Lenin (1870–1924) was the leader of the communist Bolshevik party and founder of the Soviet Union. He was a key revolutionary thinker and a man who, at one time, lived in exile for his political views and survived several assassination attempts. This concise biography of Lenin's life and outlook is based on wide-ranging new research that puts Lenin into the context both of Russian society and of the international socialist movement of the early twentieth century. Using contemporary photographs, posters and drawings, Lih illustrates the emotional and physical features of Lenin's world.