Lenin last years

Mourning Hall

The Great Ideological Legacy

The Victory of Socialism in the Soviet Union (1925-1941)

Defence of the Achievements of Socialism in the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945)

Leniniana. Exibitions

V.I.Lenin.1922

Being gravely ill, V. I. Lenin worked, retaining complete lucidity of mind, unusual strength of will and optimism.

Later, N. K. Krupskaya wrote: "He was a very cheerful, persistent and steadfast person, an optimist", "his usual, predominant mood was one of intensive concentration." Among the exhibit items are several pages from the diary of Lenin's secretaries on duty during the period when his illness took a turn for the worse; bed-ridden at the time, Lenin could only dictate and listen. During this period he was preparing materials for the forthcoming Twelfth Party Congress. These are on exhibit in the hall. The materials include the articles: "Letter to the Congress", "Granting Legislative Functions to the State Planning Commission", "The Question of Nationalities or 'Autonomisation'", "Pages from a Diary", "On Co-operation", "Our Revolution", "How We Should Reorganise the Workers' and Peasants' Inspection" and "Better Fewer, But Better". All these works present in their own way the political testament of V. I. Lenin. In them, a programme for the building of socialism is set forth in a general form.

Lenin with his wife, his sister Anna, his nephew Victor and Vera, a workman's daughter who was staying with them in Gorki. 1922.

Vladimir Lenin and his wife, Nadezhda Konstantinovna Krupskaya

Lenin and his wife, Nadezhda Konstantinovna Krupskaya, at the telescope in Gorki. 1922.

Lenin taking a stroll in Gorki with his nephew Victor

Lenin taking a stroll in Gorki with his nephew Victor. 1922.

1922

Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin

See also Jpseph Stalin's article about Lenin and other historical documents and photos at the Defend Lenin mausoleum! site.

Lenin and Kamo

In his last articles V. I. Lenin laid down three basic tasks for the construction of socialism: development of heavy industry and the electrification of the country; socialist reconstruction of the countryside along the lines of collectivisation; cultural revolution, the education of the people and the development of creative initiative of the masses. He emphasised that the indispensable condition in the successful building of socialism was the leading role of the Party.

Lenin's work on his last letters and articles was indeed a great feat. Not to mention the fact that he worked on them when he was seriously ill, it must be taken into account that he was allowed to dictate at first only 5-10 minutes, and later no more than 30-40 minutes a day. This created great difficulties for him. Moreover, he was unaccustomed to working with a stenographer; as a rule, before his illness he wrote his articles and letters by hand. He said that "he was accustomed to seeing his manuscript before his eyes, to stopping and considering in the difficult cases when he "got stuck', walking about the room, even simply running out to take a walk; and now, he often wanted to grab a pencil and make his corrections himself. But Lenin overcame the difficulties with his inherent persistence. "As always, he dictates splendidly: without interruption, very seldom struggling for words, he speaks gesticulating rather than dictates" (Diary of the Secretaries on Duty, February 2,1923).

In the Lenin Museum

Vladimir Lenin. 1922

Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, 1922

Inflexible will-power, his sense of responsibility, care for the future of his country, for the further development of the Land of Soviets gave Lenin the strength to overcome the suffering inflicted by his disease, and to accomplish that which seemed beyond the bounds of human possibility-to create in just a month and a half an entire collection of outstanding works despite his serious ailment. Like all Lenin's works, his last articles and letters are noted for their unusual depth and lucidity of mind, their iron logic, splendid knowledge of reality and the polemic way a problem is put forward.