ABSTRACT
The allegation that Lenin joined at Kazan the Social Democratic circle headed by Nikolai Efgrafovich Fedosseyev has been mentioned. Between 1886 and 1887, Fedosseyev, a pupil of the Kazan gymnasium, participated in a populist self-education circle. It was not until 1888 that he founded a Marxist student group, but by then Lenin had left Kazan, so that Lenin and Fedosseyev did not meet. Lenin's sister stated that her brother was aware of the existence of Fedosseyev's circle, and knew some of the participants, but she specifically denied Lenin's membership in this group; she did not mention any other cell. Lenin, wishing either to be readmitted to the university, or to obtain permission to go abroad, had to be discreet about his connections with revolutionary study groups. Lenin's points were quite conventional: his argumentation did not disclose that he had become a full-fledged 'revolutionary Marxist'.
