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The formative years of a revolutionary
STEVE ANDREW relishes a history of Lenin’s childhood and adolescence that gives a useful insight his personality
(L to R) Vladimir Ulyanov in his gymnasium years, this photograph was attached to a petition for admission to Kazan University dated July 29 1887; The Ulyanov family, Maria Alexandrovna, Ilya Nikolaevich and their children in 1879 (Aleksandr standing in the middle, Vladimir sitting to the right).

Lenin’s childhood 
Isaac Deutscher
Verso, £10.99

 

POLISH Marxist Isaac Deutscher is best known for having penned monumental biographies of Bolshevik leaders Joseph Stalin and Leon Trotsky, the latter running into some three huge volumes.

Whether or not the reader may agree with the perspectives contained therein, no-one could ever doubt Deutscher’s majestic writing style and his lifelong ability for research that was both meticulous and groundbreaking.

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