Where is Ilya Nikolaevich Ulyanov buried? Who was Lenin's father Ilya Ulyanov by origin?

ULYANOV ILYA NIKOLAEVICH

Teacher, educator, organizer of education in Simbirsk province. in the 1860-1880s, father V.I. Ulyanov (Lenin). Born into the family of a tailor, a former serf. (According to the “revision tale” of 1811, his father Nikolai Vasilyevich U. was listed as a craftsman in the petty bourgeois class. He was married to Anna Alekseevna Smirnova, the daughter of an Astrakhan tradesman. Some researchers point to her Kalmyk origin. However, documents confirming this have not yet been found). Possessing enormous hard work and great abilities, he successfully graduated from the Astrakhan gymnasium (1850) with a silver medal, entered the physics and mathematics department of Kazan University and, Having overcome many difficulties, he graduated from it in 1854, receiving the title of Candidate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences. Having received the appointment, U. entered the position of senior teacher at the Penza Noble Institute. He became one of the organizers of a Sunday school and a weather station in Penza, and here he met and in 1863 married Maria Alexandrovna Blank. In the same year, U. was transferred to Nizhny Novgorod, where he taught physics, mathematics, and cosmography simultaneously in three educational institutions: a men's gymnasium, the Mariinsky Women's School, land surveying classes, and, in addition, for some time he worked as a teacher in noble institute In 1869, U. was appointed to the post of inspector of people's schools in Simb. lips He devoted himself wholeheartedly to his new work, paying special attention to the creation of new schools, organizing training and education based on advanced pedagogy, new methods of teaching the Russian language and arithmetic, and contributed to the widespread use of visual aids in teaching. Over the years of Ilya Nikolaevich’s work, dozens of new schools were opened in the province. Thanks to this, thousands of peasant children gained access to education. Since 1874, U. became the director of the Simb people's school. lips The range of his responsibilities has increased dramatically. Very often he traveled to the districts and villages of the province, took an interest in people’s lives, and tried to introduce into it humanistic principles, of which he himself was an adherent. He played a special role in the training of teachers. The teachers whom U. prepared were called “Ulyanovites” by grateful contemporaries. Ilya Nikolaevich did a lot to educate people of non-Russian nationalities: Tatars, Mordvins, Chuvash. With his support, the Simbirsk Central Chuvash School achieved significant success, which turned into the main center of education for the Chuvash people. Ilya Nikolaevich died suddenly in his office. Magazine "Nove" in January. 1886 wrote about him: “He worked a lot for the benefit of public education, establishing it both in Simbirsk and in the province almost better than it was delivered in other places in Russia.” U.’s pedagogical views were formed under the influence of the revolutionary democratic ideas of N.G. Chernyshevsky and N.A. Dobrolyubova. In the field of teaching methods, he was a follower of K.D. Ushinsky. U. had a huge influence on the education and development of advanced democratic views among his family members. (see ULYANOVS). Buried in the southern part of the former. Pokrovsky Monastery. A modest monument is erected at the grave. The name U. was assigned to the Ulyanovsk State Pedagogical University; many secondary schools in the Ulyanovsk region bear it. and countries. In Ulyanovsk there was a monument to U. (near the entrance to the park on the site of the former Intercession Monastery) and a bust (near the main building of the pedagogical university). The pedagogical university has a museum, the exhibition of which tells in detail about the activities of the educator. In addition, there is a museum "Public Education" in the former building of a women's, then a men's parish school, then a school (until 1930), formerly. residential building.

Known throughout Russia

The tireless, truly selfless social and pedagogical activity of Ilya Nikolaevich Ulyanov was highly valued by his contemporaries.

The writer Valerian Nikanorovich Nazaryev expressed the opinion of many when in the magazine “Bulletin of Europe”, during Ulyanov’s lifetime, he called him an “ideal inspector”, “a rare, exceptional phenomenon”. “This is an old student, preserved as he was on the student bench, to this day, this is one of the personalities that Turgenev once so masterfully portrayed, this is a student in the best sense of the word.” And in the “Simbirsk Zemstvo Newspaper” in 1877, V.N. Nazaryev wrote: “Our zemstvo owes to Mr. Ulyanov the first and still the best teachers, and consequently, most of the success.”

