Portrait of Vladimir Lenin
From history

Vladimir Lenin

Head of the Soviet government, 1917 to 1924

Led the Bolshevik Revolution and founded the world’s first communist state. His rule included the Red Terror and civil war, followed by the market-friendly New Economic Policy.

Vladimir Lenin sits in the left-authoritarian part of the Caucus economy and liberty compass: strongly state-led and strongly authoritarian. The clearest positions are strongly state-led on economy, strongly authoritarian on liberty and authority and strongly growth-first on environment.

Read more about Vladimir Lenin on Wikipedia →

Where Vladimir Lenin sits on eight dimensions

Each scale runs from one pole to the other, and the dot shows the overall tendency of this leader's record and public life. These are simplified estimates and open to debate.

💰EconomyStrongly state-led
State-ledFree market
⚖️Liberty and authorityStrongly authoritarian
LibertarianAuthoritarian
🎭CultureStrongly progressive
ProgressiveTraditional
🌍NationLeaning globalist
GlobalistNationalist
🌱EnvironmentStrongly growth-first
Growth-firstNature-first
🤖TechnologyStrongly tech-optimist
Tech-cautiousTech-optimist
🕊️War and peaceStrongly strength-first
Peace-firstStrength-first
🏛️InstitutionsStrongly anti-establishment
Anti-establishmentInstitutional

Leaders most like Vladimir Lenin

Leon Trotsky Soviet revolutionary and founder of the Red Army83%Kwame Nkrumah Leader of Ghana, 1957 to 196673%Mao Zedong Chairman of the Communist Party of China, 1943 to 197666%Ho Chi Minh President of North Vietnam, 1945 to 196957%Josip Broz Tito Leader of Yugoslavia, 1945 to 198056%Indira Gandhi Prime Minister of India, 1966 to 1977 and 1980 to 198455%

Leaders furthest from Vladimir Lenin

Mahatma Gandhi Leader of the Indian independence movement0%Pope Leo XIV Pope and sovereign of Vatican City, 2025 to present9%António de Oliveira Salazar Prime Minister of Portugal, 1932 to 19689%

Political views closest to Vladimir Lenin

Marxism-LeninismAims at a classless society through revolution and a single party ruling on behalf of…80%TrotskyismA Marxist current that backs world revolution and workers' democracy and opposes…72%MaoismA Marxist-Leninist current built on peasant-based revolution and mass mobilization under…67%

Percentages show how close two profiles are across all eight dimensions. Including a person here is for historical study and comparison, not approval. Portrait: Unknown, presumably official, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; see all photo credits.