LENIN AND SAVINKOV AS TWO RUSSIAN POLITICIANS AND REVOLUTIONARIES: TWO FATES AGAINST THE BACKDROP OF THE ERA

Abstract

Aim. To conduct a comparative analysis of the lives and views of V. I. Lenin and B. V. Savinkov in the context of the historical era and the revolutionary subculture. Methodology. The key research methods were the comparative analysis, manifested in a comparison of the figures of Lenin and Savinkov; the historical and biographical methods, allowing the authors to consider the biographies of the personalities of the revolutionaries in connection with the influence of the environment and life circumstances; and contextualization, which makes it possible to explore the views of the personalities in the context of historical time. Results. There was much in common in the life paths and the formation of the views of the two revolutionaries, though with fundamental differences. This allowed conclusions about the divergence of the strategy and tactics of the Bolsheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries as a whole to be drawn. Research implications. The research methods proposed in this paper can be applied as a general methodological principle for comparative historical biography studies of political figures.