At the end of 1917, Russia was on the brink of an abyss: the February revolution did not bring universal happiness, irretrievable losses in the First World War reached three million people, the economy was in a deep crisis, the national debt amounted to billions of rubles. At this moment, professional revolutionary Vladimir Lenin came to power. He and a small party of Bolsheviks had to solve an incredibly difficult task: to stop the death of the country. Who was this man? How were his political views formed? What was his path to power? What goals did he set for himself when he became the leader of the state? The author of the book shows Lenin without retouching: the greatest theorist and practitioner of the Russian revolution, a cruel, pragmatic politician and strong-willed leader. You will find out: Do the allegations about Lenin’s non-Russian origin have any basis? How was a new type of party created? Did Lenin consider terror the main weapon of the revolution? Was there a conspiracy by Sverdlov against Lenin in 1918? Why was the Comintern created? And most importantly, you will understand why Russia should avoid revolutionary upheavals in the future!