Lenin’s Assassination Attempts: A History of Violence

In the tumultuous aftermath of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, Vladimir Lenin, the architect of the new Soviet state, found himself the target of multiple assassination attempts. The first came just weeks after the Bolsheviks seized power, with a failed attack by a group of anti-Bolshevik conspirators. Subsequent attempts were made throughout 1918, ranging from thwarted plots to a near-fatal shooting by the revolutionary socialist Fanni Kaplan. Kaplan, a former political prisoner who had been blinded and weakened by years of imprisonment, believed Lenin betrayed the ideals of the revolution. Despite narrowly escaping death, Lenin’s health deteriorated following the attack. His physical and mental state was significantly affected by the wounds he sustained, which contributed to his eventual death in 1924.