When I was studying at the University, they explained to us that Ulyanov took the pseudonym “Lenin” after the so-called “Lena executions,” when a large uprising of workers was suppressed in the mines near the Lena River in Yakutia. It went from there - Ulyanov was very impressed...

Researchers of the life of the leader of the world proletariat have three versions of the appearance of the pseudonym Lenin.

Version one: imitated Plekhanov

It is considered by other researchers of Ilyich’s life: in honor of the Lena River. But Ilyich was not in exile on Lena. True, in 1912, at the Lena gold mines, the authorities shot strikers. Ulyanov was allegedly greatly shocked by these events after reading Vladimir Korolenko’s essay about them. However, historians say that the Lena events occurred after he took this pseudonym. The signature “Lenin” first appeared in 1901 in a letter from Ilyich to Georgy Plekhanov. By the way, Ulyanov could have chosen such a signature by analogy with one of Plekhanov’s pseudonyms - “Volgin” (in honor of the great Russian river Volga). So “Lenin” may simply be an imitation.

Version two: stole the agronomist’s name

Ilyich often used pseudonyms. He had more than a hundred of them, he often signed his articles simply with initials, but more often with the names K. Tulin, Petrov, Karpov, K. Ivanov, R. Silin. Then Ulyanov often quoted the then famous agronomist and public figure Sergei Nikolaevich Lenin. I could have borrowed the scientist’s real name for a pseudonym.

Version three: got used to someone else’s passport

In 1900, when Vladimir Ulyanov had to go abroad, he submitted a petition to the Pskov governor for the issuance of a foreign passport. However, he was afraid that due to revolutionary activities he would not receive a passport. Therefore, his wife, Nadezhda Konstantinovna, asked her friend from evening school Olga Nikolaevna Lenina, and she asked her brother Sergei to help Ilyich. To do this, Olga and Sergei took the passport of their father, Nikolai Yegorovich Lenin, who was mortally ill. The date of birth in the passport was falsified (to match Ulyanov’s age). But it is not known what document Ilyich used to travel, because on May 5, 1900, he received the long-desired foreign passport in his name from the office of the Pskov governor. However, at the request of the owner of the printing house that printed the Zarya magazine, he presented him with a passport in the name of N. E. Lenin.

Be that as it may, after October 1917, the head of the Bolshevik Party and the new state signed all documents, articles, books of his real name, but added to it in parentheses his main pseudonym - V. Ulyanov (Lenin).

He who fights monsters must be careful not to become a monster himself. And if you look into the abyss for a long time, then the abyss also looks into you.
F. Nietzsche “Beyond Good and Evil” (c)
If I don't respond to someone in a thread, it doesn't mean you weren't noticed. Perhaps this is because I have no desire to communicate with those whom I consider narrow-minded, stupid or simply uninteresting citizens, and I do not want to enter into controversy with them

Not everyone immediately understands who we are talking about if V.I. Ulyanov is mentioned. However, it is enough to say Lenin and even schoolchildren will recognize him. Until 1917, Vladimir Ilyich had to live in the strictest secrecy. He often could not sign his last name. Therefore, I had to use pseudonyms, one of which became Lenin. Although sometimes he signed himself as Frey, Tulin, Ilyin, Richter, Meyer, or simply N.V. There are several options why Ulyanov took the pseudonym Lenin.

Why did V. Ulyanov become Lenin? Major versions

It appeared with Vladimir Ilyich in 1901. At first he signed his works like this. However, it was “Lenin” that tenaciously and forever entered history. The new surname immediately became so famous that Ulyanov, even after the end of the revolution, began to add it to the one received at birth. All options for why Ulyanov became Lenin are described below.

Family or river

The pseudonym comes from the name of the river. Lena. This is exactly what Ulyanov’s niece, Olga, thought. The leader really liked how Korolenko colorfully described the river. Ulyanov was also impressed by the pseudonym Volgin, but it was used often and was very shabby. It was signed by Plekhanov, Glinka and many others famous personalities. Perhaps “Lenin” was chosen specifically to spite him.

