Seven Myths about Lenin

Vladimir Illych Ulyanov, known to history by his pen-name; Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary,

Bolshevik, the greatest theoretician of Marxism, the founder of the world's first socialist

state and one of the most influential personalities of world history. From the very beginning,

October 1917, irreconcilable debates about what kind of person he was and what role he

played in Russian and world history have never stopped.

Hundreds of articles, books, documentaries and feature films have since been released

in the capitalist world, and this outpouring of propaganda has gotten stronger with the

collapse of the USSR. A vast library of myths have been collected to explain the rise of

Lenin's political tendency and of the historic Soviet state.

Therefore, we decided to investigate a few myths about Vladimir Ilyich Lenin and tell

you about what kind of person he really was.

1. Lenin was a German spy

The myth that Lenin was a foreign agent is one of the oldest and most enduring. This

first manifested under the Russian Provisional Government, which accused their political

adversary Lenin of German-sponsored espionage. At that time, investigators, prosecutors and

the bourgeois press tried to spark anti-Bolshevik sentiments in the country by discrediting

their leader. Their investigation simply fell apart from lack of evidence.

So far, no real evidence that Germany financed Lenin and the Bolshevik party has been found.

Lenin did not receive money from the German social-democrat Alexander Parvus, despite

what the legend tells, because he simply had no business with him and even refused to meet

with him shortly before returning to Russia in 1917.

There is also no evidence that Lenin was directly sponsored by the German military general headquarters.

The infamous Sisson Documents, often cited as the undeniable evidence of Lenin’s collaboration,

are forgeries created by the Polish journalist Ossendowski out of his own anti-Bolshevik

convictions. In the midst of the Cold War, American historian George Kennan conducted

a comprehensive study of these documents; completely disproving their authenticity.

Today, politicians and publicists try to renew the myth of Lenin’s espionage, bizarrely

accusing him of working for England. Like the others, this assertion is completely devoid

of evidence, and the reality of the events after the revolution completely refutes this

judgment.

2. Lenin hated Russia and Russians

When it comes to Lenin you might hear about his russophobic statements.

The basis for these sentiments are generally the invention of corrupt historians, or Lenin's

own political opponents. There is a fairly well-known quotation which goes- “We must

fool Ivans. Without fooling Ivans, we will not seize power" - and is sometimes followed

with an exact date. However, none of Lenin’s works have such a quotation, nor is there

any witness testimony to corroborate it. It was in fact an invention of the anti-Semitic

publicist Anatoly Glazunov, who groundlessly attributed it to Lenin.

Another anti-Soviet journalist Georgy Solomon provides a dialogue in which Lenin allegedly