Conspirator: Lenin in Exile - Hardcover

Rappaport, Helen

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0465013953 ISBN 13: 9780465013951

Publisher: Basic Books, 2010

Synopsis

The father of Communist Russia, Vladimir Ilych Lenin now seems to have emerged fully formed in the turbulent wake ofWorldWar I and the Russian Revolution. But Lenin?s character was in fact forged much earlier, over the course of years spent in exile, constantly on the move, and in disguise. In Conspirator, Russian historian Helen Rappaport narrates the compelling story of Lenin?s life and political activities in the years leading up to the revolution. As he scuttled between the glittering capital cities of Europe—from London and Munich to Vienna and Prague—Lenin found support among fellow émigrés and revolutionaries in the underground movement. He came to lead a ring of conspirators, many of whom would give their lives in service to his schemes.A riveting account of Lenin?s little-known early life, Conspirator tracks in gripping detail the formation of one of the great revolutionaries of the twentieth century.

About this title

About the Author

Helen Rappaport is a specialist in Russian history, as well as fluent in Russian. In 2002, she was Russian consultant to the National Theater's Tom Stoppard trilogy, The Coast of Utopia. She has translated all seven of Chekhov's plays and is most recently the author of The Last Days of the Romanovs. She lives in Oxford, England.

Reviews

Russia-specialist Rappaport (The Last Days of the Romanovs) has created a wonderfully thorough and highly interesting account of V.I. Lenin's purposeful wanderings in Europe before the Russian revolution. Lenin emerges as the quintessential fanatic, convinced of his own infallibility as a messiah of Marxism. Charismatic and driven, he captivates individuals and seizes control of the Bolshevik wing of the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party. Viewing himself as the embodiment of revolution, Lenin established underground operations in Munich, Geneva, London, Paris, and numerous other locations while feuding with anyone who dared question his approach (We won't permit the idea of unity [with the Mensheviks] to tie a noose around our necks, he said). His stoically loyal wife, Nadezhda Krupskaya provided her Volodya with constant support as he imposed his will on the Bolsheviks and, ultimately, on an entire nation. Too much attention is given to Lenin's affair with the beautiful, tragic Inessa Armand, but, on the other hand, some may find poetic justice in reading that Lenin very likely died of syphilis. (Mar.)
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Following up on The Last Days of the Romanovs (2009), Rappaport here depicts the time abroad, 1900 to 1917, of the revolutionary whose regime delivered the Russian royals their fate. Accompanied by his wife, Nadezhda Krupskaya, and her mother, Vladimir Ulyanov moved regularly around Europe, living a few years in London, several in Paris, and the balance elsewhere. Many works describe Ulyanov’s assertion of his leadership over the most radical faction of Russian socialists; while covering that process, Rappaport emphasizes here Lenin’s—the alias he adopted in this period—personality and support group, so to speak. Rarely working like a true proletarian, Lenin cadged donations, sanctioned bank robberies, and accepted money from Mom to keep going. The author’s arch asides about these variances from the Lenin of Soviet-era mythology compete with her attention to another nonsocialist side to Lenin: his infatuation with a woman named Inessa Armand. Also detailing Lenin’s domiciles, haunts, and habits, and incidents that might have short-circuited history, such as a serious bicycle accident, Rappaport delivers a vital restoration of the real Lenin. --Gilbert Taylor

Edition details

• Publisher: Basic Books
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0465013953
• ISBN 13: 9780465013951
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 416