If Renat Voligamsi (more on him later) had not taken the cover off this great secret, no one would still know that the leader of the proletarian revolution had a twin brother. Every Soviet preschooler saw Vladimir Lenin every day since childhood, his portraits were in kindergartens, offices of leaders and ordinary officials. The life of the creator of the USSR was carefully studied, his works were studied and outlined (not always thinking about the meaning of hackneyed phrases), but not many were aware of nationality, family composition and other biographical subtleties. I. V. Stalin is, of course, to blame for this - he hid the very fact of the existence of Sergei Ilyich, the name of his (and Lenin, respectively) grandfather, and much more. It seemed that this story was forever shrouded in mystery. And suddenly such a discovery!
Childhood
It all started with photographs of cute boys who look alike like two peas in a pod. Both with curly heads, dressed in the same way, in general, ordinary children's pictures, of which there are many in every family album. Surprised only by their abundance, and they were made at such moments whena camera (it was in the 19th century, and then mobile phones with built-in cameras, even black and white ones, were not yet sold) could not always be at hand. For example, here Volodechka Ulyanov is carrying a bag, judging by the signature, with kittens, which he is going to drown. According to Voligamsi, Lenin's twin brother Seryozha (although there was no party pseudonym then) loved animals, felt sorry for them and did not offend them, because of which the boys had conflicts more than once. However, the parents loved all their sons.
Boyhood
Seryozha, in his youth, because of his love for animals, did not eat meat. At the age of sixteen, he went to live in Ufa, became interested in pagan theosophical theories, married a Bashkir (her name was Zukhra, and she was very beautiful), invited his relatives to the wedding, but they did not come, because they were afraid of contracting typhus. Once Seryozha (brother) even met Lenin by chance at the fair, and they again took a picture together. The attempt to convert a Marxist to a Buddhist failed, although it was made, and it is not known how history would have turned if it had been successful. Meanwhile, the first Russian revolution thundered, the party needed money, and Vladimir Ilyich remembered that Sergei Ilyich had become a fairly we althy businessman trading in wax. By that time, he allegedly married two more times (his faith allowed him), but he did not refuse the request and sold all his goods, but gave money. Lenin's brother personally brought this sum to Petrograd. And the leader himself, meanwhile, was preparing weapons for the coming battles. He even sharpened an ax, R. Voligamsi also has such a photo.
The first Soviet years
Without a doubt, Sergei Ulyanov, Lenin's brother, was an outstanding personality, and the leader of the revolution consulted with him more than once. He believed that together they represented a considerable force. The resemblance amused many. The resulting confusion served as the subject of numerous Bolshevik jokes, and it was not always clear where Lenin's brother was and where he was. Even the photographer made a mistake when issuing a pass to the Kremlin.
After the revolution, S. I. Ulyanov returned to Ufa and took up enlightenment. But then the leader of the party and the first Soviet state fell ill, and then died, after several romantic years, dark times came. There was no time for jokes. The entire old Bolshevik guard fell under the Stalinist ax, and soon the turn could reach Sergei Ilyich. And Lenin's twin brother fled from repression abroad.
Emigration
Of course, it was possible to make a coup and lead the party, using a complete external resemblance, or even impersonate a leader, but intrigues disgusted the vegetarian-Buddhist nature. The way abroad was not easy: first Lithuania, then Romania, after Switzerland. In the end, Lenin's brother Sergei Ilyich settled in Mexico, where he repeatedly met with L. D. Trotsky and even made attempts to rally the old Bolshevik emigrants into a single combat-ready organization. There he wrote a book, "Reversing History" it was called, and was published forty times. In his opinion, Islam could become a new unifying ideological platform.
Mecca and Cuba
Lenin's brother Sergei visited Mecca (he lived there for a couple of years), as he became seriously interested in the Islamic religion, which did not prevent him from moving to Cuba, where Comrade Fidel Castro himself invited him. On the Island of Freedom, he spent his last years. He felt good here, the warm climate and the hospitality of the fraternal people contributed to fruitful theoretical work for the benefit of communism, which, as Lenin's brother believed, was just around the corner, and all over the world. The Khrushchev thaw gave hope for an early return to the USSR without fear of reprisals.
Recent years
Little is known about S. I. Ulyanov's personal life, but, according to unverified information, he had two daughters - one in Mexico, the other in the Middle East. Lenin's twin brother Sergei Ilyich Ulyanov had high hopes for Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev, who promised to restore the old pre-Stalinist party leadership standards, but in vain. The coming to power of the Brezhnev team became for him a symptom of the restoration of totalitarianism. Sergei Ulyanov, Lenin's brother and in his heart a devoted Bolshevik, experienced the resignation of Nikita Sergeevich hard and with pain. This coup traumatized his psyche, and he was never able to restore his shaky he alth, despite all the efforts of the best Cuban medicine in the world. In 1965, Sergei Ulyanov, Lenin's brother, died quietly in Havana. He was also buried there under a modest slab on which the proletarian emblem is engraved - a crossed hammer and sickle.
Exposure infinals
Of course, no twin brother of Lenin, Sergei, ever existed. But there was an artistic movement called Sots Art, whose representatives are the artists Melamid, Komar (after leaving for the West, this surname is pronounced with an emphasis on the first syllable), the already mentioned Renat Voligamsi and several other creative artists. In the late eighties and early nineties there was an increased demand for works of a provocative nature, most often representing a parody of socialist realism.
It was during this period that Lenin's brother was invented by Renat Voligamsi, and the photographs allegedly confirming his existence were also assembled by him from various archival photographs. From a commercial point of view, the move was strong, since, on the one hand, it fully corresponded to the position of humiliation of the images of totalitarian leaders officially permitted and encouraged by the authorities, and on the other hand, it no less satisfied the needs of the majority of the population (especially the creative intelligentsia), who were tired of social realism. In addition, the creation of such "masterpieces" does not require special skill, as well as labor costs. Well, what time, such is art…