Thanks to the efforts, labors, and passion of Ilya Nikolaevich, public education in the Simbirsk province has made such undoubted successes that the Ministry of Public Education considered it necessary to publish his report (only the Ulyanovsk report!) for the first ten years of work (1869–1879) in its journal in order to familiarize with him the public of the country. Praiseful reviews about the director of public schools in the Simbirsk province appeared many times in Volga and capital publications. They emphasized Ulyanov’s intelligence and pedagogical experience, saying that he organized public education in the province “almost better than it is in other places in Russia.”

His untimely death caused alarmed reactions. Simbirsk newspapers published, in addition to the obituary of the public schools inspector Ammosov, the memoirs of the cadet corps teacher Pokrovsky about Ilya Nikolaevich. Amosov’s article also appeared in the “Circular of the Kazan Educational District”, and the obituary of the unknown author? in the August book of the capital's magazine Nov. And only the Ministry of Public Education did not say a word about one of its best workers; it did not consider it necessary to publish an obituary sent from Kazan in its central journal.

In the mid-80s, Ilya Nikolaevich could no longer agree with the official government course in the field of public education. While remaining in public service, he firmly defended his views, affirmed the principles of advanced national pedagogy, and fought against the darkness and ignorance of the people and the consequences of slavery. This ultimately led to a dramatic denouement.

After the execution of Alexander, the arrest and deportation of Anna and Vladimir Ulyanov in 1887, for several years no one dared to talk about Ilya Nikolaevich in print. The first to break this silence was again Valerian Nikanorovich Nazarev. In the “Simbirsk Provincial Gazette” and the magazine “City and Rural Teacher” in 1894, he published memories of people who have “the right to honorable fame and in one way or another constitute the subject of our pride.” Having spoken in detail about Ulyanov’s tireless activity, the memoirist stated that “the personality of Ilya Nikolaevich, this unparalleled worker... is so high that it defies description.” Memories of such people, Nazaryev concluded, “raise and encourage a person, and most importantly, give confidence that if we had and knew people like Ilya Nikolaevich Ulyanov and his associates, then we can hope that they will be there, and all the talk about our desolation - idle talk of idle people.”

In 1898, in the capital’s “Bulletin of Europe”, Nazaryev published his last memoirs, in which he again highly appreciates the activities and moral virtues of the head of public education in the Simbirsk province, calling it a miracle “the appearance in our Palestines of people like Ilya Nikolaevich Ulyanov...”. The writer persistently emphasized the all-Russian significance of his work, his unshakable determination to sow the eternal, good, and reasonable. Among the educational figures he revered, the author especially singled out the Simbirsk director. Thus, recalling the astounding decision of Korf, who was in conflict with the reactionary nobility of the Yekaterinoslav province, to leave Russia and settle in Switzerland, Nazaryev noted that “he could not imagine either Ulyanov, Ilyinsky, or Yazykov in the role of voluntary emigrants.”

In the same year, the Kazan Volzhsky Vestnik published the heartfelt memoirs of a Simbirian, a former member of the district school council N.A. Annenkov, who knew the director of public schools closely. He was amazed at “how deeply, selflessly, and completely a person can devote himself to serving an idea; we could not even dream of getting closer to the ideal of a person and citizen that Ilya Nikolaevich Ulyanov and his closest pupils embodied... And I fully deeply recognize and understand the reverence and admiration for the charming personality of Ilya Nikolaevich Ulyanov.

Yes, stepmother fate rarely gives us and spoils us with such outstanding figures...”

Rural teachers spoke enthusiastically about the first head of public education in the Simbirsk province when filling out the questionnaires of the St. Petersburg Literacy Committee at the Free Economic Society in 1895. Thus, N. Bakharevsky, speaking about the sad situation of primary schools in the late 60s, emphasized that the revolution came when “Ilya Nikolaevich Ulyanov, who was constantly concerned about the opening of new schools and their organization,” was appointed inspector. From the very first days of working as an inspector, M. Yumatov shared his memories, I. N. Ulyanov “heatedly set about his difficult task” and gradually “began to bring schools out of their infancy.” S. Bogorodsky, who worked at the Kadikovsky School, believed that I. N. Ulyanov, “who played the role of a pioneer of public education,” laid such strong foundations that “neither time nor individuals can shake them.” S. Lonshakov began teaching at the Tagai school after the death of I. N. Ulyanov. But he heard a lot of flattering things about him from his fellow villagers. “He was, according to legend,” the teacher wrote in the questionnaire, “a tireless worker in caring for public schools and public education in general.”

