Russia marks 140th anniversary of Lenin's birth

Lenin (Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov) was born in the provincial city of Simbirsk (now Ulyanovsk) on the Volga River on April 22, 1870, to a family of a secondary-school teacher. He was one of the six children in his family.

In 1887, soon after the death of his father, Lenin's older brother Alexander was arrested in St. Petersburg for plotting against the tsar. He was convicted and hanged. The tragic event affected young Vladimir deeply, laying the foundation for his revolutionary ideas.

After graduating from high school with a gold medal, Lenin entered the University of Kazan later that year, but was soon expelled for his radical views.

In 1891, Lenin entered the St. Petersburg University as an external student and was awarded a first class diploma in law in January 1892. During his time at the university, Lenin began developing a Marxist underground movement.

In 1895, he travelled to Switzerland, where he talked with Social Democrat Georgy Plekhanov. After returning to Russia in 1895, Lenin established the Union of Struggle for the Liberation of the Working Class. He was soon arrested and exiled to Siberia, where he spent three years. During his exile, he wrote a book titled The Development of Capitalism in Russia, which was published in 1985.

In 1900, Lenin left for Switzerland where he established a paper, titled Iskra, in order to promote his ideas. Inspired by Lenin's views, his supporters began creating underground organizations across Russia.

The 1905 St. Petersburg Massacre, which occurred when the tsar's troops fired at a peaceful demonstration led by priest Georgy Gapon, spurred Lenin to advocate violent action. During the 1905 revolution he returned to Russia, but was forced to go abroad again two years later.

Lenin's embalmed body has been displayed in a glass case in a mausoleum in Red Square since his death. His continuing presence in the heart of Moscow has been an ongoing source of controversy since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. It has been suggested that Lenin's body could be buried in a new national military cemetery to be opened in 2011, Kazinform cites RIA Novosti. See www.en.rian.ru for full version.