The history of any family is a rather complex and often confusing matter. The British believe that every family has a closet with a skeleton, which is carefully hidden from prying eyes. What can we say about famous personalities and their loved ones. Information about their genealogy and the details of life undergoes changes every time when the next historical era is replaced by a new one. The Ulyanov family is a perfect example of such metamorphoses.
Maternal ancestors of Vladimir Ulyanov-Lenin
In Soviet times, Marietta Shaginyan was a well-known expert on the biography of the Ulyanovs. Her books were required reading in schools and universities. Before publication, the works underwent strict censorship and mandatory revisions. As a result, some facts about the ancestors of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin were hidden or corrected. In the novel The Ulyanov Family, Marietta Sergeevna mentioned that Vl. Lenina bore the surname Blank. But there was no mention of her parents' nationality.
In 1965, St. Petersburg historian Mikhail Stein, working on the biography of Alexander Dmitrievich Blank, a famous physician, discovered interesting documents. The archives of the Medico-Surgical Academy hadit is indicated that the Blank brothers, Alexander Dmitrievich and Dmitry Dmitrievich, were enrolled in the above educational institution in 1820. Their file mentions that they were baptized in the capital's cathedral and took Russian names instead of Jewish ones - Abel and Israel, respectively. Mikhail Stein claims that the baptism was initiated by their father, Moishe Itskovich, and Senator Dmitry Osipovich Baranov, whose patronymic the brothers took when they changed religion. This was done for the sake of the future of children. The change of religion allowed the brothers to get a good education and secure a future.
Akim Arutyunov in "Lenin's File Without Retouching" expresses the opinion that Alexander and Dmitry converted to Christianity by their own decision due to serious friction with their father, who was an unpleasant person. For the same reason, they took the patronymic of State Councilor Baranov. And after the baptism, the brothers stopped communicating with Moishe altogether. According to Arutyunov, their father was no different in morality and honesty.
Maternal grandfather of Vladimir Ilyich
In 1824, the Blancs graduated from the medical academy and became obstetric surgeons. The elder Alexander served as a doctor in Smolensk. In 1829, he married Anna Ivanovna Grossshoff, the daughter of a we althy merchant with German and Swedish roots. Maria Alexandrovna, mother of Vl. Lenin, was the fifth of six children. Unfortunately, Anna died in 1838, and her childless sister Ekaterina took over the upbringing duties. After 3 years, Alexander Dmitrievich married her. The family is complete again.
Blank rose to the rank of State Councilor. In 1847 he retired, received title of nobility and settled in his estate near Kazan. The title of a nobleman allowed him to acquire the village of Yansaly (Kokushkino) and five hundred hectares of land. Until his death in 1870, Alexander Dmitrievich lived with his wife in Kokushkino, not far from which he was buried.
German roots connect the Ulyanov family with fairly large dignitaries in Russia, Germany and Sweden.
Lenin's paternal genealogy
Lenin's paternal ancestors were from Asia. Great-grandfather is a Kalmyk. Ilya Nikolayevich, the father of Vladimir Ulyanov, mentioned this more than once. There were also Chuvash in his family. Most sources claim that Lenin's grandfather was a serf. There are practically no documents on the genealogy of Ilya Nikolaevich Ulyanov, so the researchers build their assumptions, taking fragmentary information from various sources as a basis.
Vladimir Lenin's parents
Lenin's father, Ilya Nikolaevich Ulyanov, was an outstanding man. He was born in Astrakhan in a poor and humble family. The father died early, so the older brother took care of all the maintenance of the family. Thanks to him and his own talent, Ilya entered the local gymnasium as an exception. He brilliantly graduated with a silver medal and left for Kazan, where he became a student of the Physics and Mathematics Faculty of Kazan University.
