Suspicion with Regard to the Death of Vladimir Lenin - Essay Example

Is there any suspicion with regard to the death of Vladimir Lenin, the undisputed leader of the newly created Soviet Union? Introduction: Vladimir Lenin the man behind the Russian communist revolution in the early 20th century died early in the century while the revolution itself was pretty young. He died at the age of 53 which by no means is an age that can be termed as old age. However there have been lots of speculations about his death and the possible causes. Over period of time people have tried researching the sources that may have caused the death. Some of those who believe that his death was not due to any natural reason contain research by various experts who on the basis of forensic evidence and other physical evidences lead to believe that it was a conspired death. His death and the possible mysterious reasons to it are nothing new, many great leaders have suffered the same and have been victim of many conspiracies of one kind or other. Lenin had remained ill for quite a bit of while and had undergone many sufferings of physical form in form of ailing physique, crippled state, paralysis from time to time, he did recover in between but there was no major history of mental illness or family traces which could lead to assume one particular reason being the cause of his death. However still lots of suspicions are being drawn on many fronts from many authors about the possible causes of the poisoning and the unnatural death that Lenin might have suffered. Under no circumstances could the conspiracy be ruled out since he was a leader of stature, a total different view, a revolutionary head and he had undergone life threats on number of occasions. The closest and almost successful of these was few years back when he was shot, however he had more to live and he escaped that attack. This along with lots of other undercover conspiracies, the relationship souring with Joseph Stalin, other rivals in the field, all this and the potential reason of conspiracy murder cannot be ruled out by any means. Over period of time people have investigated into this topic and tried bringing out the possible reasons that might have contributed to the death. Some have looked into scientific evidence, others medical evidence, others on political intrigues, others of self request for poisoning. Though no single reason can be stated with hundred percent convictions yet all have some weight age to them. To some, he was being taken out of the scene by his critic and rival at that time, Joseph Stalin, who later on went on to become the man in charge of the entire Socialist state(Mail). This concept is strongly held by historians and experts of such cases like Lev Lurie. Autopsy report: The autopsy conducted reveals that there was no major health issue as such. The blood pressure was pretty much normal, he did not smoke; neither did he suffer from diabetes. These are few of the reasons which could result in possible heart failure or abrupt death, however since none of these reasons was found in autopsy, the possibility of natural death was further weakened by this and the entire case tilted towards the possible unnatural cause which may have resulted in his death. Evidences: According to Lurie, while Lenin was already ailing, Stalin may well have contributed to numbering his days. The possible reasons behind it can be traced back to political rivalry based on his parting from Stalin on basis of ideological difference and his siding with Leon Trotsky. According to Lurie, the possible use of substance and method used in eliminating his strong critique later on was that of poisoning. Since Stalin was on the record believed to have poisoned many of his rivals in later years, therefore this act can be contributed to his skills and silencing of his critiques. Lurie’s claim strengthened by solid claims: Further claims of Lurie can be verified through number of evidences. While Trotsky’s last days revelation was a major one, the more practical one can be deduced in form of the brain that is frozen and preserved in modern day Russia. If investigated through modern means of forensic, it could possibly reveal the real cause of death of Vladimir Lenin, which according to Lurie was the poisoning done by Stalin. Evidence: Dots leading to lines: While many people have claimed different things, the strongest of claims came in form of the man from that era himself Lenin and the man who was most closely associated with Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin and the entire scenario. Hence his verdict towards this claim does make a lot of sound in the corridors of evidence and suspicion on earlier claims. In his last days apart from the time where he was critically ill and could hardly move or talk, the times where he was able to respond and interact, were full of criticism for Stalin, he would come hard at his policies, his foreign relations, and other events and planning which certainly did not go well with Stalin by any means and as suggested by Trotsky, could have led to poisoning of the arch enemy Lenin. Trotsky’s contribution to list of evidences: A strong evidence of this can be extracted from the revelations made by Trotsky in his last days. While he himself had to reside in Mexico in his last days, he revealed that Stalin was the man behind Lenin’s death and it was executed in form of poisoning that was added to his meals. While Trotsky contributed