Lenin

Giving a picture of Lenin in all his different roles, Service also provides an account of a great turning point in modern history. In discovering the origins of the USSR, he casts light on the nature of the state and society Lenin left behind, one that has not entirely disappeared after the collapse of the Soviet regime in 1991.

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Lenin is a colossal figure whose influence on 20th-century history cannot be underestimated. This biography makes use of archive material to piece together his private as well as public life in an effort to give a complete picture of Lenin in all his different roles. Through the prism of lenin's career, the author examines events such as the October Revolution and the ideas of Marxism-Leninism, the one-party state, economic modernization, dictatorship and the politics of inter-war Europe. He casts light on the nature of the state and society left behind by Lenin, a state and society which has not entirely disappeared after the collapse of the Soviet regime in 1991.