Vladimir Lenin
Discover Vladimir Lenin — the revolutionary who led the Bolsheviks to power in 1917 and created the world's first communist state.
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (1870–1924) was the Russian revolutionary, political theorist, and leader who overthrew the Russian Provisional Government in October 1917, established the Soviet state, and became the founding figure of 20th-century communism. His adaptation of Marxism to Russian conditions — known as Marxism-Leninism — became the official ideology of communist movements worldwide.
Lenin's key theoretical innovation was the concept of the 'vanguard party' — a disciplined, professional revolutionary organization that would lead the working class to revolution rather than waiting for capitalism to develop fully. His work What Is to Be Done? (1902) outlined this organizational vision. From exile in Switzerland, he directed Bolshevik strategy until the chaos of World War I and the Russian Revolution created the opportunity to seize power.
In power, Lenin proved as ruthless as he was brilliant. He dissolved the elected Constituent Assembly, established one-party rule, created the secret police (Cheka), and fought a devastating civil war. He also implemented the New Economic Policy, a pragmatic retreat from pure socialism. His early death in 1924, at age 53, left the Soviet Union without a designated successor — opening the way for Stalin's rise to power and the transformation of Lenin's revolutionary state into a totalitarian nightmare.