Abstract

Lenin - A Legend in the Making

In the literature and folklore published in Soviet Russia, the figure of Vladimir Ilich Lenin has been gradually assuming legendary proportions. The proletarian poetaster and the Communist Party member, the Ukrainian soil-tiller and Archangel fisherman, the Siberian nomad and the Caucasian mountaineer have all contributed toward the creation of an image of a mighty giant, an epic hero. Many elements have entered into the creation of this legend. Besides the actual, authentic personality of Lenin, there has been, of course, the ever-present urge of people to find fulfillment in myths and legends, in saints and heroes, and the deliberate encouragement of this urge by the most influential and articulate group in Russia, the Communist Party.