Watch Movies2Watch. Who was this Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, who became so famous and infamous under the name Lenin? Dreamer, theorist, founder of the state, predecessor of Stalin. His name is inextricably linked with the Russian October Revolution of 1917. He created Soviet power. When he died in 1924, he bequeathed the 20th century a new kind of despotism: the dictatorship of his cadre party. Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, who became famous and infamous under the name Lenin, wanted to overthrow the monarchy, modernize Russia and spread socialism across the globe. Under Lenin's leadership, the Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party seized power in the Russian October Revolution of 1917. He wanted to liberate the peoples and yet he only fell for the age-old idol of uncontrollable power - and he unapologetically sacrificed millions of lives to this power.