Lenin

Hvem er manden bag myten Lenin egentlig? Og hvad kæmpede han for? De spørgsmål besvarer historikeren Kurt Jacobsen i sin nye store Lenin-biografi, der detaljeret skildrer Lenins liv fra barndommen i Simbirsk, til han døde isoleret og syg i 1924 i Gorki uden for Moskva. Læseren følger ikke alene Lenins politiske karriere, men også hans opvækst og liv som menneske og mand med både kone, familie og elskerinde. Biografien tegner et nærgående portræt af Lenins forvandling fra en almindelig russisk skoledreng i et velstillet borgerhjem til en kompromisløs personlighed, der ingen problemer havde med at ofre personlige venskaber på den revolutionære sags alter. For Lenin var menneskelig lidelse og død af mindre betydning, når det gjaldt om at vinde magten i Rusland, som det lykkedes for ham, da han i 1917 stod i spidsen for den russiske Oktoberrevolution, og oprettelsen af Sovjetunionen. ANMELDERCITATER "... en spændende og velskrevet gennemgang af Lenins inspiration fra jakobinismen, Machiavelli og terrorismen ... Han gør rede for tilblivelsen af 'leninismen', Stalins ideologi til bevarelse af magten, som bredte sig til Vesteuropa og senere til den tredje verden. Bogens sidste fyrre sider er på mange måder essensen af Kurt Jacobsens opgør med den kommunisme, han selv er vokset ud af. Det slipper han ret flot fra. Det er således en usædvanlig god bog, Kurt Jacobsen har skrevet." Morten Thing, Information "Kurt Jacobsens Leninbiografi kan læses som en statusopgørelse over, hvor forfatteren selv står i dag ... en saglig og kompetent fremstilling." ★★★★★ Bent Jensen, Jyllands-Posten "... en stærk, interessant og læseværdig bog, der sætter Lenin ind i rette sammenhæng og placerer ham, hvor han hører hjemme – blandt historiens forbrydere." Hans Mortensen, Weekendavisen “Der er ikke meget at udsætte på Kurt Jacobsens biografi, som er veldisponeret og så grundigt researchet, som man må forvente af en tidligere Land & Folk-korrespondent i Moskva og en forsker, der har haft adgang til de gamle arkiver i Kreml." ★★★★★ Per Storm Madsen, Fyens Stiftstidende

'Brings out the practical activism, principled politics, and revolutionary patience crucial to organizing the oppressed on a rapidly over-heating planet' - Jodi Dean 'Crackling with intellectual life' - Lars T. Lih Vladimir Lenin lies in a tomb in Moscow's Red Square. History has not been kind to this Russian leader, his teachings reviled by modern mainstream politics. But in today's capitalist society, riven by class inequality and imperialist wars, perhaps it is worth returning to this communist icon's demand for 'Peace, Land and Bread', and his radical understanding of democracy. Lenin was wrestling with the question of 'what is to be done?' when facing the catastrophes of his own time. Against the odds, the Bolshevik party succeeded in rejecting both the corrupt and decaying Romanov dynasty, as well as the capitalist economic system which had started to take root in Russia. To understand how this happened, and what we can learn from him today, Paul Le Blanc takes us through Lenin's dynamic revolutionary thought, how he worked as part of a larger collective and how he centred the labor movement in Russia and beyond, uncovering a powerful form of democracy that could transform our activism today.

'Brings out the practical activism, principled politics, and revolutionary patience crucial to organizing the oppressed on a rapidly over-heating planet' - Jodi Dean 'Crackling with intellectual life' - Lars T. Lih Vladimir Lenin lies in a tomb in Moscow's Red Square. History has not been kind to this Russian leader, his teachings reviled by modern mainstream politics. But in today's capitalist society, riven by class inequality and imperialist wars, perhaps it is worth returning to this communist icon's demand for 'Peace, Land and Bread', and his radical understanding of democracy. Lenin was wrestling with the question of 'what is to be done?' when facing the catastrophes of his own time. Against the odds, the Bolshevik party succeeded in rejecting both the corrupt and decaying Romanov dynasty, as well as the capitalist economic system which had started to take root in Russia. To understand how this happened, and what we can learn from him today, Paul Le Blanc takes us through Lenin's dynamic revolutionary thought, how he worked as part of a larger collective and how he centred the labor movement in Russia and beyond, uncovering a powerful form of democracy that could transform our activism today.

A critically acclaimed portrait of Vladimir Lenin, from one of the finest scholars of modern and Soviet era Russia. 'This book deserves a place among the best studies of one of the most fascinating figures in modern history' – Harold Shukman, The Times A colossal figure whose influence on twentieth-century history cannot be underestimated, Lenin’s full story remains somewhat unknown. Drawing on previously unopened archives, Robert Service pieces together public and private lives, painting an authoritative portrait of this revolutionary leader. Seen through Lenin's career, Service chronicles major events in the history of the Soviet Union. From the October Revolution to the politics of inter-war Europe, Lenin: A Biography traverses the ideas of Marxism-Leninism, the one-party state, economic modernisation and dictatorship. Balanced and thoroughly researched, it is simultaneously a portrait of some of the greatest turning points in modern history. In discovering the origins of the USSR, Service casts light on the nature of the state and society which Lenin left behind and which have not entirely disappeared from the Russia of today. 'Immensely scholarly but also vivid and readable. This is a splendid book, much the best that I have ever read about Lenin' – Dominic Lieven, Sunday Telegraph 'He has managed skilfully to depict the surreal life of an obsessive, brilliant and stubborn individual' – The Guardian Discover more acclaimed biographies from Robert Service: Stalin and Trotsky .

