Inessa: Lenin's Mistress

by Michael Pearson

Inessa Armand was a beautiful, vivacious revolutionary and mother of four, who acquired a place in the almost exclusively male history of the Russian Revolution due to her fervent political beliefs and her passionate relationship with Lenin. Married at 19, she bore her husband three children before taking her brother-in-law as her lover and having his child. From 1910-16 she and Lenin were lovers, from which time until her death in 1920 she continued to play an important role in his life, even becoming close to his wife, Nadya Krupskaya. Inessa became a leading member in Lenin's circle in Paris in 1910, a kind of lieutenant whom he used as a multi-lingual trouble-shooter and hard-punching 'front' when he wanted to stay in the background. In 1917, back in Russia, she joined the Duma in Moscow as a Bolshevik, as well as being actively involved in the city Soviet. She was also a furious feminist campaigner since she saw the revolution as being sexually chauvinist. Her political leanings were very far left and on occasion she opposed Lenin himself, as he had tempered his views for practical political reasons.

Genres: Russia

Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Tim Phillips]

It’s a small book about a big subject that, unfortunately, not enough is known about for various political reasons. She was a very interesting woman with progressive ideas that were way ahead of her time. The book can be faulted for spending too much time on Lenin. That’s kind of a big and aggravating thing.

[Chris]

A short story about Inessa, the woman who helped Lenin bring his communism ideas to life. She also became his 'dirty' jobs operator with the last job causing her life after she contracted Cholera.

There is less evidence of the Romantic life between Inessa and Lenin. Its seems theirs was a love shared to bring communism to lige.

[Ozan Günokur]

kitabın noksan tarihsel anlatısı, sosyalist jargona hakim olmayan genç bir çevirmenin yetersizliğiyle bir araya gelince ortaya çok da başarılı olmayan bir kitap çıkmış.

[Ekaterina Okuneva]

После Данилкина очень не хватало чего-нибудь про Инессу Федоровну, в самый раз

[guclu gozaydin]

Lenin'in özel hayatı, sevgilileri ve çevresindeki insanlar ilgi alanınıza giriyorsa ilgiyle okuyabilirsiniz.

[Jack D. Riner]

Well written

[Clayton Brannon]

Very entertaining about a woman who is seldom if ever mentioned.

[Jolene Knighton]

Good book. It's nice to read non-fiction for a change.