Five years later, Ilya Nikolaevich graduated from high school, became a candidate of mathematical sciences and received a position as a teacher of mathematics and physics at the Noble Institute in Penza. There he met his future wife, twenty-eight-year-old MariaForm. She became an ideal wife for Ilya Nikolayevich, as she shared his views on what a family and relationships should be like.
Ilya Nikolaevich was a supporter of democratic pedagogy. At the university, he got acquainted with the works of Ushinsky, Pestalozzi, Kamensky and was guided by their principles in his work. For which he was repeatedly awarded and noted. Relations in the Ulyanov family were also built on the ideas of humanism and freedom.
The Ulyanov family: children
After the wedding in 1863, the Ulyanovs moved to Nizhny Novgorod. There, Ilya Nikolayevich was waiting for the position of a teacher of mathematics and physics in a men's gymnasium.
Until recently, no one had any doubts about how many children were in the Ulyanov family. In 1864, their first child, Anna, was born. After 2 years, in 1866, Alexander was born.
After 2 years, the second daughter was born, who was named Olga. But she only lived for a year. According to L. I. Veretennikova, cousin of Vladimir Lenin, the Ulyanov family experienced this tragic event very hard. Just at that time, significant changes took place in the professional activities of Ilya Nikolayevich.
In 1869, the Institute of Public School Inspectors was established. Ulyanov, as a wonderful teacher, was one of the first to be offered the position of provincial inspector. He accepted the offer, and the whole Ulyanov family went to Simbirsk - to the place of Ilya Nikolayevich's new service.
In 1870 the second son was born - Ulyanov Vladimir Ilyich. The family settled in a new place. Ilya Nikolaevichsettled into a new position. There were enough worries and troubles for everyone. And a year and a half later, the Ulyanov family was replenished with a daughter, who was named Olga. In 1873 Another son was born - Nikolai. The birth was difficult, the boy lived only a few days, and Maria Alexandrovna was on the verge of death. But after a while she got better. In 1874, the son Dmitry was born, and in 1878, the youngest daughter Maria.
Family photo
Thus, Maria Alexandrovna gave birth to eight children. Not all of them survived, which, unfortunately, was more common than exceptional for that time.
Six children and parents are captured in the famous photo of the Ulyanov family (1879). It belongs to the Simbirsk period. One-year-old Maria sits in the arms of her mother, Maria Alexandrovna. On the left side of the mother is Olga, on the right - Alexander. The eldest daughter, Anna, stands behind her father. Vladimir sits in front of her. In the middle is the youngest son Dmitry. For Vladimir Ulyanov, this year was significant, because he became a high school student. More responsibility, more independence. It is interesting to note that the children in the family were friends in pairs. The elders are Anna and Alexander, the middle ones are Olga and Vladimir, the younger ones are Dmitry and Maria. Although later these couples broke up due to life circumstances.
"Twin brother" Vladimir Ilyich
In the 2000s, the Internet publications again raised the question of how many children the Ulyanov family actually had. In 2005-2006, an artist from Bashkiria, Rinat Voligamsi, posted on his website a series of photographs depicting a “full”the Ulyanov family: Sergei, Vladimir's "twin brother", sits at Maria Alexandrovna's feet.
The images are made of such high quality that it is very difficult to suspect a parody of officialdom in these creations. The artist admits that Vladimir Ulyanov's "twin brother" is his, the author's, creative fantasy. In this way, he explained to himself and others how Lenin managed to develop such an ebullient, stormy revolutionary activity, how he managed to be practically simultaneously in different places. The “photos” instantly spread across the Internet, and new “theories” appeared about what kind of skeleton the Ulyanov-Lenin family was hiding in their closet.
The Ulyanov family: a biography in a new way
In the 90s of the 20th century, several high-profile "revelations" appeared in the printed press. The Ulyanov family was too ideal. The biography of each member of the family has undergone a very critical revision. And as a result, in 1993, in the book “Kremlin Wives”, L. Vasilyeva raised the question of the morality of Maria Alexandrovna Ulyanova. Referring to Inessa Armand, a close acquaintance of Lenin, the author suggests that the real father of Alexander Ulyanov was the failed regicide Dmitry Karakozov. Subsequently, Alexander found out about this and, deciding to avenge his "father", he himself became a terrorist, made an attempt on the life of the king, for which he was executed in 1887.
