Vladimir Ilyich Lenin

Say what you will, but the fact remains that the man was an absolute genius.  I have been dabbling in several of Robert Conquest's updated works based upon the newly open Soviet files and some other works as well.  Lenin knew that he had no actual support anywhere, but with a few thousand activists, he was able to seize and hold power in the largest landmass in the world.The "business plan" was all wrong, but his single-mindedness carried it through.  He is a fascinating person.

Lenin started all! Not exactly true as the beginning of the century was already covered with bloody colors due to the Russian anarchyst and socialist groups, led by famous leaders (Plechanoff, etc.). However, Lenin could convert the small bolshivist fraction to the winning force in the Socialis Revolution in Russia. Some say, he was a secret agent of Germany, or was at least paid by Germany to cause Russia's failure in the first World War. Some say, that he wanted to create nice society, but his comrades pushed him of the steering wheel and distorted his ideas. May be yes, and may be no. Anyway, his personal orders show the same merciless approach no just to the enemy, but to everyone, who does not actively support Socialist Revolution.

A bloodthirsty fish-blooded sadist. A telling quote of his If it ment the deaths of 9/10ths of the population for the party to survive, then 9/10ths of the population should die. Imagine his torment after his stroke to have Stalin gloating and taunting him in his ear while he laid there unable to speak or move.

An unrecalcitrant bastard who betrayed the people he claimed to represent almost as soon as he gained power. Like all totalitarians, left or right, an evil entity, who was more interested in putting a bullet in the ear of his enemies than in anything else.

Nut

Anyone here who rated this monster higher than a 1 needs a history lesson. It is amazing how many Western leftists who scream about fascism and totalitarism still love Lenin and Stalin, guys who make Hitler look like an amateur. The pro-Lenin comments on this page are chilling...

He empowered the common Joe and then shot him in the back of the head. Lenin is an instructive case of how idealism quickly turns into totalitarianism (as it will in any movement based on either strict collectivism or strict individualism --followers of either Karl Marx or Ayn Rand need be equally wary). Regarding revolution in general, consider this bit from John Locke: Any state not grown slowly like the forest tree is tyranny.

His heart and mind were in the right place when he freed all of Russia. He wanted everyone to be equal in society. But Communism just can't work in the real world because it's just wishful thinking.

A marvellous leader, regardless of the perceived rights or wrongs of what he believed in. He understood the importance of discipline in achieving ends, and unswerving commitment to the goal of overthrowing the Czar.

Meant well but ultimately ended in failure. Rallied a tired and worn nation against an ignorant government and succesfully accomplished glory. If only future leaders weren't so self centered.

Still the most modern, relevant polital theorist of the last 100 years.

I admire him for having something to believe in and modernizing the theories of Karl Marx into a more basised Communism. I like his perspective on school and he was a very smart person especially interested in languages and loved to read. and he had a good sense of humor

Among the worst criminals of all time.

freceira222, magellan and Lord of the Waves, you are all absolutely correct. He was a great thinker, and led Russia from the damaging czars. He was certainly not a coward if he inspired a revolution in the face of death. A true working class hero. The only bad things were the deaths in the revolution. But doesn't the USA kill innocents?

Although harsh a person who liberated Millions of russians from the blood sucking crazist regime!

Satan's own and like most of his ilk a profound coward. He understood, accepted and wrote glowing of the need to slaughter as much as 100 millions Russian to achieve Socialism furthering his ends which was world domination. He surrounded himself with the cruelest and most vile collection of psychopaths and criminal in human history and by the time his mad nightmare was finished 68 to 80 million died. No sane person believes his regime was more benevolent than the Czar.

Someone who actually believed in something.

He led the russian revolution agaisnt the czars

My answer to Lord of the Waves. I seem that you don't know good what about you say. Who sais you, that monarchy was so bad for Russia. Russia is very specific country, with very specific historical ideology and traditions. I'm russian and i'm historian,i know it. Any struggle for the idea of socialism finished by terror and violence. Do you think that one peoples can annihilate other for win thair ideas? Russian revolution based on annihilation and terror. How you to consider a hiro - a man who could-bloody ordered to shooting hundreds, thousand peoples which not agreed with his ideas and thought differently. Lenin was a real monster, especially dangerous, because his image was absolutly another. Many peoples was under the influence of his image and believ him without moment's hesitations.You have such opinion about communism because you, probably, don't know what is it in real life. If in my massage too many grammer mistakes, excuse me please. I don't know english so good.

This man does not hold true to the philosophies of communism. He killed millions, which is completely the antithesis of what communism's teachings are. I have to agree with Lord of the Waves, though. He did successfully hold the revolution of the proleatariat that Marx had so desparately wanted and had predicted.

Lenin destroyed the monarchy of Russia. The Czars were much more detrimental to the Russian public than he was. Lenin is the hero of the working class or proletarians. He empowered the common Joe.

Where are ya now you commie twink? WHERE ARE YA NOW HUH?

Moral equivalent of Hitler. A murderer and war monger.

he sucks!! BOOOOO!

Deserves to be remembered as a monster just as much as Stalin. He was an incredible opportunist, exploiting the right messed-up country at the right messed-up time, then proceeding to turn it into the most evil prolongued totalitarian state in modern history.

A truly demonic individual, responsible for the death of millions. FOOD FOR THOUGHT - A STRONG PROPONENT OF GUN CONTROL.

He caused more people to die than did Hitler!

Actually, Lenin wasn't much of a revolutionary thinker (see comment below). He is unquestionably one of the most influential leaders of the 20th century, but his power evolved primarily though his adaptation of Marx's teaching to the situation in Russia. He didn't generate the theories, he applied them. And, as Marx himself would have told him, the situation in Russia was not right for Marxism (or socialism/communism). As a result, the country suffered (and is still suffering) through an extended tragedy that might have been averted by different leadership in 1917.

One of the century's great socio-economic thinkers, who had a revolutionary vision for how the world would evolve. Unfortunately for him, he turned out to be completely wrong.