Lenin pseudonym origin. Why Lenin? What does the letter "H" mean?
(real name Ulyanov) due to conspiracy had more than 150 pseudonyms. Lenin is the most famous pseudonym. After coming to power, Lenin signed official party and state documents “V. I. Ulyanov (Lenin) ".
In December 1901, Vladimir Ulyanov published the first four chapters of the article "The Agrarian Question and 'Critics of Marx" in the magazine "Zarya", for the first time using the pseudonym "N. Lenin ". Abroad, the initial "N" is usually deciphered as "Nikolai", although in reality this initial was not deciphered in any of Lenin's lifetime publications. The exact reason for his appearance is unknown, so there were many versions about the origin of this pseudonym. For example, a toponymic one - along the Siberian river Lena.
According to the historian Vladlen Loginov, the most plausible is the version associated with the use of the passport of the real-life Nikolai Lenin. The Lenin family can be traced back to the Cossack Posnik, who was awarded the nobility and the surname Lenin in the 17th century for the merits associated with the conquest of Siberia and the creation of winter quarters along the Lena River. Numerous descendants of him more than once distinguished themselves both in the military and in the bureaucratic service. One of them, Nikolai Yegorovich Lenin, having risen to the rank of state councilor, retired and in the 80s of the XIX century settled in the Yaroslavl province, where he died in 1902. His children, who sympathized with the emerging social democratic movement in Russia, were well acquainted with Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, and after the death of their father they handed over to Vladimir Ulyanov his passport, albeit with the forwarded date of birth. There is a version that Vladimir Ilyich got the passport back in the spring of 1900, when Nikolai Yegorovich Lenin himself was still alive. In 1900, V.I.Ulyanov feared that he would not be released abroad, Nadezhda Konstantinovna Krupskaya told Olga Nikolaevna Lenina, with whom she worked, about this. ON Lenin asked her brother (Director of the Department of Agriculture S. N. Lenin) to help with the documents and V. I. Ulyanov used the documents of Olga and Sergei's seriously ill father, Nikolai Yegorovich Lenin.
According to another family legend, the surname "Ulyanov" was not immediately assigned to Lenin's grandfather, Nikolai Vasilyevich - sometimes he was called "Ulyanin". It was from this distorted version that the pseudonym "Lenin" appeared in the family as a joke.
After V. I. Lenin came to power, official party and state documents were signed by “V. I. Ulyanov (Lenin) ". Lenin is the most famous pseudonym, but far from the only one. In total, due to conspiracy, Ulyanov had more than 150 pseudonyms.
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✪ Vladimir Lenin ☭ USSR ☆ Documentary film Above the opened volume of Lenin ☭ Lennauchfilm 1975
At present, researchers of the life of Vladimir Ulyanov are considering three versions of the appearance of the pseudonym "Lenin", while the most probable, despite the statements of the relatives of the leader of the world proletariat, is called the third.
First version: imitative
* So far only Ulyanov
To begin with, the "family version" of the origin of the pseudonym Lenin does not stand up to criticism. Let me remind you that, according to the family legend of the Ulyanov family, the leader's pseudonym comes from the name of the Lena River. For example, the daughter of his brother Dmitry Ulyanov - Olga Dmitrievna - reported the following in her memoirs: “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 sufficiently worn out, in particular, it was used, as you know, by Plekhanov, as well as other authors, for example, the notorious God-seeker Glinka, etc. "
At first glance, the version makes sense. Indeed, in 1912, Korolenko described the events at the Lena gold mines, where the strikers were shot. Vladimir Ilyich, they say, was very shocked by these events, having read about them an essay by the famous writer. But historians say the opposite, they say, the events in the mines happened after he took the pseudonym Lenin. Moreover, Ilyich has never been in exile on the Lena.
For the first time, Lenin's signature - and this has been established for certain - appeared in 1901 in a letter to the future leader Georgy Plekhanov. And, as they say, Ulyanov chose this signature by analogy with one of Plekhanov's pseudonyms - Volgin (in honor of the great Russian river). Therefore, Lenin is, most likely, just an imitation of Plekhanov - this is what researchers believe.
Second version: agrarian
Another part of historians is inclined to consider, as the most probable, the "agrarian theme" of the emergence of the pseudonym.
Ilyich allegedly often used pseudonyms, of which, according to various estimates, he had about a hundred, signing his articles with the names of K. Tulin, Petrov, Karpov, K. Ivanov, R. Silin. At the same time, Ulyanov often quoted the famous agronomist and public figure Sergei Nikolaevich Lenin. Based on this attachment to the agrarian, he could borrow the real name of the scientist for his pseudonym. The version, as you can see, has a right to exist.
Third version: habit
* "A hardened human being" Lenin became such thanks to the passport of a state councilor
And here is the most plausible version. The story goes that in 1900, when Vladimir Ulyanov was impatient to go abroad, he applied for a passport. Fear that for political sins he would not be released outside his homeland, forced him to look for workarounds. And this was found in a completely unexpected way. It so happened that Nadezhda Konstantinovna Krupskaya met her friend from the evening school, Olga Nikolaevna Lenina, who sympathized with the emerging social democratic movement in Russia. Hearing about the difficulties of Ilyich, Olga undertook to help him - she stole the passport of her father, Nikolai Yegorovich Lenin, forged the date of birth and gave the document to Ulyanov. Since then, the pseudonym Lenin has been assigned to Ilyich. With them, he often signed articles in the newspaper Zarya, presenting the owner of the printing house with a passport in the name of the actual state councilor Nikolai Lenin. After the October coup, Ilyich, signing documents, articles, books, added the same pseudonym in parentheses to his real name Ulyanov.
