Evaluation of Lenin's Leadership and Legacy

The Bolshevik revolution of 1917 is an event that has become recognised as one of the most significant, if not the most significant political events of the 20th century. With the revolution signalling the end of the old Tsarist regime and the beginning of the new, the Bolsheviks ushered in a new age of Russian history. Such a substantial event might not have been possible if not for the leadership of Vladimir Lenin, the party's head. As the man behind the October revolution, Lenin was a figure of enormous influence in twentieth-century politics. He was a man of great intellect, but he had a leadership style that could be likened to a double-edged sword; he was sharp, but he was liable to harm the Russian people just as much as he was likely to help them. With this mindset, Lenin made decisions that benefitted many of the people of Russia, but these advancements pale in comparison to all the violence and terror that Lenin left in his wake.
Vladimir Lenin was the third of six children born into an upper middle class family. His parents were both highly educated; his mother was the daughter of a doctor, and his father was a teacher that was promoted to be inspector of schools, which made him be classified as a nobleman, thus making Lenin a noble. Lenin and his siblings not only absorbed a wealth of intellect from his parents, but they also absorbed a passionate concern for the well-being of the Russian people, which may have been the beginnings of their revolutionary sympathies. In 1887 (when Lenin was 17) Lenin’s eldest brother, Aleksandr, was hanged for collaborating with a revolutionary group that was plotting to assassinate the current tsar of the time, Alexander III. The execution of their brother embittered the remaining children of the family, and made them realize that the autocracy of the Tsar had to be destroyed. After his brother’s death he did not take part in radical revolutionary activities straight away, but he did immerse himself in the writings of...