A critically acclaimed portrait of Vladimir Lenin, from one of the finest scholars of modern and Soviet era Russia. 'This book deserves a place among the best studies of one of the most fascinating figures in modern history' – Harold Shukman, The Times A colossal figure whose influence on twentieth-century history cannot be underestimated, Lenin’s full story remains somewhat unknown. Drawing on previously unopened archives, Robert Service pieces together public and private lives, painting an authoritative portrait of this revolutionary leader. Seen through Lenin's career, Service chronicles major events in the history of the Soviet Union. From the October Revolution to the politics of inter-war Europe, Lenin: A Biography traverses the ideas of Marxism-Leninism, the one-party state, economic modernisation and dictatorship. Balanced and thoroughly researched, it is simultaneously a portrait of some of the greatest turning points in modern history. In discovering the origins of the USSR, Service casts light on the nature of the state and society which Lenin left behind and which have not entirely disappeared from the Russia of today. 'Immensely scholarly but also vivid and readable. This is a splendid book, much the best that I have ever read about Lenin' – Dominic Lieven, Sunday Telegraph 'He has managed skilfully to depict the surreal life of an obsessive, brilliant and stubborn individual' – The Guardian Discover more acclaimed biographies from Robert Service: Stalin and Trotsky .

Victor Sebestyen's riveting biography of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin--the first major biography in English in nearly two decades--is not only a political examination of one of the most important historical figures of the twentieth century but also a fascinating portrait of Lenin the man. Brought up in comfort and with a passion for hunting and fishing, chess, and the English classics, Lenin was radicalized after the execution of his brother in 1887. Sebestyen traces the story from Lenin's early years to his long exile in Europe and return to Petrograd in 1917 to lead the first Communist revolution in history. Uniquely, Sebestyen has discovered that throughout Lenin's life his closest relationships were with his mother, his sisters, his wife, and his mistress. The long-suppressed story told here of the love triangle that Lenin had with his wife, Nadezhda Krupskaya, and his beautiful, married mistress and comrade, Inessa Armand, reveals a more complicated character than that of the coldly one-dimensional leader of the Bolshevik Revolution. With Lenin's personal papers and those of other leading political figures now available, Sebestyen gives is new details that bring to life the dramatic and gripping story of how Lenin seized power in a coup and ran his revolutionary state. The product of a violent, tyrannical, and corrupt Russia, he chillingly authorized the deaths of thousands of people and created a system based on the idea that political terror against opponents was justified for a greater ideal. An old comrade what had once admired him said that Lenin "desired the good . . . but created evil." This included his invention of Stalin, who would take Lenin's system of the gulag and the secret police to horrifying new heights. In Lenin, Victor Sebestyen has written a brilliant portrait of this dictator as a complex and ruthless figure, and he also brings to light important new revelations about the Russian Revolution, a pivotal point in modern history. (With 16 pages of black-and-white photographs)

Victor Sebestyen's riveting biography of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin--the first major biography in English in nearly two decades--is not only a political examination of one of the most important historical figures of the twentieth century but also a fascinating portrait of Lenin the man. Brought up in comfort and with a passion for hunting and fishing, chess, and the English classics, Lenin was radicalized after the execution of his brother in 1887. Sebestyen traces the story from Lenin's early years to his long exile in Europe and return to Petrograd in 1917 to lead the first Communist revolution in history. Uniquely, Sebestyen has discovered that throughout Lenin's life his closest relationships were with his mother, his sisters, his wife, and his mistress. The long-suppressed story told here of the love triangle that Lenin had with his wife, Nadezhda Krupskaya, and his beautiful, married mistress and comrade, Inessa Armand, reveals a more complicated character than that of the coldly one-dimensional leader of the Bolshevik Revolution. With Lenin's personal papers and those of other leading political figures now available, Sebestyen gives is new details that bring to life the dramatic and gripping story of how Lenin seized power in a coup and ran his revolutionary state. The product of a violent, tyrannical, and corrupt Russia, he chillingly authorized the deaths of thousands of people and created a system based on the idea that political terror against opponents was justified for a greater ideal. An old comrade what had once admired him said that Lenin "desired the good . . . but created evil." This included his invention of Stalin, who would take Lenin's system of the gulag and the secret police to horrifying new heights. In Lenin, Victor Sebestyen has written a brilliant portrait of this dictator as a complex and ruthless figure, and he also brings to light important new revelations about the Russian Revolution, a pivotal point in modern history. (With 16 pages of black-and-white photographs)