles of that time. Published without censorship abroad, they were the first to systematically expound the ideas of Marxism as applied to Russia. But the Emancipation of Labor group, according to Lenin's later definition, only theoretically founded Social Democracy in Russia and took the first step towards the labor movement.

The months of Lenin's stay in Kazan were filled with hard work on mastering the theory of Marxism, communication with young Kazan Marxists. He carefully studies the main work of K. Marx "Capital", in which its brilliant author discovered and scientifically substantiated the economic law of the development of capitalist society, gave a deep analysis of the contradictions of capitalism and irrefutably proved the inevitability of its death and the victory of socialism. K. Marx scientifically substantiated the world-historical role of the proletariat as the grave-digger of capitalism and the creator of a new, socialist society.

Vladimir Ilyich was completely captured by the great ideas of Marx, the irresistible logic and depth of his scientific conclusions. He did not just study Capital, but pondered its ideas in relation to the socio-economic conditions and tasks of the labor movement in Russia. “... He with great fervor and enthusiasm,” Anna Ilyinichna later recalled, “told me about the foundations of Marx’s theory and the new horizons that it opened up ... He exuded cheerful faith, which was transmitted to his interlocutors. Even then he already knew how to convince and captivate with his word. And then he did not know how, studying something, finding new ways, not to share it with others, not to recruit supporters for himself. 4

An ardent feeling of love for all working people, for all the oppressed, noted N. K. Krupskaya, Lenin “received as a legacy from the Russian heroic revolutionary movement. This feeling made him passionately, ardently search for an answer to the question: what should be the ways of emancipating the working people? He received answers to his questions from Marx. Not like a scribe, he approached Marx. He approached Marx like a man seeking an answer to tormenting urgent questions. And he found these answers there.

From the very beginning of his conscious life, Lenin became a convinced supporter of the revolutionary Marxist doctrine of the transformation of the world, of the great historical mission of the working class. The 18-year-old Lenin realized that the most revolutionary class was the working class, that it was he who had the leading role in the struggle against the exploiters.

Vladimir Ilyich was one of the first Russian Marxists who creatively mastered the revolutionary doctrine, an ardent, convinced and ardent propagandist of the great ideas of scientific socialism.

Armed with the theory of Marxism, Lenin, like no other. I clearly saw what a great force would awaken in the working class of Russia if socialist consciousness was introduced into the young workers' movement. Even then he was firmly, unshakably convinced that neither the tsarist autocracy nor the power of the capitalists could resist this force.

Note:

1 The house where the Ulyanov family lived in 1888-1889 has now been turned into the V. I. Lenin House-Museum.

2 V. I. Lenin. Works, vol. 6, pp. 180 - 181.

3 Central Party Archive of the Institute of Marxism-Leninism, f. 13, units ridge 100.

4 Memories of V. I. Lenin, vol. 1, 1968, p. 30.

5 Ibid., p. 598.

Samara period

In early May 1889, the Ulyanov family left for the Samara province. to a farm near the village of Alakaevka, and in autumn she settled in Samara (now the city of Kuibyshev) 1 . Soon after her departure, the gendarmes managed to get on the trail of the Kazan revolutionary circles. In July, N. E. Fedoseev was arrested and imprisoned, and some members of the circle, which included Lenin, were also arrested. Thus, only thanks to a happy accident - the departure from Kazan - Lenin escaped arrest.

In the article “A few words about N. E. Fedoseev,” Lenin wrote: “In the spring of 1889, I left for the Samara province, where I heard at the end of the summer of 1889 about the arrest of Fedoseev and other members of the Kazan circles - by the way, and where I am took part, I think that I could also have been easily arrested if I had stayed that summer in Kazan” 2 .

Vladimir Ilyich needed to earn money. During May - June, he placed an ad in the Samarskaya Gazeta: “A former student wants to have a lesson. Agree to leave. Address: Voznesenskaya st., village Saushkina, Elizarov, for transfer to V. U. in writing. In the list of people who were under police supervision, it was noted that Ulyanov in Samara lives by giving lessons.