Later, in the late 90s, another, higher-ranking contender for the paternity of the eldest son of the Ulyanovs appeared. This time it was about the Emperor Alexander himself. They said that Sasha Ulyanov becameterrorist to take revenge on his real father for disgracing his mother.
But looking at the existing documents and checking the dates of birth of the children, we have to admit that both versions are not viable.
The Ulyanov-Lenin family is an interesting topic for study not only for historians, but also for teachers and psychologists. Ushinsky's ideas, tested and honed by Ilya Nikolaevich's personal experience, became for him the fundamental principles of educating students, teachers, and his own children. Each of them became a whole person.
Alexander Ilyich Ulyanov
If you look closely at the photos of the Ulyanov family, then the seriousness and concentration of Alexander catches your eye. It was he who indicated the direction of the movement of thoughts to the future leader of the world proletariat. And his execution became a catalyst and helped Vladimir finally decide on a system of views on society.
Anna Ilyinichna Ulyanova
Anna, the eldest of the children, became the "chronicler" of the family. Memoirs about her younger brother belong to her pen, which created the “correct” image of the leader for readers all over the world, along with the works of M. Shaginyan and V. Bonch-Bruyevich. But at the same time, in records that were not widely distributed, Anna Ilyinichna called Vladimir the most “noisy and noisy”. She noted his special self-confidence and intolerance to objections. It is quite possible that these character traits were manifested and strengthened thanks to parents who often praised the middle son for hismind and ingenuity. This fully fit into the framework of the system of education in the spirit of humanism, which the Ulyanov family adhered to.
Children grew up in an atmosphere of respect and love. Honesty, free-thinking and the ability to defend one's point of view were strongly encouraged. Therefore, it is not surprising that all the brothers and sisters became idealistic revolutionaries and maintained close relations with each other until the end of their lives. Anna Ilyinichna became one of the founders of the Iskra newspaper. And after the revolution, she fulfilled her dream of teaching children and devoted her whole life to public education.
Olga Ilyinichna Ulyanova
It seems that the name Olga was fatal for the Ulyanovs. Both daughters named by this name passed away early. One died in infancy, and the other lived only 19 years and did not leave a bright trace in history.
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov-Lenin
The middle son of Ilya Nikolayevich and Maria Alexandrovna was Vladimir Ulyanov. By the time of his birth, the family had experienced the death of little Olga. Therefore, the mother was very worried about the he alth of her middle son. According to Anna Ilyinichna, there was a time when she was very worried about Volodya's mental state because of the frequent fits of rage that happened to him up to 3 years. She said that either a genius or a fool would grow out of him. But then the parents' worries subsided, because the restless and noisy child showed signs of an exceptional mind.
Stricken, like all family members, by the execution of his older brother, Vladimir firmlydecided to continue his work, but "in a different way." And in the end he became the head of a new state, which was supposed to preach the principles of equality and justice. The family of Vladimir Ulyanov-Lenin always supported him. The brother and sisters became companions and helpers.
Dmitry Ilyich Ulyanov
The whole family of Ulyanov Vladimir Ilyich (Lenin) was somehow connected with the revolutionary movement. The younger brother Dmitry was also an underground worker, and after the revolution he took the post of People's Commissar of He alth in the Crimea, as he managed to graduate from the university and receive a medical degree. Then he moved to Moscow and until the end of his life he worked in the People's Commissariat of He alth of the RSFSR.
The photo of the Ulyanov-Lenin family captured people who radically changed the life of the whole country thanks to their determination and solidarity. But every action has a positive and a negative side. The question is which of them the person is willing to accept as payment for what they have done.
