Pipes 1990, pp.363–364; Rice 1990, pp.89–90; Service 2000, pp.168–170; Read 2005, p.78; Rappaport 2010, p.124. Fischer 1964, p.158; Shub 1966, pp.301–302; Rigby 1979, p.26; Leggett 1981, p.5; Pipes 1990, pp.508, 519; Service 2000, pp.318–319; Read 2005, pp.189–190. Gregory, Paul R. (2004). The Political Economy of Stalinism: Evidence from the Soviet Secret Archives. Cambridge University Press. pp.218–20. ISBN 978-0-521-53367-6. Archived from the original on 12 May 2015 . Retrieved 20 June 2015. Various historians and biographers have characterised Lenin's administration as totalitarian, [531] and as a police state, [532] and many have described it as a one-party dictatorship. [533] Several such scholars have described Lenin as a dictator; [534] Ryan stated that he was "not a dictator in the sense that all his recommendations were accepted and implemented", for many of his colleagues disagreed with him on various issues. [535] Fischer noted that while "Lenin was a dictator, [he was] not the kind of dictator Stalin later became." [536] Volkogonov believed that whereas Lenin established a "dictatorship of the Party", it would only be under Stalin that the Soviet Union became the "dictatorship of one man." [537] Moshe Lewin presented a differing view and argued that "The Soviet regime underwent a long period of "Stalinism", which in its basic features was diametrically opposed to the recommendations of [Lenin's] testament". [538] Fischer 1964, pp.637–638, 669; Shub 1966, pp.435–436; Lewin 1969, pp.71, 85, 101; Volkogonov 1994, pp.273–274, 422–423; Service 2000, pp.463, 472–473; White 2001, pp.173, 176; Read 2005, p.279.

See also: List of places named after Vladimir Lenin, List of statues of Vladimir Lenin, and Leniniana Lenin statue in Hanoi, Vietnam By 1919, the White armies were in retreat and by the start of 1920 were defeated on all three fronts. [311] Although Sovnarkom were victorious, the territorial extent of the Russian state had been reduced, for many non-Russian ethnic groups had used the disarray to push for national independence. [312] In March 1921, during a related war against Poland, the Peace of Riga was signed, splitting disputed territories in Belarus and Ukraine between the Republic of Poland and Soviet Russia. Soviet Russia sought to re-conquer all newly independent nations of the former Empire, although their success was limited. Estonia, Finland, Latvia, and Lithuania all repelled Soviet invasions, while Ukraine, Belarus (as a result of the Polish–Soviet War), Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia were occupied by the Red Army. [287] [313] By 1921, Soviet Russia had defeated the Ukrainian national movements and occupied the Caucasus, although anti-Bolshevik uprisings in Central Asia lasted until the late 1920s. [314] Within the party was established a Political Bureau (Politburo) and Organisation Bureau (Orgburo) to accompany the existing Central Committee; the decisions of these party bodies had to be adopted by Sovnarkom and the Council of Labour and Defence. [176] Lenin was the most significant figure in this governance structure as well as being the Chairman of Sovnarkom and sitting on the Council of Labour and Defence, and on the Central Committee and Politburo of the Communist Party. [177] The only individual to have anywhere near this influence was Lenin's right-hand man, Yakov Sverdlov, who died in March 1919 during a flu pandemic. [178] In November 1917, Lenin and his wife took a two-room flat within the Smolny Institute; the following month they left for a brief holiday in Halila, Finland. [179] In January 1918, he survived an assassination attempt in Petrograd; Fritz Platten, who was with Lenin at the time, shielded him and was injured by a bullet. [180]Fischer 1964, pp.219, 256, 379; Shub 1966, p.374; Service 2000, p.355; White 2001, p.159; Read 2005, p.219. Trofimov, Yaroslav (1 May 2022). "Russia's Occupation of Southern Ukraine Hardens, With Rubles, Russian Schools and Lenin Statues". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 3 May 2022 . Retrieved 4 May 2022. Fischer 1964, p.94; Pipes 1990, pp.377–378; Rice 1990, pp.127–128; Service 2000, pp.223–225; White 2001, p.104; Read 2005, p.105. Fischer 1964, pp.277–278; Pipes 1990, p.737; Service 2000, p.365; White 2001, pp.155–156; Ryan 2012, p.106. Fischer 1964, pp.334, 343, 357; Leggett 1981, p.204; Service 2000, pp.382, 392; Read 2005, pp.205–206.

In Russia in 2012, a proposal from a deputy belonging to the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, with the support of some members of the governing United Russia party, proposed the removal of Lenin monuments in Russia. The proposal was strongly opposed by the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and was never considered. [569] Russia retained the vast majority of the 7,000 Lenin statues extant in 1991; as of 2022, there were approximately 6,000 monuments to Lenin in Russia. [570] Fischer 1964, p.18; Rice 1990, p.27; Service 2000, pp.68–69; White 2001, p.29; Read 2005, p.15; Lih 2011, p.32.Main article: Death and state funeral of Vladimir Lenin Lenin's funeral, as painted by Isaac Brodsky, 1925 Fischer 1964, p.39; Rice 1990, p.82; Service 2000, pp.155–156; Read 2005, p.61; White 2001, p.64; Rappaport 2010, p.95. Shub 1966, p.411; Sandle 1999, pp.153, 158; Service 2000, p.430; White 2001, p.169; Read 2005, pp.264–265. Over the next three days, around a million mourners came to see the body, many queuing for hours in the freezing conditions. [419] On 26 January, the eleventh All-Union Congress of Soviets met to pay respects, with speeches by Kalinin, Zinoviev, and Stalin. [419] Notably, Trotsky was absent; he had been convalescing in the Caucasus, and he later claimed that Stalin sent him a telegram with the incorrect date of the planned funeral, making it impossible for him to arrive in time. [420] Lenin's funeral took place the following day, when his body was carried to Red Square, accompanied by martial music, where assembled crowds listened to a series of speeches before the corpse was placed into the vault of a specially erected mausoleum. [421] Despite the freezing temperatures, tens of thousands attended. [422]