Doctor of Medicine Pyotr Fedorovich Filatov (father of the Soviet academic oculist V.P. Filatov) studied, like his three brothers, in the early 60s of the last century at the Penza Noble Institute; he had a bad memory of the “teacher-supervisors” who crippled their children's souls. But at the same time, in his memoirs, written in Manchuria during the Russian-Japanese War and published in 1905 in Moscow, he gratefully named I. N. Ulyanov among those few teachers - “bright personalities” who brought into their lives While studying at the Penza Noble Institute, “an honest look and high moral principles” instilled “an aversion to careerism and material gain.”

The liberal-minded researcher of public education M. F. Superansky did not work with Ilya Nikolaevich, but based on the study of documents and conversations with veteran teachers, he stated in his monograph “Elementary Public School in the Simbirsk Province,” published in 1906, that all successes public education in the 70–80s are associated with “the energy and selfless dedication to the work of I. N. Ulyanov.”

In these reviews there is not enthusiastic emotion, not polite eloquence, but surprise and admiration for Ulyanov’s extraordinary personality, a real and objective assessment of what he managed to do in more than sixteen years of tireless work.

This life was so inspired and purposeful, he was such a charming and bright person, his thoughts were so unselfish and lofty that even many years after his death, the name of Ilya Nikolaevich was a symbol of high human aspiration for hundreds of people. Ilya Nikolaevich established and developed a mass public school. And he taught not only children - he trained excellent teachers for public schools, taught the teachers themselves, thereby laying a solid foundation for public education in general. This important direction of his activity can be likened to the root system of a tree, which annually gives life to new foliage. For Ilya Nikolaevich, his beloved work contained the whole meaning of life until its last hour.

In the memoirs and reviews written before the October Revolution, for obvious reasons, such very significant aspects of Ulyanov’s activities and worldview were not reflected, such as hostility to manifestations of serfdom, opposition to the policy of planting parochial schools, devotion to the best ideas of the 60s, deep democracy, loyal attitude to politically “unreliable” public figures. And of course, none of the memoirists even tried to comprehend the nature and significance of the influence that Ilya Nikolaevich had on the formation of civic ideals and the scientific worldview of his children. Only after the memoirs of members of the Ulyanov family and the biography of his father written by Maria Ilyinichna were published in the 20s and 30s, and unknown documents were discovered in the archives, the personality of Ilya Nikolaevich began to emerge in all its completeness and versatility.

Many historians and writers have studied the life and work of I. N. Ulyanov. But the true significance of Ilya Nikolaevich’s work was revealed largely thanks to the great work of Marietta Sergeevna Shaginyan. With amazing insight into the essence of his actions and character, she illuminated the merits of Ilya Nikolaevich, his place and role in the development of national education, in the life and fate of the Ulyanov family.

“To understand the mood and fate of such a person as Lenin’s father, you need to know the enormous significance in his life of the reform of 1861, that is, the liberation of the peasants... Ilya Nikolaevich Ulyanov was ardently convinced of the possibility of serving the people and bringing them benefit in the political conditions in which lived."

“The work and personality of Ilya Nikolaevich Ulyanov are overshadowed by the name of his great son. But we need to learn to look at him and study him not only as Lenin’s father, but also as one of the most wonderful Russian teachers, the creator of a very valuable pedagogical heritage for the Soviet country.”

It is unlikely that anything needs to be added to this precise and capacious description.

The people, to whose enlightenment Ilya Nikolaevich Ulyanov devoted all his strength, retained the bright memory of this selfless worker, outstanding teacher, father of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. The name of Ilya Nikolaevich is revered by all Soviet people. He is known throughout the country, and he will be with her forever.

