With the end of the Civil War, the Communists reorganize Russia into the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Lenin introduces the New Economic Policy and the leadership of the Socialist Revolutionary Party are tried and convicted of treason.
During this period, Lenin also suffered three strokes, and died in January 1924.
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Fanfare
Opening Theme
“The Sick Doll,” from The Children’s Album.
Composed in 1878 by Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky. Public domain.
Performed by Louis Sauter and used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 license. Source.
Closing Theme
Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Photo of Lenin Mausoleum by Wikipedia user Staron used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY-SA 3.0 license. Source. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.
I am enjoying the state-of-the-world-in-1919 series. The episodes on Russia and its transformation into the Soviet Union have been very good and interesting. I am sure that many of your podcast listeners are aware of Mike Duncan’s Revolution podcast and the 100-or-so episodes on the Russian Revolution, which I thought were superb.
As far as Lenin’s legacy…well, he certainly was influential…But in a truly horrific way. Lenin actions led directly to Stalin and then to Mao and to many others of their ilk, such as Pol Pot. These appalling pieces of crap directly murdered more than one hundred million people and caused the misery of a billion or so others. Lenin did not think that individuals have the right to decide anything for themselves. To him, people were little more than slaves to serve at his whims. Just a god-awful excuse for a human being.
On a more positive note, your mention of the Twelve Chairs jostled a childhood memory of seeing the movie in a theater with my parents (in the early 1970s). I specifically remember Dom Deluise, who was popular from appearances on variety shows, such as the Dean Martin show. I remember laughing with my parents. Good memories!
Thank you for all your efforts!