Everyone who supports the river version is sure that the leader chose this river during his Siberian exile, in Shushenskoye.

However, then it would be more logical to be called Shush (as a river) or Yenisein (as its tributary), since the village was located in this very place. And also the “Lena execution” at the mines could not become the prototype of a pseudonym. This event happened later - in 1912. At this time, the leader was already actively using his pseudonym.

Conspiratorial

This is the most plausible version of Loginov, the historian. He writes that in 1900 the leader needed to go abroad, but problems arose with his passport. Because of this, he would not have been released from the country. Then a friend of Krupskaya gave Ulyanov the passport of her father, N.E. Lenin, where the date of birth was simply corrected. After this, Ulyanov was able to travel abroad, and the pseudonym remained with him for the rest of his life.

Literary

This version is the brainchild of writer A. Golenkov. The leader was very fond of the works of L. Tolstoy. Krupskaya wrote that when Ulyanov went into exile, he read the story “Cossacks”, the main character of which was Olenin. He was also exiled, but to the Caucasus. Vladimir Ilyich believed that Tolstoy is the “mirror of the revolution” and the corresponding thoughts were presented in the work. Therefore, the prototype of Ulyanov’s pseudonym was chosen main character one of the stories.

Romantic

There is a version that “Lenin” was taken in honor of E. Rozmirovich. She was a student with whom the leader fell in love in his youth. Moreover, there are other contenders for the prototype for the pseudonym - for example, the beauties E. Lenina, E. Petersburgskaya or the Mariinsky Theater actress E. Zaretskaya. This version, although questionable, remains quite common.

There are even more exotic options for how Ulyanov became Lenin. If this word is read backwards, it becomes the word Ninel. This name was feminine and hid the allegedly homosexual inclinations of the leader, who was partial to Trotsky and Zinoviev.

This is as incredible as if we take the prototype of the pseudonym from the German monastery of Potsdam, which was famous for “Lenin’s prophecy” when Europe would unite to the Volga. Information about this was preserved in documents of the 17th century. Moreover, there is evidence that the roots of the prophecy go back to a manuscript of the 12th century.

Like other professional revolutionaries, they had to live in strict secrecy. Sign your articles and other works own name was impossible for him. Therefore, V.I. Ulyanov had to use pseudonyms and party nicknames.

He had many pseudonyms for publishing. Some of the articles and brochures published abroad, he simply signed - N. In other cases, he signed S. Tulin, V. Ilyin, V. I-in. Sometimes Ilyich used foreign surnames as a pseudonym - Frey, Richter, Meyer.

The pseudonym Lenin, or rather N. Lenin, appeared to the leader in 1901. He began to sign his printed works with this pseudonym. And it was under this name that he went down in history. This name became so widely known that after the 1917 revolution he began to sign himself “V. I. Ulyanov (Lenin."

There are several versions of why the leader of the world proletariat chose this particular pseudonym. Let's look at each of them.

The family version, also known as the official or toponymic version

The leader's nickname comes from the name of the Lena River. Vladimir Ilyich’s niece, daughter of his brother Dmitry Olga Dmitrievna Ulyanova, wrote this: “I have reason to believe,” my father wrote, “that this pseudonym comes from the name of the Lena River, so beautifully described by Korolenko. Vladimir Ilyich did not take the pseudonym Volgin, since it was quite worn out, in particular, it was used, as you know, by Plekhanov, as well as other authors, for example, the well-known God-seeker Glinka, etc.

Researchers who support this version believe that the name of this particular great river arose due to the fact that Ilyich was in exile in Siberia, in Shushenskoye. But, apparently, this is not the case. Shushenskoye is located on the Shush River, a tributary of the Yenisei. If we were talking about Siberian impressions, then it would be more logical to expect the pseudonym “Shushin” or “Yenisein”. The famous “Lena execution” at the gold mines could not have played any role here either, since it happened in 1912, when Ilyich was already using this pseudonym with all his might.

Probably, if the pseudonym really comes from the name of the Lena River, it is a simple coincidence. Lenin - simply because he is not Volgin, to spite Plekhanov.