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Ulyanov Ilya Nikolaevich is a great Russian statesman in the field of education of the 19th century.

He made a significant contribution to the development of public education in the country and initiated a number of important initiatives in the field of education. Thanks to him, innovative forms of teaching were introduced in educational institutions, and teachers themselves began to take qualification courses. Professional teachers began to educate the people.

Childhood of Ilya Ulyanov

On July 14, 1831, Ilya Ulyanov was born into the family of a runaway peasant from the Nizhny Novgorod province who settled in Astrakhan.

His father, Nikolai Vasilyevich, a peasant of the landowner Brekhov, having not received his freedom, fled in 1791. In 1797, he received his freedom under the conditions of compulsory residence in the region. From that time on, Nikolai Vasilyevich began to master the craft of tailoring and joined a tailor's workshop.

Ilya’s mother, Smirnova Anna Alekseevna, was 19 years younger than her husband.

At the age of five, Ilya lost his father. The entire burden of worries fell on Ilya’s older brother Vasily, who remained the only breadwinner in the family.

And yet, the absence of his father was not a disaster for the boy, since Vasily fully replaced his parent. From an early age, Ilya Ulyanov showed himself to be a capable student. Having made an exception, he was accepted into the Astrakhan men's gymnasium, from which he graduated in 1850, becoming the first gymnasium student in the history of the educational institution to receive a silver medal.

Student years

Ilya Ulyanov, whose biography began with difficult events and facts (the absence of a breadwinner father, a large family), still did not abandon his desire for knowledge.

In 1850 he entered Kazan University at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics. The young man was very lucky: the educational institution was headed by the outstanding scientist N.I. Lobachevsky, who was distinguished by his progressive views on pedagogy, science and society. Thanks to him, the views of young Ilya Nikolaevich were formed.

As a student, the young man studied at the meteorological and astronomical observatory. This contributed to the fact that I. N. Ulyanov received the degree of Candidate of Mathematical Sciences for his work “Olbers’ method and its application to determining the orbit of the Klinkerfuss comet.”

In 1854 he graduated from the university.

Beginning of teaching activity

In mid-1855, the young scientist was appointed teacher of mathematics and physics at the Penza Noble Institute.

Here Ulyanov continues meteorological observations by order of his teacher

In fact, Penza for Ulyanov I.N. became the beginning of his independent activity in pedagogy, science, and society. Here Ilya Ulyanov proved himself to be a highly qualified teacher and educator. He is responsible for a number of educational initiatives.

At the same time, the work gave him leadership skills, which were developed in subsequent years.

In Penza, Ulyanov I.N. meets Maria Alexandrovna Blank, who becomes his wife, who later gave him six children.

In 1863, they moved to Nizhny Novgorod, where the head of the family received the position of senior teacher of mathematics and physics in a men's gymnasium. At the same time, he conducts teaching and educational work in other educational institutions. At the same time, he takes a creative approach to the educational process. Gradually, he formed his own pedagogical system and views on education.

Ulyanov's activities in the field of public education

In 1869, Ilya Ulyanov was appointed by the Ministry of Public Education as inspector of public schools, and after 5 years - director of public schools. The latest appointment expanded the capabilities of the innovative teacher.

Director Ulyanov first of all personally got acquainted with the state of the schools. It was deplorable: out of 421 schools, only 89 were working, and more than a third of the teachers were not professionals; they were replaced by parish priests. The zemstvo authorities were demonstratively inactive.

The energetic and selfless I.N. Ulyanov was able to attract the progressive circles of the province to his side. Soon the Simbirsk province became one of the best in the field of public education.

Achievements of I. N. Ulyanov in the field of public education

Ilya Ulyanov, whose achievements in the field of public education evoke deep respect for him among all progressive people of the past and present, has done a gigantic job of improving the education system in Russia.

Under his leadership, the Poretsk Teachers' Seminary was opened in 1872, which trained a whole galaxy of “Ulyanovsk” teachers. Professional teachers came to schools.

In the Middle Volga region, for the first time, an entire network of schools was created for Mordovian, Chuvash and Tatar children. Moreover, training was conducted in their native language.

The number of educational institutions in the province has increased. Only the number of Chuvash schools was increased to thirty-eight. More than two hundred new buildings for educational institutions appeared.