Not being able to go to university either in Russia or abroad. Vladimir Ilyich tried to get permission to take the exams for the university as an external student. He was denied this too. Only in the spring of 1890 did he receive such permission. With all his energy, Lenin set about preparing for the exams. He decided to graduate from the university at the same time as his former Kazan classmates. To do this, it was necessary to independently study in a year and a half what others studied during their four years of study at the university. Having strictly calculated the remaining time, Vladimir Ilyich drew up a plan for his studies, persistently and purposefully fulfilling it. In the summer in Alakaevka, in a remote alley of the garden, he arranged a kind of "working room". Here, after morning tea, he came loaded with books and notebooks and worked until dark.

After hard work, Lenin knew how to have a good rest. In the evenings, Alakaev's house resounded with music and singing. Vladimir Ilyich often sang with his sister Olga, who also accompanied on the piano. He especially loved the song to the words of the poet Yazykov "Swimmer" ("Our sea is unsociable"). With enthusiasm he sang:

But the waves carry
Only a strong soul! ..
Feel free, brothers, full of storm
My sail is straight and strong.

Relatives noted that in Vladimir Ilyich's penny there was never sadness, it always sounded courage and appeal. One morning, when Olga was playing the Marseillaise, Vladimir Ilyich entered the room and offered to sing the Internationale. In those years, this hymn was almost unknown in Russia. Brother and sister began to pick up a melody and then sang the entire hymn in French 3 . As a child, Vladimir Ilyich studied music, then he stopped and repeatedly recalled this with regret. He was very fond of music and subtly understood it.

In 1891, Lenin took an external exam in the spring and autumn sessions. state exams for the Faculty of Law at St. Petersburg University. He is one of all the examinees who receives the highest marks in all subjects. He is awarded a diploma of the first degree. Vladimir Ilyich also used his trips to St. Petersburg to take exams to get in touch with the Marxists of the capital, and through them to stock up on Marxist literature.

The addresses of the St. Petersburg Marxists were given to Vladimir Ilyich by his close acquaintance A. A. Shukht, 4 who at that time, after leaving the Siberian exile, lived in Samara.

From the end of January 1892, Lenin was enrolled as an assistant barrister and from March began to speak in the Samara District Court. During 1892-1898 he appeared in the Samara court about 20 times. Most of his clients were poor peasants and artisans.

But it was not the work of a lawyer that occupied Lenin. All his energy and strength were directed to the study of Marxism, to prepare for active revolutionary activity. At that time, several illegal circles of revolutionary-minded, mainly students, youth were operating in Samara. Most of these circles adhered to the populist trend. The most active of them was A. P. Sklyarenko's circle, which printed and distributed illegal publications, conducted propaganda among young students, and had connections with individual workers. Through M. T. Elizarov, the husband of his elder sister, Lenin met Sklyarenko and soon became close friends with him, contacted members of his circle and other circles.

Many representatives of the revolutionary populism of the 1970s lived in Samara; by that time, almost all of them had already retired from active political activity. But Lenin, who always strove to learn, to take everything that was most valuable and useful from everywhere, talked for a long time with the veterans of Narodnaya Volya, absorbing and critically processing the experience of the past revolutionary movement. He was keenly interested in their stories about revolutionary work, about the conditions of conspiracy, behavior during interrogations and trials. Not sharing their worldview, he deeply respected these brave, selfless revolutionaries.

The appearance of a well-educated Marxist made a great impression in Samara revolutionary circles. With his characteristic passion, his ability to convince people and recruit supporters, Lenin began to propagate Marxism here too. Especially active was his activity in the circle of Sklyarenko. Under the influence of Lenin's Marxist propaganda, many members of the circle, including Sklyarenko 5 himself, broke with populist views.

In the 1990s, the Narodniks turned from revolutionary fighters against tsarism into moderate liberals. In Samara, Lenin began a consistent struggle against the populist ideology, against the liberal populists. He repeatedly makes abstracts (reports) in which he exposes the anti-scientific essence of populist views, their inconsistency and contradiction with reality. With an essay on the topic "On the community, its fate and the paths of the revolution," Lenin spoke in a circle, which included workers from the Samara railway depot. In the winter and summer of 1892, he wrote and then read in illegal circles reports directed against the most prominent ideologists of liberal populism - N.K. Mikhailovsky, V.P. Vorontsov and S.N. Yuzhakov, also makes reports on the works of K. Marx and F. Engels. Great interest in revolutionary circles was aroused by his essay on K. Marx's book The Poverty of Philosophy. Lenin's speeches took place in an atmosphere of sharp ideological controversy. Defending the Marxist doctrine, he confidently and skillfully repulsed the attacks of his opponents.

