The Life and Impact of Vladimir Lenin: Lecture Notes

Early Life and Background

Birth: Born Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov on April 22, 1870, in Simbirsk, Russia (Julian calendar: April 10).
Parents: Ilya Nikolayevich Ulyanov (father) and Maria Alexandrovna Blank (mother).
- Father: From a serf family, studied physics and mathematics, became a successful educator.
- Mother: Mixed German, Swedish, Russian, and Jewish ancestry.
Siblings: Eight children, two died in infancy; Vladimir was the third eldest.
Childhood: Comfortable, with holidays at a manor in Kokushkino; excelled in school and chess.

Father's Death: Ilya died of a brain haemorrhage in January 1886 when Vladimir was 15.
Brother's Execution: Older brother Alexander executed in 1887 for plotting to assassinate Tsar Alexander III.
- Led to Lenin's descent into extremist politics.

Peter I and Catherine the Great: Attempts to modernize and expand the Russian Empire.
Serfdom: Predominant system, backward economy, and strong influence of the Orthodox Church.
Reforms and Discontent:
- Alexander II: Emancipated serfs in 1861, survived an assassination attempt in 1866.
- Alexander III: Opposed reforms, increased political repression.
- Rise of Political Groups: Narodniks, People’s Will, and discussions on anarchism, nihilism, and communism.

Kazan University: Briefly attended, expelled for protesting.
Influences: Read Marx, Engels, and other political thinkers.
Legal Career: Passed exams at University of St. Petersburg, worked as a legal assistant in Samara.
Political Involvement: Joined various political groups, spurred by the 1891 famine and government incompetence.

1893: Relocated to Saint Petersburg, involved with Marxists and communists.
Nadezhda Krupskaya: Met and partnered with, shared radical views.
1895 Arrest: Arrested for publishing Marxist materials, sentenced to exile in Siberia.
Siberian Exile: Wrote "The Development of Capitalism in Russia", married Krupskaya in 1898.

1900: Left Russia, moved through Switzerland, Munich, and London.
"What is to be Done?" (1902): Advocated for a revolutionary vanguard to lead proletariat to socialism.
Bolshevik-Menshevik Split (1903): Led Bolshevik faction calling for a committed revolutionary party.

1905 Revolution: Tsar's concessions quelled uprising; Lenin returned to Russia temporarily.
Provisional Retreat: Fled back abroad to Finland as repression increased.
Resettlement Abroad: Moved RSDLP headquarters to Paris in 1908.

WWI Impact: Russia's failures and internal unrest, Tsar Nicholas II’s abdication in March 1917.
Return via Germany: Lenin returned to Russia in April 1917, advocating for soviets.
July Days and Flight: Agitated July protests, later fled to Finland.

October Revolution (1917): Bolshevik coup in Petrograd, led to establishment of soviet government.
Initial Reforms: Decrees on land, industry, and social issues; began creating a communist state.

Civil War (1918-1922): Conflict with White forces, use of Red Terror and suppression methods.
International Relations: Treaty of Brest-Litovsk ended WWI involvement; established Comintern in 1919.

New Economic Policy (1921): Allowed limited capitalism to stabilize economy.
Leninism: Departures from classical Marxism; vanguard proletariat leading socialism.

Influence: Leninism shaped communist regimes globally; led to establishment of Soviet Union.
Criticism: Created a state with strong authoritarian aspects, comparable to Tsarist regime.
Impact: Major figure in 20th-century history, pivotal in the rise of global communism.