Lenin Lives?

Abstract Lenin was one of the most controversial and also influential figures of the twentieth century. Of all the events of that era, the revolution he inspired in the Russian Empire was the most consequential. It turned the Soviet Union into a superpower, shaped the Chinese Revolution, and dominated political and cultural history all round the globe during the Cold War. Desperate resistance to Leninist revolution evolved into extreme forms of fascism and Nazism. On the occasion of the centenary of Lenin’s death, the author examines the key points of Lenin’s views and identifies the main elements that gave them global traction and provoked controversy down to the present, and perhaps into the future. Lenin and his ideas have been written off many times but have they actually had their day?