Members of the Sklyarenko circle observed strict conspiracy in their activities. To read essays and discuss theoretical and practical issues, they sometimes made the so-called "around the world" - a boat trip down the Volga to the end of the Samara bow, then a crossing to the river that flows north and flows into the Volga. The trip took several days. During this time, it was possible, without interference and fear that the police would come, to discuss the issues that worried the members of the circle. In addition, the boat ride was a wonderful getaway. Many years later, while living in exile, Vladimir Ilyich warmly recalled how in Samara he and his comrades made a "round the world", what great pleasure it gave him to get acquainted with new places.

In Samara, Vladimir Ilyich translated from German into Russian the "Manifesto of the Communist Party" by K. Marx and F. Engels. This handwritten translation went from hand to hand, it was read in Samara circles and even outside of Samara. Unfortunately, the manuscript of Lenin's translation perished.

Vladimir Ilyich closely followed the events of international life. He rejoiced when, under the pressure of the mass and ever-increasing labor movement in Germany, the exceptional law against socialists introduced in 1878 was repealed.

In 1892, Lenin organized the first circle of Marxists in Samara, which included A.I. Sklyarenko, I.Kh. Lalayants (since 1893), M.I. I. Lebedeva and A. A. Belyakov. The circle studied the works of K. Marx - "Capital" and F. Engels - "Anti-Dühring", "The Condition of the Working Class in England", the works of G. V. Plekhanov and others. Everything that could be obtained at that time in Samara from Marxist literature was studied and discussed. The members of the circle carried on active propaganda of Marxism.

Vladimir Ilyich repeatedly spoke in the circle with reports on questions of Marxist theory, read the articles prepared by him. During his stay in Samara, he wrote several works. Among them, according to the testimony of the members of the circle, there was an article, still not found, about the book by V. I. Vorontsov “The Fate of Capitalism in Russia” (one of the main works of liberal populism).

Among his like-minded people, Lenin enjoyed exceptional prestige. “In this 23-year-old man,” I. Kh. Lalayants recalled, “simplicity, sensitivity, cheerfulness and fervor, on the one hand, and solidity, depth of knowledge, merciless logical consistency, clarity and clarity of judgment and definitions, on the one hand, were surprisingly combined. other" 6 .

Even then, Lenin was characterized by a creative attitude to the issues studied, he was alien to the dogmatic perception of Marxist theory. He did not accept anything as a dogma. In theory, he saw the key to understanding the economic and political situation in Russia, and he sought to verify each of the conclusions he drew from the books he read in practice.

Armed with the Marxist scientific method, Lenin made a comprehensive study of the Russian economy. He collected and analyzed a huge amount of material on the peasant economy, especially Zemstvo statistics. He presented his analyzes and conclusions first in a report at the circle, and then in the article "New economic movements in peasant life", written in the spring of 1893. This is the first surviving scientific work of Lenin. It convincingly shows that already in those years the young Lenin had a good command of the theory of Marxism, deeply and faithfully applied it to the study of the life of the peasant masses of Russia. The statistical data cited in V. E. Postnikov's book "The South Russian Peasant Economy" was highly appreciated by Lenin as rich material for analyzing the situation in the Russian countryside. Using these data, Lenin at the same time criticizes the author of the book for inconsistency and methodological errors and gives a Marxist characterization of the situation in the countryside, shatters the populist myth about a special, allegedly unchanging way of peasant economy. Contrary to the assertions of the Narodniks, who denied the development of capitalism in Russia, he convincingly proves that capitalism is growing with unstoppable force, that a deep economic stratification into the poor, middle peasants and kulaks is taking place among the peasantry. The data cited by Lenin clearly revealed the presence of antagonistic classes among the "communal" peasantry idealized by the Narodniks.

V. I. Lenin intended to publish his article in the liberal journal Russkaya Mysl, but the editors rejected it, "as not suitable for the direction of the journal." Attaching great importance to the question raised in the article, Lenin intended to publish it as a separate pamphlet. However, this intention was not fulfilled at that time. The main materials of the article were used by Lenin in the second chapter of his book "The Development of Capitalism in Russia". The manuscript of the article "New Economic Movements in Peasant Life" was first published only in 1923.

