Lenin
10 Pages 2381 Words
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov was born at Simbirsk on April 22,1870. Simbirsk was later renamed Ul’yanovsk in his honor. Vladimir was the third of six children. His parents were Ilya Nikolayevich Ulyanov and Maria Alexadrovna Blank. His father worked as a director of public education. His dedication to the state earned him the title of Heredity Nobleman. Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov changed his name to Vladimir Ilich Lenin while doing secret work as a revolutionary. The name Lenin was probably derived from the river Lena in Siberia.
While in school in 1887, Lenin’s brother Aleksandr was arrested and executed in St. Petersburg for being involved in a conspiracy to assassinate the Russian Emperor. Lenin enrolled in the Kazan’ University where he was going to study law but was later expelled for his involvement in a student demonstration. Lenin moved to his mother’s estate in the village of Kolevshkino. Here he would pursue the study of law again as an external student of St. Petersburg University. Lenin received his law degree in 1892.
Following his graduation, he moved to the city of Samara where he took the position of a lawyer’s assistant. Lenin’s previous involvement with the law limited his prospects as a lawyer. Soon after he began to learn more about revolutionary politics. In the mid 1890’s, Lenin quit his law practice and moved to St. Petersburg. There he became associated with a group of radicals and were impressed by the ideas of the Russian Marxist George Plekhanov. Lenin was very prominent with the Marxist activists of St. Petersburg. They began working with the industrial workers of the city to influence them of their political and economic power.
Working with the workers Lenin and the Marxists attempted to organize strikes to improve working conditions in the factories. In 1985, the St. Petersburg Marxists formed an organization called the Union of Struggle for the Emancipation of the Working Class. ...