| Vladimir Ilych Ulyanov was better known to
the world as Lenin (1870-1924). His birthplace, Smbirsk, is located in the
Ulyanov Oblast, southeast of Moscow. A gifted student, he studied law at Kazan
University (in Tatarstan), but was expelled in 1887 after he became involved
with an anti-Tsarist group. In that same year, his elder brother, Alexander, was
hanged for allegedly plotting to kill Tsar Alexander III, father of Nicholas II.
This event, it is said, made Lenin determined to rid Russia of imperial rule. He
completed his law degree as a correspondence student in 1891 and moved to St.
Petersburg. He met many like-minded individuals in the city. In 1895, he went abroad, returning from his
European travels with printed information on Communism. Tsar Nicholas II's
forces arrested him and sent him to a prison camp in Siberia. After his release
in 1900, he left Russia and adopted the name Lenin to avoid being arrested
again. He began writing a newspaper called "Iskra" (spark) encouraging
overthrow of the Tsar. Circumstances in Russia served to further
Lenin's cause. In 1905, food shortages led to 150,000 people
demonstrating |
 |
