Lenin: A Biography

by Ronald William Clark

In the first full-length biography since Robert Payne's twenty years ago, the distinguished biographer, Ronald W. Clark has delved into a massive and complex historical record to shape a highly readable account of one of the most charismatic and powerful figures of this century.

In the absence of Lenin's leadership the 1917 revolution in Russia probably would have failed. What emerges in Clark's portrait is not just Lenin's uncanny and ruthless singlemindedness in pursuit of the goals of Marxism but also his extraordinary appetite for work - a tireless energy that far outpaced the capacities of his comrades; and his intuitive genius for politics and organization - skills that enabled him to orchestrate the success of the Bolshevik revolution and sustain it against incredible odds. In LENIN, Clark traces his subject's obscure beginnings, his politicization, his life in exile. Until now, little attention has been paid to Lenin's private life - the Lenin who appreciated a night at the Folies Bergère and the roistering of a Swiss carnival - a gap that Clark has filled with this book. The early cloak-and-dagger years - the narrow escapes, the ludicious disguises, the infamous journey across Germany in the sealed train - are compelling stories, but equally gripping is the account of Lenin's later years when, his remarkable vigor leached away by chronic insomnia and piercing headaches, he struggled to thwart the ominous power plays of Joseph Stalin.

The attempts by the Western allies during and after World War I to come to grips with the new Soviet regime make fascinating reading, as do Bertrand Russell's recorded impressions of private conversations with both Lenin and Trotsky. Portraits of Stalin, Trotsky, Maxim Gorky, and others further enrich this account of one of the most fascinating and portentous periods in modern history.

Born in London, the late Ronald W. Clark was a WWII war correspondent; he landed in France on D-Day and later covered the Nuremberg trials. His other books include widely acclaimed biographies of Einstein, Freud, Darwin, Bertrand Russell, and Benjamin Franklin.

(Taken from the inside jacket material of the First U.S. Edition, 1988.)

Genres: History, Biography, Biography Memoir

564 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

Ronald William Clark was a British author of biography, fiction and non-fiction. He was educated King's College School. In 1933, he embarked on a career as a journalist, and served as a war correspondent during the Second World War after being turned down for military service on medical grounds. As a war correspondent, Clark landed on Juno Beach with the Canadians on D-Day. He followed the war until the end, and remained in Germany to report on the major War Crimes trials. After his return to Britain he embarked upon a career as an author.

Reviews

[Frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

A “nobleman by birth,” young Lenin was an introvert and a prize pupil with laser like concentration. He set himself upon a revolutionary path after his older brother was executed by the Tsarist regime for his own revolutionary aims. He became an atheist, and with Marx as his lodestone, a strict interpretation of socialism became his driving force. After obtaining a law degree, he was banished to Siberia for a few productive years before moving to Europe, where he lived a bourgeoisie life working essentially as a pamphleteer and professional revolutionary supported by family money and donations from wealthy socialists like Maxim Gorky. He and his wife Krupskaya even employed housekeepers, but that’s not to say Lenin didn’t work hard. His commitment to Marxism was evangelical, and he toiled tirelessly in its service, mostly through writing and lecturing like a professor, which is essentially what he was at the time. To call his writing voluminous would be understatement, and he must have written and published more than any other head of state in world history. But he never worked with hammer or sickle, nor did he ever throw a rock or take a bruise from a Billy club. The Russian Revolution was more than half over before Lenin returned from his long European residence, but he was given a hero’s welcome and he and his Bolsheviks rose quickly to power.

Then came the Red Terror and Lenin is revealed as ice cold to human suffering and ruthlessly brutal. When it came to wealthy peasants, priests, and landowners, Lenin could be downright bloodthirsty, as documented in his own written orders of mass murder of these groups. Indeed, Lenin was fairly open and honest about inflicting atrocity, and it became part of the socialist playbook. Stalin was certainly worse, but as the author makes clear, Lenin paved the way.

Lenin was shot in an assassination attempt by a woman - a fellow socialist who opposed his non-representative dictatorship. He survived but was plagued with ill health from then on. He was already a cult of personality before he died, but with death came a mystique and legend that would span the globe for generations. He boasts a long line of disciples, including a legion of contemporary Marxist professors.

Since a biography of Lenin must also be a summary of the Russian Revolution, authors who tackle the subject have their work cut out for them. Clark does an admirable job condensing some very dense history into a manageable package and he isolates and expands on the qualities that made Lenin successful.

[Bruce Cline · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second bio of Lenin I’ve read in as many months, the first by Robert Payne published twenty-four years prior to this one. Of the two, I prefer Clark’s, in large part because he spent more time explaining the ultimately successful revolution starting in 1917 and the multi-year fighting both internal and external enemies that consumed Russia for several years. I am still baffled about how Lenin and his arm of the Bolshevik party managed to exert authority over the expanse of Russia and it’s many people, but possibly a third bio I’ve started will shed light on that aspect of his regime. This depiction of Lenin shows him no more an attractive individual or leader, though Clark provides more detail about the ebb and flow of his popularity and authority as he consolidated power in the early part of the revolution. The entire scene was extraordinarily chaotic and it’s a wonder he prevailed. Clark makes the now obvious point that the effect of Lenin’s dictatorship of the Proletariat was more oppressive and deadly than any of the reigns of previous Tsars, a fact even Lenin might have admitted but would have explained away as what was essential to starting over. I was pleased to learn about his implementation of the highly controversial New Economic Policy that was seen by many, within and without the country, as a repudiation of basic tenets of the revolution, in large part because it allowed for a degree of capitalist activities that Lenin the pragmatist believed were necessary for the rebuilding of the devastated Russian economy. He also pushed hard for the modernization of industry, including rapid electricalization of the nation. And, similar to Service’s account, he was opposed to Stalin as a successor, but Lenin’s death prevented him from ensuring that someone else would take the reins. All in all, this is a portrait of a relentless, ruthless, extremely talented and ultimately successful political ideologue. Amazingly, he nearly destroyed Russia in his attempt to save it from capitalism, only to have his nation end up as a harsh and deformed capitalist-influenced dictatorship.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was a random psychoanalytical paragraph. But, overall, it was informative. The pre-revolutionary life of Lenin was sparse.