Conspiracy version

It belongs to the historian V. Loginov. In 1900, when Vladimir Ulyanov needed to go abroad, a problem arose with a passport. According to his “native” documents, of course, he would not have been released anywhere. And then a friend of Nadezhda Konstantinovna, a sympathizer revolutionary movement, gave Ilyich the passport of her father, Nikolai Yegorovich Lenin, in which she forwarded the date of birth. Having left abroad using a forged document, Vladimir Ulyanov remained Lenin forever.

Literary version

It belongs to the writer Alexey Golenkov.

Everyone knows that Vladimir Ilyich was very fond of the work of Leo Tolstoy. Nadezhda Konstantinovna Krupskaya recalls that on the way to exile, in Shushenskoye, Vladimir Ulyanov read Tolstoy’s story “Cossacks”. The hero of this story, whose last name is OLENIN, also goes into exile, although to the Caucasus, and not to Siberia. Tolstoy, according to Lenin, was the “Mirror of the Russian Revolution.” And thoughts, partly consonant with the revolutionary sentiments of Ulyanov-Lenin himself, are also expressed by the hero of the story OLENIN.

Romantic version

In one of the television programs of the late 90s, there was a version that Vladimir Ulyanov took the pseudonym Lenin in honor of the Kazan student Elena Rozmirovich, with whom, they say, he was unrequitedly in love in his youth. And this is not the only Lena who is credited with the honor of breaking the heart of the young leader. Other contenders for this role include the Kazan beauty Elena Lenina, the Mariinsky Theater actress Elena Zaretskaya, and even some Elena of Petersburg, with whom Ilyich was allegedly in love.

This version, for obvious reasons, does not stand up to criticism, however, it is quite popular.

Exotic versions

If you read the word Lenin backwards, you get Ninel. Ninel - female name, and it is hidden, because the leader of the world proletariat hid his homosexual relationships with Zinoviev and Trotsky. Absolutely incredible, of course, but no more incredible than deriving the party nickname Lenin from the name of the Lenin monastery (Kloster Lehnin) in Germany, not far from Potsdam. The monastery is known, among other things, for the famous “Lenin’s prophecy”, set out in a 17th-century document allegedly dating back to a 12th-century manuscript. The prophecy says that someday Central and Eastern Europe will unite into single state from the Rhine to the Volga.

Seems strange? Nevertheless, such versions also have a place.

The real name of the leader of the proletariat is Vladimir Ulyanov, but in world history he remained Lenin. People asked about the origin of the pseudonym during Vladimir Ilyich’s lifetime, but there were no comments on this matter. Obviously, there must be reasons that forced a person to choose this particular surname.

Researchers note the existence of several versions, each of which is worthy of consideration. Vladimir Ulyanov had more than 150 pseudonyms, but he became known as Lenin, because party documents were signed with the name V.I. Ulyanov (Lenin).

In honor of the Lena River

There are several versions associated with the name of the Siberian river Lena. The leader’s niece, Olga Ulyanova, devoted a lot of time to studying her family, and is convinced that the pseudonym comes precisely from the name of the great river. The pseudonym Volgin was already taken, it was used by Plekhanov, Glinka, and other individuals. But the name Lena has not yet been exploited.

Interesting fact: There is a version that Vladimir Ilyich took the pseudonym to spite Plekhanov, in some way parodying him, “Volgina”.

As for family legends, it is indicated here that the first Ulyanov in the family was the revolutionary’s grandfather. But the surname was not attached to him immediately; for a long time he was called “Ulyanin”. The distorted form could turn into “Lenin”.

In addition, a name in honor of the river could come into effect historical events that time. In 1912, the strike of workers at the Lensky mine was brutally suppressed, where workers suffered from terrible working conditions and meager wages. The strike was brutally suppressed by the troops. The information spread widely, and the “Lena Execution” itself became one of the blatant symbols of tsarist power and violence against the people. Ulyanov could well have taken advantage of this event and its name to choose a pseudonym that would attract attention.