ABSTRACT
Lenin's real name was Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. He was born on April 22, 1870, at Simbirsk, a small, sleepy town on the Volga river, now named Ulyanovsk in his honour. His father, Ilya Nikolayevich Ulyanov, a graduate of Kazan University, climbed the bureaucratic ladder steadily and diligently. Ilya began his career, in 1855, teaching mathematics and physics at the Institute of Nobility in Pensa. Communist historians suggest that Ilya was a revolutionary, running a sort of party headquarters in his home, where his two sons made fiery speeches. This hardly concurs with his function as inspector and regional school director. There exists no record of Ilya ever protecting students accused of radical activities. He seemed to have been religious, and he reported to his superiors village priests who lacked zeal in catechism instruction.
