This Day in History: 21 January 2020
21 January 1924
96 years ago, today, Vladimir Lenin, the mastermind behind the Bolshevik Revolution, and the Soviet Union's first leader, died at the age of 54, after experiencing a brain haemorrhage. At the beginning of his political career, Lenin abandoned his law career to indulge in the study of Marxism, and to spark revolutionary activity among the Russian workers. Later, he was arrested and exiled to Siberia, before travelling to Western Europe and establishing the Bolshevik faction of the Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party. The Bolsheviks were a party of professional revolutionaries, all seeking to overthrow the Tsarist rule in Russia.
In 1905, rebellion broke out across Russia, led by the workers, but it was not until 1917, when Russia became involved in World War I, that the real Communist revolution could begin. The Russian army garrison at Petrograd joined the Bolshevik cause, and Tsar Nicholas II was forced to abdicate. Lenin left his exile in Switzerland and crossed German enemy lines to arrive in Petrograd on April 16, 1917. Six months later, the Bolsheviks seized power in Russia, and Lenin became somewhat of a dictator. His government nationalised industry and distributed land, before bringing about the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Lenin's body was also embalmed and placed in a burial chamber, while Petrograd was renamed Leningrad in his honour. Joseph Stalin succeeded him as the leader of the Soviet Union.
Want to find out more about the life on Lenin? Click here to read more information, or to watch a video instead, click here.
No comments:
Post a Comment