- Studied to be a lawyer in University - Was exposed to radical thinking at an early age - Became a Revolutionary in St. Petersburg - Was exiled to Siberia for his ways - Spent lots of time in Western Europe - Germans helped him get back into Russia - He was the new leader of Bolsheviks - Led the Red Army to victory in the Russian Civil War - Shot in 1921 - Survived, but never completely recovered - died in 1924