Nadezhda Krupskaya

Nadezhda Konstantinovna Krupskaya (Russian: Наде́жда Константи́новна Кру́пская, IPA: [nɐˈdʲeʐdə kənstɐnˈtʲinəvnə ˈkrupskəjə]; 26 February [O.S. 14 February] 1869 – 27 February 1939) was a Russian Bolshevik and the wife of Vladimir Lenin. Like her father, Krupskaya trained to be a teacher.

Nadezhda Krupskaya
Надежда Крупская
Nadezhda Krupskaya, c. 1890s
Deputy Minister of Education in the Government of the Soviet Union
In office 1929 – 27 February 1939
Personal details
Born	Nadezhda Konstantinovna Krupskaya 26 February [O.S. 14 February] 1869 Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire
Died	27 February 1939(1939-02-27) (aged 70) Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Citizenship	Soviet Union
Nationality	Soviet Union
Political party	Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (Bolsheviks) (1903–1912) Russian Communist Party (1912–1939)
Spouse(s)	Vladimir Lenin (m. 1898–1924)

Krupskaya was born into a impoverished noble family. Because she was poor herself, she had strong views about making life easier for the poor. At one Marxist discussion group, she met Lenin. Soon after their meeting, Lenin was exiled to Siberia. Krupskaya was allowed to join him, on condition that they married. This could suggest a marriage of convenience, though they remained loyal. Following the 1917 Revolution, Krupskaya was at the forefront of the political scene. From 1922 to 1925, she was aligned with Stalin, Zinoviev and Kamenev against Trotsky's Left Opposition. Later, she disagreed with Stalin. She was deputy education commissar from 1929 to 1939. She had a strong influence over the Soviet educational system and the development of Soviet librarianship.

References

• McNeal, Robert Hatch (1973). Bride of the Revolution: Krupskaya and Lenin. Gollancz. ISBN 978-0-472-61600-8.