The founder of the Soviet Union remains a highly divisive figure 100 years after his death
FILE PHOTO: A Russian national flag flies in the wind above a monument to the Soviet State founder Vladimir Lenin in the Russian city of Kursk on May 28, 2023. © Olga MALTSEVA / AFP
Almost half of Russians have a high opinion of Bolshevik revolutionary leader Vladimir Lenin, according to a poll released on Friday by the country’s Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM).
The survey, conducted ahead of the 100th anniversary of Lenin’s death, found that Russians remain sharply divided over the Communist leader’s historical legacy. Some see him as a wise ‘vozhd’ (leader) who paved the way for the 1917 Great October Socialist Revolution which made society fairer, while others consider him a blood-stained tyrant whose actions led to the deaths of millions.
The October Revolution sparked a civil war in Russia, with the Bolsheviks emerging triumphant after several years of brutal fighting and uniting most of the regions of the defunct Russian Empire under their rule. In 1922, these territories were officially combined to form the Soviet Union. Lenin, who played a key role in this tumultuous period, died two years later, on January 21, 1924.
Some 47% of respondents have a “rather positive” view of Lenin while another 30% are ambivalent, according to the VCIOM poll. A further 15% have a negative opinion of the Bolshevik leader. Regarding the results of his rule, 36% believe Lenin did more good than harm to Russia, while 30% think the pros and cons balanced each other out. Of those surveyed, 19% said that his actions were mostly harmful.
Of the respondents, 24% believe the Bolshevik leader is mainly remembered as the founder of the Soviet state, while 10% see him as a calculating politician who imposed his will on a large country. Another 9% see him as a political adventurer and 7% as a thinker who saw far into the future. Only 6% think that in 50 years’ time Lenin will be seen as a brutal dictator.
Russians are not only divided on Lenin’s historical legacy, but also over whether his embalmed body – which is now kept in a mausoleum on Red Square – should be removed and buried. A third of respondents see no reason to do so, while 30% insist on immediate reburial in a cemetery. Another 27% think Lenin should be buried, but only when such a move does not cause controversy.
In 2021, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow had no plans to rebury Lenin, arguing there were many more important items on the agenda.
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As far as I know, Lenin asked to be buried after his death. It’s not right that they embalmed him and put him on display, and honouring his wishes seems like the best thing to do going forwards.
On the other hand, his being where he is apparently bothers Putin considerably, and I think Lenin would probably like that even his corpse is causing worry to capitalist oligarchs.
Does it bother him because there’s a dead body displayed or is it because it’s Lenin himself?
Another 9% see him as a political adventurer
He was like the opposite of political adventurer. In the very day of October Revolution he was told to stay in his room (but didn’t listened, anarchists should like him).
The population being fairly divided makes me wonder what the Russian education system is like.
When I was at school, we had entire paragraphs about communist repressions and horrors of collectivization in history books, shock therapy and sharp decline of quality of life after the fall of USSR were literally never mentioned.
We also had an entire paragraph about the “murder of royal family”. My history teacher showed us a presentation about 50 million (yep, exactly 50) people gulaged in USSR.
On social science lessons USSR was classified as “totalitarian dictatorship”, aaand had to read Solzhenitsyn at literature lessons lmao.
So yeah, it’s pretty bad.
Oh that’s so unfortunate. I wonder why the positive view is so high, the older population maybe?
