One would think that the leader of the nation would be so brave and independent that he would be able to cope with his own life, that the working people of towns and villages would lead them to the barricades. Well, the revolution would probably have failed if it had not been for Volodya's mother and sisters first, and then the wife, who were nursing the proletarian leader.
Do you know this joke? Two students are talking:
- Dude! Where do you get so much money?
- From writing.
- What do you write that you get so much?
- Letters to parents asking for money.
As it turns out ... Vladimir Ilyich Ulianov (later Lenin) did the same. Literally. When he went to study law in St. Petersburg, his mother, Maria Alexandrovna, was very worried about her beloved son.
After graduating, he started working in the profession, but as a novice servant of Themis, he did not earn much. Hence his financial troubles. And what is the best way to deal with them? Write to mum asking for budget support , which the young communist willingly did:
Young Lenin. The ladies were hitting him that hey!
I have exceeded my budget, and I don't think I can cope with this meager earnings. If you can send me another hundred rubles.
Short and casual. There is no what! He wasn't the best at asking. But there is always room for improvement.
Lenin into the world, and poverty follows
When Lenin felt that St. Petersburg and Russia were too tight for him, in 1895 he decided to get to know Europe. Council, displeasure, mummy had to let our little son go out into the world. The umbilical cord, however, could not be cut off, because Lenin was getting poorer quickly and again the invaluable Maria Alexandrovna had to save him from poverty.
To my horror - wrote Lenin from Switzerland - I'm in financial trouble again . The pleasure of buying books is so great that money spreads like hell. I am forced to ask for help again. If you can, send me 50 rubles or 100 rubles.
This time the request for support is nicer, but gratitude is not visible in it for a penny. Evidently, Volodya considered help from his mother, and as it turns out in a moment, also other women as something absolutely normal. Something he just deserved!
Even younger (only four years old), Volodya with his sister ...
This is just the beginning, but to get to know the future leader of the revolution and his "gossipiness" better, we have to go back to 1887, when the rebellious nature of the young student was revealed.
Mommy is always awake
Maria Alexandrovna Ulyanova did a lot to somehow manage her son's future. When he was fired from the university in Kazan (for participating in a revolutionary gathering of students), she decided to drag Vladimir Ilyich away from the city, where it was easy to get caught up in some scandal.
For this, bought him the entire farm almost 1000 kilometers from Moscow and she wanted her son to do farming, not politics.
Unfortunately, young Lenin turned out to be too clumsy and sick to be a host. His mother's hopes were not fulfilled, and the future leader of the revolution plunged into the whirlwind of political struggle and agitation.
As Diane Ducret, author of the book "Women of Dictators," writes, he gained a reputation as a conscience awakener. The new young-angry with oratorical talent was quickly targeted by Ochrana. After returning from the aforementioned foreign journeys, he fell into the hands of the tsarist police and quickly landed in the St. Petersburg barrage.
Due to his political activity, Lenin quickly found himself in the orbit of Ochrana's interest.
The Uljn brigade immediately went into action. After all, you have to take care of the poor man, and in addition, the only man in the family. Mother, firmly convinced that Vladimir Ilyich is starving in prison, organized the entire "crisis team".
She immediately began to flood her son with parcels with the most necessary things (clothes, blankets, underwear, food, etc.). Unfortunately, the inmate himself was not very enthusiastic about it. Irritated, he wrote to his sister:
I have a huge supply of food. For example, I could open a teahouse ... I eat little bread, try to follow a kind of diet. And you brought me so much of all this that I would have to eat all week nonstop.
This sister, who was arrested by Lenin for exaggerated care for his food, after detaining her brother moved to St. Petersburg on purpose to help him. Moreover, Anna Ulyanovna provided him with a constant supply of books.
Although Lenin definitely does not sin with gratitude, his sister is extremely devoted to him (she even sacrifices her own herd) and loves him with a possessive love. Nevertheless, Anna must finally leave St. Petersburg. This does not mean at all that Lenin will be deprived of women's protection! The fans of Vladimir Ilyich very quickly take over.
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Follow a virgin agitator with a rope!
The rules governing the St. Petersburg prison allowed only family members and fiancées to visit prisoners. When Anna leaves, they immediately find people willing to pretend to be Mrs. Ulyanov. Maybe the future leader of the revolution was a mama's boy, but as a great speaker he had a group of sighing admirers.
Nadezhda Krupskaya, as a person under Ochrana's supervision, could not pretend to be Lenin's wife, but she will soon become one for real.
The first one is Nadezhda Krupskaya, but she is "burned" in advance, as a person also under police surveillance. Fortunately, there is a suitable candidate, companion Apollinaria Jakubowa, who makes his time in prison pleasant and looks after him.
Maria Aleksandrovna, however, could not stand away from her little son and moved to the capital six months after Anna left St.Petersburg. As Diane Ducret writes:
Paying particular attention to the diet of "your little Volodya ”, his mother prepares him dishes that the young man would like and which she can season to his taste. The kind-hearted Maria Alexandrovna tries in vain to appease the Ministry of Justice, thinking that in this way she will improve the fate of her son. The refusal of court is firm and irrevocable.
Young Ulyanov was sent to Siberia for three years (in February 1897). He landed on the banks of the Lena River (hence his nickname), in the town of Shushenskoye. Interestingly, after the announcement of the sentence, the mother is already starting to pack her bags. How is that? Let go of my little son unattended? Never. After long persuasions, Lenin manages to dissuade her from this idea. As a compromise, his mother and sister will only escort him halfway there.
Trapped by hope?
For a long time, Vladimir Ilyich did not enjoy freedom from a women's gallery. Already in May 1897, that is after three months, comrade Nadezhda stood on his doorstep. Mrs. Nadzieja, despite the fact that Lenin Jakubowa was chosen as her fiancée, did not give up hope and had marriage plans for him all the time.
By hitting the right strings (yes, yes Maria Alexandrovna, I will take care of your Volodya like no one else!) She got her mother's blessing. Although Anna, the possessive sister of the main subject, said that the future sister-in-law looked like a herring, she didn't have much to say ...
Lenin's women:sister and wife. Somehow they resemble each other so strangely…
Everything is settled and Nadzieżda Krupska, together with her mother, goes to Lenin. Greeting between young people is not particularly warm and effusive, but they will form a lasting and harmonious marriage together. And although Maria Alexandrovna still sends a lot of all sorts of trinkets and packages for her son through her future daughter-in-law, now it is Nadzieżda who takes care of Lenin. She will stay with him until he dies.
Source:
- Diane Ducret, Women of Dictators , Znak, Kraków 2012.