The Real Leader in the Bolshevik Revolution: Krupskaya
- guidetopw
- Aug 13, 2020
- 4 min read
The Bolshevik Revolution! Of course, the only person that comes to mind is probably Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the revolution. But is everything that Lenin is known for even true? No, in fact, his wife deserves more of the credit in relation to contributing to the Bolshevik Revolution because she helped Lenin achieve what would have been impossible without her. Let’s talk more about The Real Leader in the Bolshevik Revolution: Krupskaya.
Birth and Education
Career and Events
Awards/Contributions
How She Achieved as a Woman
Her Impact
Who was she?
She was born on February 14th in 1869 in Russia and she became well known as a Soviet politician because she married Vladimir Lenin and participated in the Bolshevik party. From a very early stage, she served for the Soviet educational bureaucracy. She was recognized as a Marxist activist in the early 1890s, but was also a Russian educator and writer who wanted to defeat Stalin and lacked power.
She had an amazing background from her childhood because she was from a family of the nobility and her parents had very drastically different professions, but from when she could remember she always wanted to do what both her parents did, but together. Krupskaya's father was a part of the army and was constantly involved in radical politics which brought him down in life, but only inspired Krupskaya to do what her father did because his failure inspired her. Her mother was a children's book writer and was a teacher as well. When looking at the backgrounds of both her father and her mother it can easily be concluded that her involvement in radical politics and meeting Lenin was based off of her father and that her publications that she wrote, in support of woman empowerment and education, were based off of her mother. She did achieve what she wanted by joining the two professions of her parents together, pursuing both and being successful.
Her Journey and Work
She studied at the University of St. Petersburg and once she left she met Lenin and was arrested and even sentenced to exile because of her deeds. But she was next to Lenin because both of them were arrested for the same amount of time and she got permission to stay with Lenin. After being released from jail, she married Lennon and also published her first Marxist work about the emancipation of women.
In terms of career, she served as editorial Secretary of Isca, of Vpered, and the proletarian before returning to Russia. She was also offered many honorable positions such as being elected to Vyborg Soviet and becoming the commissar for adult education. The respected positions that she served show the respect she deserved because she had achieved so much throughout her life.
Her Accomplishments
Throughout her lifetime, it may seem that she was not able to achieve as much as she could have because she was always supporting Lenin, but the truth is that she did achieve a lot and had published a lot while being with Lenin and even after he died. For example, she wrote The Woman Worker in 1899, the Public Education and Democracy in 1915, Memories of Lenin in 1930, and her last Publications the Soviet Woman: A Citizen with Equal Rights in 1937.
It may seem like she was only involved in radical politics and revolutions since she was always with Lenin and supported him until he died, but her publications and her dedication to her work showed that Krupskaya really wanted to be recognized and get women's rights recognized because she cared a lot about education. The things that she strived for were not achieved during her time and age, but she was able to have an amazing impact on everything that she did since people followed in her footsteps.
Achievements as a Woman
Although she was not a mother during her lifetime she still had to struggle to be respected in her field and to get what she had achieved. Her student even stated that “she had defined her views and had set her course. She was one of those who was forever committed once they've been possessed by their thoughts or feelings.” This quote from Ariadne shows Krupskaya’s dedication towards teaching and involvement in radical politics was well known because her one true passion was Marxist theory.
She was well known for recruiting members for the revolution, propaganda, and organization of strikes but lesser known for teaching workers at factory-schools and continuing her passion to teach while being involved in so radical politics. She earned many awards such as the gold medal for academic excellence and her many valuable positions in political society.
Impact on Future Generations
What impact does she carry? She was the main leader in the Bolshevik woman's movement and she had a greater impact than most people remember. The Russian Revolution is well known to be controlled by men and gaining approval for the poor and the workers because they needed support, but it wasn't just because of them. It was actually made possible by Krupskaya because of the woman factor during the Bolshevik Revolution. It was her idea to include Collective Consciousness and Central Education Policy for the cause to appeal towards the working class and the poor people that were needed to support the revolution and by inspiring other women in the working class. The Revolution brought support to the Bolsheviks during the Civil War and Krupskaya helped increase the statewide development and impact in many forms even after she died.
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