Lenin carefully studied the life of the Russian village, often talked with the peasants, with people who knew the village. While living on a farm in the summer, Vladimir Ilyich often visited A. A. Preobrazhensky, the organizer of the populist agricultural colony, located a few miles from Alakaevka. At Preobrazhensky, he repeatedly met and talked with peasants, in particular with D. Ya. Kislikov from the village of Guards, described by G. Uspensky in the essay “Three Villages”. Kislikov also visited Vladimir Ilyich, who was very interested in this peasant-nugget, who at the age of 30 began to learn to read and write, began to write poetry, boldly expressed his opinions. Vladimir Ilyich remembered him for a long time. In 1905, he wrote to Preobrazhensky: “Is that radical peasant whom you brought to me still alive? What has he become now? And Kislikov, during the revolution of 1905-1907, conducted propaganda among the peasants, approaching the spirit of the Social Democratic.

In 1893, Lenin invited Preobrazhensky to examine one of the villages and, together with him, compiled a household card with a list of questions. The results of the survey were then sent to Lenin in St. Petersburg. From Sklyarenko, who served as a secretary to the justice of the peace and therefore often visited the countryside and communicated with the peasants, he also received valuable material on the situation of the peasantry.

The good knowledge of the peasant economy, which Lenin acquired while studying the countryside, was of great importance for his subsequent theoretical work. It armed him with extensive, indisputable factual data, which provided him with rich material for profound scientific generalizations and conclusions, for crushing criticism of Narodnik views.

Leshin's activities were not limited to Samara, he was associated with a number of cities in the Volga region. Through M. T. Elizarov, he established strong ties with V. A. Ionov and A. I. Eramasov, who lived in Syzran and visited Samara, who became Marxists under the influence of Lenin. People from Saratov, Kazan and other cities along the Volga came to Samara to get acquainted with the new, Marxist doctrine. Thus, the Volga region then became one of the main centers for the spread of Marxist ideas in Russia.

Vladimir Ilyich established a written connection with N. E. Fedoseev. who at that time lived in Vladimir. In their correspondence, they exchanged views on questions of Marxist theory, the economic and political development of Russia. In 1893, Lenin received Fedoseev's manuscript (who was back in prison) on the reasons for the fall of serfdom in Russia. The manuscript with Lenin's marginal notes was read and discussed by members of the Marxist circle. The correspondence between Lenin and Fedoseev continued for a number of years. but, unfortunately, has not yet been found. Vladimir Ilyich had a deep sympathy for his associate. Many years later, he wrote: “... for the Volga region and for some areas of Central Russia, the role played by Fedoseev was at that time remarkably high, and the then public, in its turn to Marxism, undoubtedly experienced the influence of this on a very, very large scale. an extraordinarily talented and extraordinarily dedicated revolutionary." 7

The years of life in Kazan and Samara were of great importance for the further activity of Lenin. It was during these years that his Marxist convictions finally took shape and took shape. The Samara period was a period of accumulation of strength for entering the broad arena of revolutionary struggle. Lenin was drawn to the expanse of revolutionary work, to a large industrial centre where large masses of the proletariat were concentrated.

In August 1893 Vladimir Ilyich left for Petersburg.

Note:

1 In Alakaevka and Kuibyshev, where the Ulyanov family lived, House-Museums of V. I. Lenin were created.

2 V. I. Lenin. Soch., vol. 45, p. 321.

3 See D.I. Ulyanov. Memories of Vladimir Ilyich. M., 1968, pp. 51 - 52.

4 Vladimir Ilyich was connected with A. A. Shukht and his family until the end of his life. Schucht joined the Bolshevik Party in 1917. In 1918, on the recommendation of Lenin, his daughter was accepted into the party. Another daughter of Schukht became the wife of one of the founders of the Italian communist party, the most prominent figure in the international communist movement - Antonio Gramsci.

