From a middle-class background, Lenin became a revolutionary under the influence of his brother who had converted to Marixism in 1889. In 1895, Lenin was arrested as a subversive and served a period of exile in Siberia before leaving for western Europe in 1900. For most of the next 17 years, Lenin remained in Switzerland and France where he helped to organize the Bolshevik faction of the Russian Social Democrats, eventually becoming the leader of the party. After the overthrow of the Tsar in 1917, Lenin returned to Moscow and was instrumental in usurping power from the various governmental political parties vying for dominance. After their successful coup, Lenin and the Bolsheviks established the Soviet state and Lenin continued to lead his country and party until his death in 1924. |
