Lenin, Vladimir (A & E Biography)

Excellent documentary, highly informative. It gives a broad view of how the reds came into power and a pitiful description of unnecessary nobility that got the Tsar so much into trouble. It is difficult to watch, because of how many horrible tactical mistakes poor Tsar Nicolas made. Being nice backfired big time as the whole country plunged into civil war and his beautiful daughters, his heir to the throne and his wife were brutally killed. I always thought of Nicolas as a weak man, somebody who did not fight for his country or his family. Somewhat of a loser. But I think the other side was even more of a loser - as they got wiped out by Stalin. Horrible historical period for Russia - war, starvation, genocide, political unrest...And of course, the talented Lenin with his famouse phrase "Study, study and study". At least he was good for something besides bringing the whole country down and destroying everything, including himself.

Were it not for Lenin, Karl Marx may have languished into a footnote of history, the Soviet Union and thus the Cold War might never have become a reality, and the oppressive evils of Stalin, Ho Chi Minh, Mao Tse-tung, Fidel Castro and others of the Communist ilk might never have been inflicted on the world. The irony of this is, of course, the fact that Lenin's revolution was not Marxist at all in the true sense of the term. Marx predicted that the "inevitable" social revolution would grow out of the exploited working class of developed countries, and Russia was anything but developed in the early twentieth century. The name and image of Lenin watched over the Soviet Union from its conception to its dismantlement, yet how many people today really know anything about the father of Communist Russia? Even the Russian people knew less than about him than they thought, as his life was mythologized in the interests of the state over the course of four generations. With the defeat of the USSR, hidden truths of history began to emerge, Lenin's statues and images began to fall left and right, and the Russian people were - typically - left to come to terms with an ambiguous history.Lenin's public persona as a kindly leader of the Soviet Union served to cover up the man's ruthless pursuit of power. This biography walks you through Lenin's life, including a childhood that would not seem to supply the flames of revolution. After his older brother was executed for conspiring to assassinate the czar, however, young Lenin (now watched by the government) began studying the works that inspired his brother - Marx, Engels, and especially Chernyshevskii. Soon thereafter, he began working among radical groups looking to overthrow the government; at 26 he was arrested, spending 14 months in prison and three years in Siberian exile. During this time, he worked diligently on his revolutionary writings and pamphlets, basically rewriting Marx to apply his revolution to the backward Russian state. His party of Bolsheviks was never a major player in affairs, and Lenin himself was forced to flee the country on several occasions. Through it all, he was obsessed with revolution, and his desperate moves to keep his few remaining followers together threatened to marginalize Lenin for good - and then World War I began.The war, Lenin knew, would afford him the opportunity to realize his dreams. He was in Sweden when the Russian Revolution of 1917 took place, and he wasted little time returning home to influence events. Few listened to his harangues over continuing the revolution, and the Provisional Government branded him a German spy and a traitor. Ironically, Kerenesky's Provisional Government essentially handed themselves over to the Bolsheviks when they recruited their aid in resisting a different internal threat. Lenin quickly called for the armed overthrow of the government, and his revolution came to power with little bloodshed. Lenin seized total control, eliminating enemies, destroying vehicles of dissent, and setting the stage for the future abuses of Stalin and his successors.All of this and more is detailed in this biographical video. You cannot truly capture Lenin's complicated essence over the course of only forty-plus minutes, but this video makes for an impressive effort. Lenin unleashed the Communist menace upon the entire world, and it is important that we fully demythologize the history of such a dangerous man.

Vladimir Ilich Ulyanov known to the world as Lenin created a form of Marxism that influenced revolutionaries throughout the twentieth century, including Castro, Mao and Ho Chi Mien. Leninism flies in the face of pure Marxism in so far as forcing capitalism to crumble through extreme violence and revolution. Marx would say that history would take care of itself, and capitalism would eventually whither away once the proletariat realized their plight and a class struggle would ensue, communism would emerge from this struggle leading to a type classless utopia. Lenin certainly forced the issue, believing capitalism needed a big push through revolutionary tactics and strategies. This fine biography of Lenin from the History Channel, adeptly describes the man's life, including new information that came to light after the fall of communism and the USSR in 1992.Lenin was a star student as his father ensured that his family of six children were reared on the Russian classics. Right before his final examinations at the gymnasium (secondary school) his brother, Aleksandra Ulyanov, a radical member of an extremist group intent on assassinating the Tsar, was eventually caught by the secret police, tried and executed by hanging. Lenin went ahead and sat for his exams despite this devastating loss, (Lenin's father had just died from a brain disease) passed and went onto university. It has been strongly suggested that Lenin's brother's death put Lenin directly on the revolutionary path.Later, after becoming a lawyer, Lenin was exiled to a Siberian work camp for dubious political activities, being known to the police as a Marxist, where he wrote copiously, completing his magnum opus, `The Development of Capitalism in Russia." He was released after three years, later meeting his wife, a schoolteacher, who remained devoted to him until his death. The new information that finally came out of the Kremlin was Lenin's curious affair with a woman, a devoted Marxist, where Lenin, his wife and mistress lived happily together in the same apartment. This is not so shocking these days but scandalous in the early twentieth century.This brilliant documentary summarizes the man's life and fanatical drive to create a revolution in his homeland, destroying the Russian monarchy and establishing a socialist state. Probably the most impressive aspect about Lenin was his relentless drive of purpose despite towering opposition. In fact the man was so focused that he refused to listen to Beethoven, his favourite composer, because he thought the music made him soft.For anyone interested in the Russian Revolution and the man who played the pivotal role in its success, this documentary is essential, it would also be an excellent resource for students studying the subject in Middle School and above.

50 minutes of time is too short to talk about Lenin and the political changes he brought into Russia. Definately he is one of the Biography's bad guy. I noticed that the Biography (and interviewed american academic professors) hardly says anything good about Lenin. Was it really a political propoganda that made quarter of million people come out in that freezing cold when Lenin died? No interviews with Russians to find out their present feeling toward Lenin. Although I get irritated with the Bolsheviks I was interested in Lenin's personal life apart from his political life. Not much detail about that.

There are some great AE biographies. This is not one of them. Snoozers.