Archives confirm that Ilya Nikolaevich donated personal funds for new schools and the publication of textbooks.

Ilya Nikolaevich could well have had the surname Ulyanin, since documents from the State Archive of the Astrakhan Region indicate that his father’s surname was originally just that. This fact is confirmed by the State Archive of the Gorky Region, where documents about Ulyanov’s grandfather, Nikita Grigorievich Ulyanin, were found.

But how did the surname Ulyanov appear? As it turned out, at the whim of officials.

As you know, Nikolai Vasilyevich, Ilya’s father, lived with his family in Astrakhan in his own house. In 1823, for failure to pay taxes and other duties, he was included in the “Gazette of Astrakhan petty bourgeois”, but under the name Ulyanov. From this time on, he is always referred to as Ulyanov.

Finally

On January 24, 1886, Ilya Nikolaevich Ulyanov, whose biography was filled with noble deeds in the name of public education, died suddenly. His memory is immortalized with a bust in Ulyanovsk.

Years will pass, but the contribution of the great educator of the 19th century I. N. Ulyanov will remain of lasting value for Russia.

Ilya Nikolaevich Ulyanov(July 14 (26), 1831, Astrakhan - January 12 (24, 1886, Simbirsk) - statesman, teacher, supporter of universal, equal education for all nationalities. Acting State Councilor.

Ilya Ulyanov's fame was brought to him by his famous revolutionary sons - Alexander Ulyanov, Vladimir Ulyanov-Lenin, Dmitry Ulyanov, and revolutionary daughter Maria Ulyanova.

Origin

At the birth of Ilya Nikolaevich, it was written in the church register: “On the nineteenth of Astrakhan. local Nikolai Vasily Ulyanin and his legal wife Anna Alekseevna, son Ilya.” Subsequently, he changed his surname from Ulyanin to Ulyanov. When Ilya was born, his father Nikolai Ulyanin was already 60 years old.

Biographical materials about V.I. Lenin’s parents have been collected by Marietta Shaginyan for many years. The first edition of her chronicle “The Ulyanov Family” was published in 1935 and caused Stalin’s sharp discontent. On August 5, 1936, a resolution of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks appeared, adopted on Stalin’s initiative, “On the novel by Marietta Shaginyan “Ticket to History” part 1. “The Ulyanov Family”,” in which the author of the novel was criticized, and the novel was included in the list banned books.

Father

Nikolai Vasilyevich Ulyanin (1770-1838) - Astrakhan tradesman who worked as a tailor-craftsman. According to the official version, he is a former serf from the village of Androsovo, Sergach district (district) of Nizhny Novgorod province.

Mother

Anna Alekseevna Smirnova (1800-1871) - the daughter of the Astrakhan tradesman Alexei Lukyanovich Smirnov - in 1823, at the age of twenty-three, she married a fifty-three-year-old peasant of the Novo-Pavlovskaya Sloboda - Nikolai Vasilyevich Ulyanin (1770-1838) or Ulyaninov, assigned since 1808 to the class of burghers of Astrakhan. In marriage, Anna Alekseevna gave birth to five children: three girls and two boys. The last child in the family was Ilya.

Marietta Shaginyan writes that Anna Alekseevna Smirnova on her father’s side came from a family of baptized Kalmyks.

Biography

Ilya Ulyanov lost his father early and was brought up under the care of his older brother, Vasily Nikolaevich. He graduated from the Astrakhan gymnasium with a silver medal in 1850 and from the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Kazan University in 1854 with the degree of Candidate of Mathematical Sciences (that is, with honors).

After graduating from the university, I. N. Ulyanov began working as a senior teacher of mathematics at the Penza Noble Institute with the management of the institute's meteorological station. In 1863 he married Maria Alexandrovna Blank.

In 1863 he was transferred as a senior teacher of mathematics and physics to the Nizhny Novgorod men's gymnasium, while simultaneously working as a teacher and educator in other educational institutions of Nizhny Novgorod.

In 1869, I. N. Ulyanov was appointed to the position of inspector of public schools in the Simbirsk province, then, in 1874, director of public schools in the Simbirsk province.

