If anybody inspired Lenin, it was his elder siblings, not his parents. Both Lenin's sister, Anna, and brother, Alexander, were involved in revolutionary ideals. Alexander was especially keen to put an end to the despotic reign of the Tsars.¹⁾

Lenin is credited with coining the term “Bolshevik.” The term was coined in 1903 during a conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party. Lenin and Julius Martov found themselves on opposing sides of a debate. To put it simply, Lenin believed that a strong leader required total control over the party, but Martov believed that individual members should have more freedom. Because Lenin's camp outweighed Martov's in this dispute, Lenin termed his followers “majoritarians,” which translates to “bol'sheviki” or Bolsheviks. Meanwhile, Martov asserted his authority by naming his party the “minoritarians,” or the Mensheviks. ²⁾

Lenin's first profession after finishing his education was as a lawyer in St. Petersburg. ³⁾

“Lenin” was not his surname, but rather a nickname he chose to avoid placing his family in danger while trying to destabilize the ruling class. Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov was Lenin's full name. ⁴⁾

Some may be astonished to learn that Lenin came from a very ordinary, middle-class family. While his father was descended from serfs, he had made a good life for himself, and Lenin's mother was a well-educated lady whose father was a physician. ⁵⁾

Lenin received unwanted attention after participating in a student rally at Kazan University, and he was dismissed. ⁶⁾

In 1902, he met fellow Marxist-in-exile Leon Trotsky in London. The two guys quickly became friends and created a connection that would transform both of their lives forever. ⁷⁾

When Lenin met his future wife, Nadezhda Krupskaya, he was attending Marxist discussion groups. She had a good education and was a big fan of Karl Marx. ⁸⁾

Nadezhda Krupskaya was jailed in October 1896, barely a few months after Lenin. After some time, Lenin was sentenced to exile in Siberia. With some assistance in spreading the story, she was granted permission to be with Lenin in exile on the condition that they marry as soon as they were reunited. ⁹⁾

Lenin was exiled in Galicia, a province of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which was aligned with Germany against Russia. The Austro-Hungarians detained Lenin on suspicion that he was a Russian exile who may cause trouble for them. However, Lenin quickly shown his total contempt for the Tsar, and he was released. ¹⁰⁾