Lenin (real name - Ulyanov) Vladimir Ilyich - the largest Russian Soviet politician, statesman, publicist, Marxist, founder of Marxism-Leninism, one of the organizers and leaders of the October Revolution of 1917, founder of the Communist Party, creator of the first socialist state, the Communist International, one of the leaders of the international communist movement. Ulyanov was from Simbirsk, where he was born on April 22 (April 10, O.S.), 1870. His father was an official, an inspector of public schools. In the period 1879-1887. Vladimir Ulyanov successfully studied at the local gymnasium, which he graduated with a gold medal. Until the age of 16, being baptized Orthodox, he was a member of the Simbirsk religious Society of St. Sergius of Radonezh.

The turning point in the biography of V. Lenin is the execution in 1887 of his elder brother, Alexander, who took part in the preparation of the assassination attempt on Alexander III. Although there was no particularly close relationship between the brothers, this event made a huge impression on the whole family. In 1887, Vladimir became a student at Kazan University (Faculty of Law), but participation in student unrest turned into expulsion and exile to Kokushkino, his mother's estate. He was allowed to return to Kazan in the autumn of 1888, and exactly one year later the Ulyanovs moved to Samara. Living in this city, Vladimir, thanks to his active reading of Marxist literature, begins to get acquainted with this doctrine in the most detailed way.

In 1891, after graduating externally from the law faculty of St. Petersburg University, Lenin moved to this city in 1893, working as an assistant to a barrister. However, he is not concerned with jurisprudence, but with issues of state structure. Already in 1894, he formulated a political credo, according to which the Russian proletariat, having led all democratic forces, should lead society to a communist revolution through open political struggle.

In 1895, with the most active participation of Lenin, the St. Petersburg Union of Struggle for the Emancipation of the Working Class was created. For this, he was arrested in December and then more than a year later he was deported for three years to Siberia, the village of Shushenskoye. While in exile, in July 1898 he married N. K. Krupskaya due to the threat of her transfer to another place. For the rest of her life, this woman was his faithful companion, companion and assistant.

In 1900, V. Lenin went abroad, lived in Germany, England, Switzerland. There, together with G.V. Plekhanov, who played an important role in his life, he started the publication of Iskra, the first all-Russian illegal Marxist newspaper. At the II Congress of Russian Social Democrats, which was held in 1903 and was marked by a split into Bolsheviks and Mensheviks, he headed the first, subsequently creating the Bolshevik Party. He caught the revolution of 1905 in Switzerland, in November of the same year, under a false name, he illegally arrived in St. Petersburg, where he lived until December 1907, taking over the leadership of the Central and St. Petersburg Committees of the Bolsheviks.

During the First World War, V. I. Lenin, who was in Switzerland at that time, put forward the slogan about the need to defeat the government with the transformation of the imperialist war into a civil one. Having learned from the newspapers news about the February Revolution, he began to prepare for his return to his homeland.

In April 1917, Lenin arrived in Petrograd, and the very next day upon his arrival, he proposed a program for the transition of the bourgeois-democratic revolution to a socialist one, proclaiming the slogan "All power to the Soviets!" Already in October, he acts as one of the main organizers and leaders of the October armed uprising; in late October and early November, detachments sent on his personal orders contribute to the establishment of Soviet power in Moscow.

The October Revolution, the repressive first steps of the government headed by Lenin, turned into a bloody battle that lasted until 1922. civil war, which became a national tragedy, claimed the lives of millions of people. In the summer of 1918, the family of Nicholas II was shot in Yekaterinburg, and it was established that the leader of the world proletariat approved of the execution.

Since March 1918, Lenin's biography has been associated with Moscow, where the capital was transferred from Petrograd. On August 30, he was seriously injured during an assassination attempt, the answer to which was the so-called. red terror. On the initiative of Lenin and in accordance with his ideology, the policy of war communism was carried out, which in March 1921 was replaced by the NEP. In December 1922, V. Lenin became the founder of the USSR - a state of a new type, which had no precedent in world history.

The same year was marked by a serious deterioration in health, which forced the head of the country of the Soviets to curtail his active work in the political arena. In May 1923, he moved to the Gorki estate near Moscow, where he died on January 21, 1924. The official cause of death was problems with blood circulation, premature wear of blood vessels, caused, in particular, by huge loads.

IN AND. Lenin refers to individuals whose assessment of activities ranges from harsh criticism to the creation of a cult. However, no matter how his contemporaries and future generations treat him, it is quite obvious that, being a world-class politician, Lenin, with his ideology and activities, had a tremendous impact on world history at the beginning of the last century, setting a further vector of development for it.