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.

In 1917, the situation in the Russian government deteriorated as a result of the war. On March 2 that year the emperor abdicated and the Russian monarchy collapsed. The revolution spread throughout the country resulting in the formation of numerous soviets. At the same time, Lenin was in Switzerland. Although he was separated from the war, he was convinced that the war must continue. He believed that the revolution needed to continue until, as per the Marxist’s theory, there was a creation of a dictatorship that would rule on behalf of the industrial workers and peasants. Lenin was adamant about returning to Russia. His goal was to provoke further developments in the revolutionary movement and his own Bolshevik Party. His initial efforts to return to Russia were unsuccessful. The French and Italian governments refused to allow him to pass through their countries because they feared that his presence in Russia would threaten the Allied was effort. Lenin did receive assistance from Germany though. They felt that political unrest in Russia would aid Germany in winning the war. Germany provided Lenin with a secured train that provided him with safety as he passed through Germany, Sweden, and Finland. Lenin arrived in Petrograd in early April of 1917.

Lenin returned to Petrograd in October and by late October, he was successful in convincing the majority of the Bolshevik Party to seize the government power. A group of soldiers, sailors, and armed workers attacked the Winter Palace, which was the headquarters of the Provisional Government. They arrested members of the Provisional Government and the Congress of Soviets convened that same day declaring Soviet power.

Lenin spent the early years of World War I in Switzerland. The war inspired Lenin to write what is considered one of his most influential works.

Lenin was indeed one of the most influential men of the twentieth century. He was a revolutionary, a politician, writer, and a visionary but probably best know as a revolutionary. Lenin was a determined man but he was also ruthless and cruel. His leadership and ideology served as a model for later revolutionary leaders such as Fidel Castro and Mao Zedong.

Some topics in this essay:
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