Vladimir Lenin, known by his real surname Ulyanov, was born in 1870 in Simbirsk to a family of a public school inspector. From 1879 to 1887, he studied at a gymnasium and graduated with a gold medal. His older brother Alexander Ulyanov was an active revolutionary Narodnik and served as a role model for Vladimir. In 1887, Alexander was executed for plotting to assassinate Emperor Alexander III. That same year, Vladimir enrolled in the law faculty of Kazan University but was soon expelled for participating in an illegal circle led by Bogoraz.

In 1891, Ulyanov completed his studies at the law faculty of St. Petersburg University as an external student. During this time, he worked on his first book, "What are the 'Friends of the People' and how do they fight against the Social Democrats?" In 1895, Lenin actively participated in the creation of the Petersburg "Union of Struggle for the Liberation of the Working Class," for which he was exiled for three years to the village of Shushenskoe in the Yenisei province. In 1900, he moved to Western Europe, where he published the first all-Russian illegal Marxist newspaper, "Iskra."

In 1903, at the II Congress of Russian Social Democrats, Lenin led the "majority" after the split into Mensheviks and Bolsheviks, creating the Bolshevik party. During the first Russian revolution of 1905-1907, he lived illegally in Petersburg, coordinating the actions of leftist forces. In 1907, Lenin left Russia again for 10 years. During World War I, he proposed the idea of defeating national governments, which he believed would lead to the victory of the socialist revolution in Europe.

From April 1917 in Petrograd, Lenin became one of the main organizers of the October armed uprising and the establishment of Soviet power. By his order, in late October and early November 1917, detachments of sailors, soldiers, and Red Guards were sent to Moscow, ensuring the transfer of power to the Soviets. On October 25, 1917, the government was overthrown, and power in the central regions passed to the Bolsheviks. Until 1922, Lenin led the Bolshevik forces in the Civil War.

Upon coming to power, the Bolsheviks, led by Lenin, created a new state aimed at a world socialist revolution. Unlike European social democrats, the Bolsheviks rejected the reform of capitalism. Lenin had extensive knowledge, including in economics. He developed the policy of War Communism and then proposed a New Economic Policy that contributed to the development of the Soviet state.

In 1922, after the assassination attempt by Fanny Kaplan, Lenin fell seriously ill and withdrew from active politics. From May 1923, due to deteriorating health, he lived at the state dacha in Gorki, now a museum-reserve. He last visited Moscow on October 18-19, 1923. Lenin passed away in 1924 in Gorki, near Moscow.