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Vladimir Lenin

1870 – 1924 Russian Founder of the Soviet state

The Bolshevik leader who seized power in 1917 and founded the Soviet Union.

Religion
Baptized Russian Orthodox but a militant atheist who saw religion as a tool of oppression and made state atheism a pillar of the new regime.
Affiliations
Founder and leader of the Bolshevik Party; led the October Revolution and headed the first Soviet government.

Lenin built the Bolshevik Party around his idea of a disciplined revolutionary vanguard and led the October seizure of power in 1917. He pulled Russia out of the world war, won the civil war, and created a one-party state that suppressed rivals and the Church. A series of strokes ended his rule, and his succession set Stalin against Trotsky.

Connections

  • rival of Alexander Kerensky — Lenin's Bolsheviks overthrew his government in October 1917.
  • associate of Alexandra Kollontai — A prominent Bolshevik who clashed with Lenin over the Workers' Opposition.
  • successor of Alexei Rykov — Took over the head of government post after Lenin's death.
  • associate of Anatoly Lunacharsky — Served in his government though Lenin mocked his God-building ideas.
  • rival of Fanny Kaplan — Shot and nearly killed him in 1918.
  • ally of Felix Dzerzhinsky — Lenin's trusted enforcer, chosen to head the secret police.
  • associate of Felix Dzerzhinsky — Appointed him to run the Cheka secret police.
  • associate of Felix Dzerzhinsky — Built the Cheka on Lenin's authority.
  • mentor of Georgi Plekhanov — An early mentor to Lenin who later became his opponent.
  • student of Georgi Plekhanov — Learned Marxism from Plekhanov before breaking with him.
  • associate of Georgy Chicherin — Served as his government's chief diplomat.
  • associate of Grigory Zinoviev — A close lieutenant during the revolution and after.
  • associate of Grigory Zinoviev — A close lieutenant in exile and revolution.
  • associate of Inessa Armand — A close comrade and reputed intimate.
  • associate of Inessa Armand — A close comrade and reputed romantic partner.
  • associate of Joseph Stalin — Promoted him but in his final testament urged the party to remove him.
  • successor of Joseph Stalin — Succeeded Lenin as Soviet leader.
  • successor of Joseph Stalin — Succeeded, after a power struggle, by Stalin.
  • rival of Julius Martov — A close early comrade who became his main Menshevik opponent.
  • influenced Karl Marx — Lenin built the Bolshevik revolution on Marx's theory, adapting it for an agrarian Russia Marx never expected to revolt first.
  • ally of Leon Trotsky — His chief lieutenant in the revolution and civil war.
  • ally of Leon Trotsky — Lenin's right hand during the revolution and civil war.
  • associate of Leon Trotsky — Co-leader of the revolution and Red Army founder.
  • associate of Leon Trotsky — His chief revolutionary partner and Red Army founder.
  • ally of Leonid Krasin — An early financial organizer for Lenin's faction.
  • rival of Maria Spiridonova — Her Left SRs allied with then rebelled against his government in 1918.
  • associate of Maxim Gorky — A friend and supporter who still attacked his repression.
  • family of Nadezhda Krupskaya — Her husband and political partner.
  • family of Nadezhda Krupskaya — His wife and lifelong political partner.
  • associate of Nikolai Bukharin — A favored younger theorist Lenin called the party's darling.
  • rival of Patriarch Tikhon of Moscow — Led church resistance to Lenin's regime and its anti-religious campaign.
  • rival of Victor Chernov — Lenin's forces dissolved the assembly his party had won.
  • associate of Vyacheslav Molotov — An old Bolshevik who served in the party from before the revolution.
  • ally of Yakov Sverdlov — Lenin's chief organizer and formal head of state.

In the timeline

Wikipedia