N.K. Krupskaya noted in her memoirs that “as a teacher, Ilya Nikolaevich read Dobrolyubov especially diligently.”

Ilya Ulyanov died while in service from a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 55 (coincidence: his second son Vladimir would die from the same disease at the age of almost 54). He was buried in the cemetery of the Intercession Monastery in Simbirsk.

Chronology

July 14 (26), 1831 - born into the family of a tailor.
1850 - graduated from the Astrakhan gymnasium with a silver medal.
1854 - graduated from the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Kazan University with the degree of Candidate of Mathematical Sciences (that is, with honors).
1855-1863 - teacher of mathematics at the Penza Noble Institute.
1863 - marries Maria Alexandrovna Blank.
1863 - transferred as a senior teacher of mathematics and physics to the Nizhny Novgorod men's gymnasium, while simultaneously working as a teacher and educator in other educational institutions of Nizhny Novgorod.
1869 - receives appointment to the post of inspector of public schools in the Simbirsk province.
1874 - director of public schools in the Simbirsk province.
1877 - active state councilor, the rank gave the right to hereditary nobility.

Father Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov-Lenin can safely be called an extraordinary personality. Thanks to his enviable abilities, noble aspirations, honest work and perseverance, Ilya Nikolaevich achieved great success, awards and titles. He was a kind family man and a true professional in his field. Lenin's father rose to the position of director of public schools in the Simbirsk province and became an actual state councilor, which gave him the right to a noble title, although he was an Astrakhan tradesman by birth. However, historians are still arguing about the origins of Ilya Nikolaevich Ulyanov. According to different versions, his genealogy contains Kalmyk and Chuvash roots.

Champion of Public Education

On July 14 (26 - according to the new style) July 1831 in Astrakhan, a son, Ilya, was born into the family of tailor Nikolai Vasilyevich Ulyanin and his wife Anna Alekseevna. The father soon changed the ending of his last name, and the boy was recorded as Ulyanov in the documents.

Ilya grew up as the youngest child in the family. Brother Vasily was 12 years older than him, sisters Maria and Fedosya were 10 and 8 years older, respectively.

Since the father of this family died five years after the birth of his youngest son, his brother Vasily, who was then only 17 years old, took over the responsibility for raising and educating Ilya.

The boy's extraordinary abilities for science showed up quite early. Ilya Ulyanov was graduated from the Astrakhan gymnasium with a silver medal. In 1854, after graduating from Kazan University, he received a candidate of mathematical sciences. [C-BLOCK]

The young specialist began working as a teacher in Penza. At the age of 32, he married 28-year-old Maria Alexandrovna Blank and transferred to the Nizhny Novgorod Men's Gymnasium as a senior teacher of mathematics and physics. This year of 1863 was truly a turning point in his life.

The successes of Ilya Ulyanov were noticed by the leadership, and after three years the teacher received the position of an official - he was appointed inspector of public schools in the Simbirsk province (now the Ulyanovsk region). And in 1874 he received the post of director of public schools.

Ilya Nikolaevich controlled the activities of zemstvo schools, parish, city and district schools. His responsibilities included opening new educational institutions, selecting good teachers, resolving administrative and economic issues, and promoting universal education. Lenin's father especially advocated for equal rights to education for all children, regardless of their nationality.

Thanks to the efforts of Ilya Ulyanov, local budget expenditures on education from 1869 to 1886 in the Simbirsk province increased 15 (!) times. During this time, more than 150 new schools were built in the region, and the number of students increased from 10 to 20 thousand. The quality of education has also improved.

Ilya Nikolaevich received the title of actual state councilor in 1877, and shortly before his death he was awarded the Order of St. Stanislav, 1st degree. Ulyanov died on January 12 (24), 1886 in Simbirsk from a cerebral hemorrhage, having lived less than 55 years.

The wife of the actual state councilor, Maria Alexandrovna, according to some historians, was Jewish on her father’s side, and had German-Swedish roots on her mother’s side. Eight children were born into the family of Lenin's father, two of whom died in infancy.

Was he a Chuvash?