a lot to the world of politics, Soviet Republic in particular and Socialist revolution as well, however his noticeable contribution can be traced in form of the revelation made in his last days of life. Which stirred the world and revealed the real relationship, the rivalry between the two greats of Socialist state and the possible personal enmity which resulted in the life termination of Vladimir Lenin. Lenin, in his public interactions and a stenographer whom he confided in, told him about the grieve level of relationship between the two (Lenin and Stalin) and the possible causes of it. Hence all these reasons make up a solid case for conviction of Stalin as the potential offender who might have poisoned the man behind the socialist revolution. Other pieces of links and possible evidences: Yagoda who practiced pharmacy was a strong confidant of Joseph Stalin and remained in his company for quite a while. However he too was later on terminated and eliminated on causes of differences with the incumbent. According to evidences, Yagoda had a large collection of poison in his armory as a pharmacy owner and since Stalin is believed to have used it on many of his rivals, this is another supporting evidence of possible poisoning of Lenin by his counterpart. Further assumptions: While lots of people have invested their research in to the possible causes behind the death of the legendary man, some of them term that he died of disease caused due to the sexually transmitted disease (S.T.D) called syphilis. Analysis: Doctor Vinters on other hand does not believe in the conspiracy being hatched and states that he possibly died of natural cause that could be traced to poor health, stress of work, the paralysis attacks, family history factor and several other possible factors which had no link to poisoning as supported by Lurie over his claim. Doctor Vinter in his presentation shed some light on his childhood, his habits, his adult life habits, and his siblings’ life time (Kolata). The case of Self mercy: Another aspect of the entire drama and episode tells us that Lenin himself had asked for poisoning on one of the occasion. Since he had undergone much physical disturbances, paralysis on number of accounts. While he suffered number of strokes, crippled state and being unable to talk and walk, he feared the same again and had supposedly asked for poison (Brackman, 121)in order to relieve himself from the suffering. This point did come to the table and was discussed by Stalin and number of his confidants. However the choice of Stalin for confidant in this matter was the possible and most evident reason that he knew how much Stalin liked him or how much he would want the back and end of Vladimir Lenin. If this is proved by solid evidences, Stalin as the leader at that time, could not have asked for any better opportunity and would have believed it to be an opportunity begging to be taken with both hands, hence he got just what he would have dreamed of, already got rid of Trotsky through deporting, and Lenin, who was weak enough would die of poisoning and he wouldn’t be held accountable just because he had asked for it himself. However despite the possible self mercy claims and requests by Vladimir Lenin, Trotsky was confident enough to claim that Stalin was the man who poisoned Vladimir Lenin. Dr. Philip Mackowiak is another man from the profession of doctors, who supports the idea that natural cause wasn’t the prime reason for the man’s death, rather some unnatural means might have contributed to the cause. He defends his claim with the age factor, being the normal age, and secondly while he was physically ailing, he had no chronic diseases (Dominguez) as such which might have resulted in his possible death as such an age which is not all that dangerous(53). Conclusion: It is no mystery and no wonder that the great leaders and those who have been part of revolution occasionally are conspired after and at times killed through unnatural means. Lenin played a great role in the history of socialist revolution; he too potentially fell for conspiracy and was killed accordingly. Since so many people have come up with the claim of poisoning and unnatural death, this factor cannot be ruled out, while on medical front doctors claim this claim through evidences, on political grounds and evidence from those times can be best stretched back to the statement by Trotsky who was the first hand evidence to the entire episode and he is the possibly right person who told then what actually happened. The possibility of contribution to his death cannot be ruled out by any means, though it is not hundred percent evident through any solid evidence and science at that time was not as advanced as is in modern day, rather the assumptions and theories are based on traces, yet these traces are sufficiently strong to term this death as mysterious and probably caused by sources that may have resulted and contributed towards the death of already ailing man. Works cited: Brackman, Roman. The Secret File of Joseph Stalin: A Hidden Life. Taylor & Francis, 2003. Dominguez, Alex. What killed Lenin? Stalin may have poisoned ailing Russian leader, says new research. 4 May 2012. 22 Nov 2012 . Kolata, Gina. Lenin’s Stroke: Doctor Has a Theory (and a Suspect). 7 May 2012. 22 Nov 2012 . Mail, Daily. Was Lenin poisoned by Stalin? Sensational theory claims founder of Russian communism was bumped-off by successor. 4 May 2012. 22 Nov 2012 . Read More