Vladimir Lenin Research Paper

Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, or Vladimir Lenin as he is more popularly known, was a well-known communist revolutionary in Russia who went on to be one of the most dominant revolutionary leaders. Many historians agree that Lenin is one of the most influential political leaders in history. The disagreement among historians is most likely to concern just how Lenin became as influential as he did. Some will argue it was his upbringing, others believe it is the tragedies he faced in his early life and some historians still are not quite sure what exactly molded him into the great political leader he was.
Vladimir Lenin was born on April 22, 1870 in Simbirsk, Russia to a humble family. His mother was the daughter of a doctor and his father, son of a serf, had earned a college degree and eventually worked as a school superintendent. At home,
First his father died then his brother was killed for allegedly being involved in a plan to overthrow the tsar. Jennifer Llewellyn believes this to be the turning point in his life as she writes, “This event resulted in the entire Ulyanov family being condemned and ostracized as revolutionaries. Both his father’s death and his brother’s execution had a significant impact on the young Lenin: he lost faith in God and religion” These events led Lenin to abandon his Jewish upbringing. He became atheist and shifted politically to socialist ideologies. He very closely followed in his brothers footsteps with his radical socialist ideas and beliefs. Historian Christopher Hill would agree with these events as being a major turning point for Lenin, politically. In his book, Lenin and the Russian Revolution, he writes, “this tragedy made a deep impression on Vladimir, who had loved and admired Alexander. The two brothers had already had many discussions on politics.” Still, some argue that this great shift did not occur until he was a student at Kazan University, where “he was exposed to radical