Vladimir Lenin

About Vladimir Lenin

The leader of the Bolshevik Revolution and founder of the Soviet Union. Lenin returned from exile in 1917 in a sealed train provided by Germany. He led the October Revolution and established the worlds first communist state. Lenin authorized the Red Terror and the creation of the secret police. He had a stroke in 1922 and was incapacitated until his death in 1924. His body was embalmed and placed on display in the Red Square mausoleum. Lenin was a brilliant revolutionary theorist who adapted Marxism to Russian conditions. His testament, warning against Stalin, was suppressed by the Soviet leadership.