Reminiscences of Lenin

by Nadezhda Krupskaya, Надежда Крупская

The reminiscences in this volume cover the period 1894 to 1917. Nadezhda Konstantinovna Krupskaya (1869-1939) was the wife of V. I. Lenin, was an old member of the Communist Party, a Soviet statesman and a distinguished educator. She was born in St. Petersburg, where she began her revolutionary career. Krupskaya is the author of a number of books on questions of education and pedagogics. Her Reminiscences of Lenin were written over a number of years and published in parts at different times. The present volume is the most complete of all her reminiscences of Lenin hitherto published.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, Russia, Soviet Union, Lenin, Politics

584 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1970

About the author

Nadezhda Konstantinovna Krupskaya (Russian: Надежда Константиновна Крупская) was a Russian revolutionary and the wife of Vladimir Lenin. Krupskaya was born in Saint Petersburg to an aristocratic family that had descended into poverty, and she developed strong views about improving the lives of the poor.

Reviews

[Chad Alexander Guarino da Verona · Rating 5 out of 5]

"In view of non-fulfilment by you of my insistent demand to notify me on what grounds my salary was raised from 500 to 800 rubles per month as from March 1, 1918, and in view of the obvious illegality of such a rise, which you have made arbitrarily by arrangement with the Secretary of the Council N.P. Gorbunov in direct violation of the decree of the Council of People's Commissars dated November 23, 1917, I herewith severely reprimand you.
"Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars
V. Ulyanov (LENIN)"

PEAK CAT MAN SASS.

[Douglas Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the ideological enemy of the west over the past century, any sort of accurate or unbiased biography of Lenin is hard to come by. Of course, one written by his wife will be biased in quite the other direction, but I believe that it is still invaluable as it gives a glimpse of the human side of Lenin that so many, even Marxists Leninists, do not really consider.

Krupskaya's book is more of a memoir than a structured biography, much of it feels like a stream of consciousness of the times when she was with Lenin, rather than a narrative that traced his entire life. Sometimes there were details that were unnecessary, that muddled or lengthened the book, about random figures that had nothing to do with Lenin or the Bolshevik Revolution, though I was not sure if this was more of a Russian sort of quirk or Krupskaya paint as detailed of a picture of not only Lenin's life, but the times of Europe and the places they would travel to over the period of his exile.

Interestingly enough, she does talk much about the tension between Lenin and Trotsky, particularly in the earlier years when Trotsky was aligned with the Mensheviks against Lenin in their own power struggle in the early 1900s over the correct line of the communist movement. As this book was written in 1933, years after the controversial Lenin's Testament reveal, it creates a mystery over what the true relationship was between Lenin, Stalin and Trotsky in Lenin's late life, and what inconvenient truths might have been shelved, or possibly even fabricated, in order to preserve the fledgling movement's integrity amidst global antagonisms.

[Aitirir · Rating 3 out of 5]

7/10 Valioso documento donde Krupskaya, pedagoga, militante bolchevique y pareja de Lenin, describe los años previos a la Revolución de Octubre y formación del Partido.

[M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Breve esbozo biográfico de Lenin escrito por su compañera de vida y camarada Krúpskaya. En el libro se entremezclan con mucha habilidad y con un hilo conductor claro el Lenin dirigente político, agitador y propagandista con el Lenin más personal, amante del ajedrez, la caza y los paseos por el bosque.
Sin duda lo mejor del libro es la manera que tiene Krúpskaya de narrar los acontecimientos, de forma sencilla y bien ordenada, con anécdotas, incorporando sus propias opiniones políticas y personales que sin duda enriquecen el relato convirtiéndolo en una encantadora retrospectiva de la vida del que para muchos es el revolucionario más importante de la Historia.

Anexo: leí la edición de la Fundación Federico Engels. Me consta que hay ediciones inglesas que abarcan hasta la muerte del propio Lenin. Esta edición termina en 1907, justo cuando Lenin y Krúpskaya vuelven a Suiza.

[Jesus Rodriguez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent fist hand recount of Lenin’s life

Kribskaua managed with an abundance of details to let readers know about Lenin political life since his arrival to St Petersburg until his final return in 1917.
You can easily see the complex’s let fe and struggles of this unparalleled character from world history. His clarity of though and action, the internal divisions he sorted out, the importance he gave ti propaganda and spread of ideas and his absolute commitment to represent the real need of the people.
I love it.
The only bad thing is that this copy. Bought from Amazon a few years ago had the book content repeated twice, so I got the bitter of thinking that I was going to read about the October revolution days and the complex time that came afterwards. .

[Jacob Woocher · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me a bit to get into it because at first I was concerned that I didn't know who most of the people she was talking about were, and that made it hard for me to follow. Eventually I realized that for the most part, the specific names and places are not the point. This book is a lot about the **vibes.** It gives you a taste of what Lenin's and Krupskaya's lives and work were like at various points leading up to and after the revolution. And in that it is likely unparalleled.

[стоит ли хайдеггер в оригинале всех этих усилий? · Rating 3 out of 5]

10 чернильниц из хлеба из 10

[Eva · Rating 5 out of 5]

700 pages of lenin what is not to like?

[Sinan Öner]

Lenin's Wife Nadezhda Krupskaya's very useful source book about Lenin's life! Krupskaya tells and explains Lenin's life since his youth in "Reminiscences of Lenin". Lenin was graduated from Simbirsk University Law Department and he goes to Moscow to be Lawyer. Lenin, in Moscow, met a lot of Russian intellectuals and decided to write books about Russia. Lenin's "Development of Capitalism in Russia" was published in 1895, when he was 25, Krupskaya writes his changing during his researches. Lenin's political thoughts and practice was written by Krupskaya in detail, like his works with Plehanov, Martov and Zasulich. Lenin and his comrades founded Russia Social Democrat Worker Party, in 1902 Congress, they prepared a new program for Russia, Krupskaya writes. We can read from Krupskaya about Lenin in 1905 Revolution, after, in 1. World War, in 1917 February Revolution, in 1917 October Revolution, in the Civil War in Russia between 1918 and 1922, after, Krupskaya writes in "Reminiscences of Lenin". For understanding Lenin, we must read Lenin's Wife Nadezhda Krupskaya!

[Marc Lichtman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Krupskaya, Lenin's widow, was under incredible pressure after Stalin came to power. She had briefly joined the United Opposition that included Trotsky, Kamenev, and Zinoviev. It's must reading for understanding Lenin, but it is difficult to separate out the wheat from the chaff. And there's so much she doesn't say.

Read Lenin's major works, above all Lenin's Final Fight Also Trotsky on Lenin. There are number of good books, but no full-length biography that is worth reading. Between the Stalinists and anti-communists, they've got the market sewn up.

[Catherine Divers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty interesting stuff. Would've liked it if it didn't cut out by the October Revolution and at least went through to December or something, but granted Lenin was barely around for those bits. It was also interesting to see Lenin's opinions of the different places he lived; I hadn't realised they moved around so much in exile and had lived in so many places. My copy had an essay at the end about the "Type of Fiction That Pleased Illych" which was nice, as well as an essay by a writer who met Illych and gave his impressions of the man. Parts of it are dry but it's nice for all the little personal moments, though I would've liked more of an elaboration on Nadya and Illych's early relationship.

[A L]

Her portraits of the early Bolsheviks are adorable.

[Sayantan Dasgupta · Rating 4 out of 5]

nice.