At the end of 1901, Vladimir Ulyanov took the pseudonym Lenin. At this time, he signed his printed works in this way. Where did this surname come from? There are many versions on this score, let's look at the issue.
Why Lenin Lenin: the history of the pseudonym
I would like to start the story about this pseudonym by refuting the popular "family", so to speak, version of the origin of the surname "Lenin" from Ulyanov. In the memoirs, a family legend has been preserved, according to which the pseudonym Lenin was taken from the name of the Lena River, where a group of strikers was shot. Allegedly, Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov was so shocked by this event that after reading about them in a note from Korolenko, he took a new name for himself. But historians claim that the described events on the Lena River occurred in 1912, and the pseudonym was taken earlier. 3 versions remain, which have not been finally contested until now ...
Why Lenin (Ulyanov) took a pseudonym - imitation
Some researchers believe that Ulyanov took a pseudonym because of simple imitation. Lenin's signature was first attested in 1901 in a letter to Georgy Plekhanov. At that time, Plekhanov had the pseudonym Volgin, which he invented after the name of the great Russian river Volga. By analogy with this, Ulyanov also named himself after the Russian river Lena. This version is quite a place to be.
Why Ulyanov Lenin - borrowing
They say that Ulyanov used about a hundred different pseudonyms when signing articles: Silin, Ivanov, Petrov, Karpov, and whatever they were! In his works, he often quoted the then well-known public figure and agrarian Sergei Nikolaevich Lenin. Therefore, there is reason to believe that Ulyanov borrowed his real name due to his great sympathy for views.
Why Lenin was called Lenin - the matter is in the passport
And, finally, the most realistic, according to many researchers, version. Think about it, because at the very beginning Ulyanov signed his articles, documents, books not just with the surname Lenin, he added the initial "N". This can serve as proof of the latest version ...
In 1900, Vladimir Ilyich urgently needed to go abroad. Ulyanov, of course, had fears that due to his political sins, the issuance of a passport would be difficult, and they would not want to let him out of his homeland. Well, it was necessary to look for some workarounds. A simple path was found quite unexpectedly ...
During this period, Nadezhda Konstantinovna Krupskaya met her longtime friend Olga Nikolaevna Lenina. She became imbued with the social democratic movement, which was nascent in Russia, and decided to help Ulyanov in his difficulties. Olga Nikolaevna stole the passport of her father Nikolai Yegorovich Lenin and forged the necessary data, namely the date of birth. From that moment on, the pseudonym Lenin was firmly entrenched in Ulyanov. It was not difficult to sign articles with the surname Lenin, the owner of the printing house was provided with the passport of the real state councilor Nikolai Lenin.
The question of why Ulyanov took the pseudonym Lenin is not a mystery. The leader of the world proletariat himself gave an unequivocal answer on this matter. The reason was the events on the Lena River, where the tsarist government shot workers protesting against difficult working conditions and non-payment of wages. From there the pseudonym Lenin also went. But in this whole story we are interested not only in why Ulyanov took the pseudonym Lenin, but also why the events took place that led to the execution of the workers.
So, the chronology of events was as follows. In April 1912, workers at the gold mines located on the Lena River went on strike. The workers demanded that the working day be reduced to 8 hours, and also demanded that wages be paid to them. This demonstration was shot. More than 200 people were killed and wounded. As a result, Ulyanov took the pseudonym Lenin as a symbol of the Bolsheviks' struggle for ordinary citizens against the tsarist regime. It seems that everything is extremely clear, but there is a dark side to this story, about which little is written in modern literature.
What is it about? First of all, that the fault of the Russian Emperor in the shooting of the workers' demonstration was actually not. The shooting was opened at a time when it was impossible to calm the crowd without weapons. Soviet and Western historians tell us that the fault of Nicholas II was that he brought people to such a state. It was the imperial regime that exploited people who worked for 10, 12 and even 14 hours. It was Nicholas 2 who, in their opinion, was guilty of the fact that people did not receive salaries in gold mining in the country. These same historians tell us that only Ulyanov, who took the pseudonym Lenin from all politicians, took the side of the common people oppressed by the emperor. These conclusions, despite the fact that they are logical, are absolutely not correct. Let's figure out why.
The Lenzoloto partnership was involved in gold mining on the Lena River. It was this firm, controlled by the emperor, which, according to the very scientists who write about the stagnation of the imperial power, brought its workers to such a state. In this whole story, for some reason, only one fact is hushed up. The fact that changes everything. The controlling stake in the Lenzoloto partnership, namely 66%, belonged to the English company Lena Goldfields. This is how the company actually developed gold mines in Russia. It was this company and its managers living in England who determined the length of the working hours and the procedure for paying wages. The conclusion suggests itself. It was not Nicholas II who brought the workers to a revolutionary state. It was not the serfdom of Russia with its imperial vestiges that pushed people out into the streets. All this was done by the democratic British. The tsarist regime had no power over gold mining on the Lena River.
As for the Lena Goldfields company itself, there is another interesting fact that makes one think about the role of foreign intelligence services in the Russian revolution of 1917. Here's the thing. After the Bolsheviks came to power, gold mining on the Lena River continued. The independent Soviet government, at least as Lenin himself stated, transferred the rights to mine gold to the same company, Lena Goldfields. At the same time, the British took 93% of the gold during the extraction, leaving the Soviet government as much as 7%! What were the Bolsheviks fighting for? What ideas did they defend if, after the revolution, Western countries continued to pump money and minerals from the USSR? Ulyanov, who took the pseudonym Lenin because of the very events unleashed by the British company Lena Goldfields, supported this particular company, and signed an agreement on such conditions that only the British won, who continued to mine gold on the Lena River until the arrival of to power of Joseph Stalin, who transferred this deposit to Soviet companies.