Some historians believe that Nikolai Vasilyevich Ulyanin - the father of Ilya Nikolaevich - was a Chuvash by nationality. According to archival data, the Astrakhan Zemstvo Court in 1798 approved a list of peasants who arrived in the Lower Volga region. N.V. Ulyanin is also listed there, who was previously a serf of the landowner Stepan Brekhov from the village of Androsovo, Sergach district, Nizhny Novgorod province. According to a document from the zemstvo court, Lenin’s grandfather left his native place and moved to Astrakhan in 1791.

In the book “Lenin's Dossier without Retouching. Documentation. Data. Evidence” Russian historian Akim Arutyunov writes that the area of the Nizhny Novgorod village of Androsovo in those days was inhabited by Chuvashs. And there were practically no representatives of Russian nationality among the peasants.

However, direct evidence of the Chuvash origin of Nikolai Vasilyevich Ulyanin has not survived. But the fact that Lenin’s paternal ancestors were Orthodox Christians is an established fact. [C-BLOCK]

At the end of the 18th century, many serfs fled to the Lower Volga region from their landowners. And since these lands needed to be populated, the authorities did not return the fugitives to their former owners. Lenin's grandfather also went on the run. In a new place, he began working as a tailor, and in 1808 received the official status of a tradesman, which was confirmed by a decree of the Astrakhan Treasury Chamber.

The surname Ulyanin, formed from a female name, indicates belonging to the peasant class. Such surnames were often given to the children of courtyard girls when the father could not, for example, officially register the child as his name. Therefore, Nikolai Vasilyevich preferred the surname Ulyanov, which was more befitting the bourgeois class.

It is interesting that the documents preserve a description of the appearance of Lenin’s paternal grandfather. The Astrakhan Zemstvo Court, in an order dated 1799, indicated that Nikolai Vasilyevich’s height was about 164 cm, his face was white, his eyes were brown, his hair, mustache and beard were light brown.

Kalmyk roots

The main source of information about Lenin’s Kalmyk roots is the writer Marietta Shaginyan. Her book “The Ulyanov Family,” published in 1938, aroused sharp criticism from the party leadership. The communists accused the writer of distorting the facts, since, in their opinion, any statements that in the appearance of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, who is the pride of the Russian people, there are features of a representative of the Mongoloid race, have an ideologically hostile sound.

Marietta Shaginyan wrote that in the Astrakhan archive she discovered a document indicating that Anna Alekseevna (mother of Ilya Ulyanov) was a baptized Kalmyk, her father, the Astrakhan tradesman Alexey Lukyanovich Smirnov, was a baptized Kalmyk, and her mother was Russian (presumably). The writer complained that the archive staff did not allow her to make a copy of this document. As indirect evidence of Lenin's Kalmyk origin, she pointed to his narrow brown eyes and Asian cheekbones, which the leader of the world revolution inherited from his paternal grandmother.

It is known that the Smirnov family was wealthy and respected in the city. Alexey Lukyanovich held the post of bourgeois elder of Astrakhan, had a respectable house and many servants. [C-BLOCK]

According to some sources, 23-year-old Anna Alekseevna Smirnova married 53-year-old Nikolai Vasilyevich Ulyanin in 1923. However, in the Revizskaya tale (a kind of population census) for 1816 they are already mentioned as spouses. It also states that their first-born Alexander died at the age of four months in 1812. This means that Ilya Ulyanov’s parents could have gotten married in 1811 or early 1812, and at the time of the wedding Nikolai Vasilyevich was 43 years old, and Anna Alekseevna was 24. The couple lived quite happily in a two-story house in the center of Astrakhan. Now this building houses the Museum of the History of the City. On the first floor of the house, tailor Nikolai Vasilyevich received clients, and on the second there were living rooms.

As for Lenin’s Kalmyk origin, Astrakhan, as you know, is a multinational city. Russians began to arrive in the Lower Volga region in the 16th century, and these lands at that time were inhabited mainly by Nogais and Kalmyks. Some of them converted to Christianity. So Lenin’s great-grandfather could have been a Kalmyk.

Some researchers argue that Ilya Nikolaevich defended equal rights to education for children of all nationalities because he considered himself a member of national minorities. Personally, the education he received helped him make a career, and he hoped that it would help others get out into the world.