Vladimir Lenin (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)

Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (Russian: Владимир Ильич Ленин); born Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov; April 10 [April 22 N.S. ], 1870 – January 21, 1924) was a Russian communist revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He served as the leader of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic from 1917, and then concurrently as Premier of the Soviet Union from 1922 until his death in 1924. He was the mastermind of the Great Socialist October Revolution by the Bolsheviks that dissolved and replaced the Russian Empire by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the first socialist state in the world.

Under his administration, most of industries in the remnants of Russian Empire was nationalized with widespread societal reform implemented. Lenin also led the Soviet Union to repel all attempts, both domestic and foreign, to topple it. Lenin had a significant influence on the international Communist movement and was one of the most influential and controversial figures of the 20th century. He applied communist ideas to real life and his “experiment” forever changed the face of the world. His theoretical contributions to Marxist thought are known as Leninism, which coupled with Marxian economic theory have collectively come to be known as Marxism–Leninism.