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The Uniform

What uniform is Lenin in?

Vladimir Ilich (VI), or Lenin, about nine years old

Notice the collar of VI's jacket.  This type of clothing is comfortable in a cold climate, and reflect an aspiring leader in the Tsar's Russia.

General V. A. Sukhomlinov, around 1909

General V. A. Sukhomlinov was a friend of the Tsar, and in 1909 he was entrusted to lead the Russian Ministry of War in spite of his limited applicable experience.  The general has replaced the top button of his jacket with a cross, and the corner of his collar is slightly rounded; a sharp example of Tsarist's fashion!

Lenin's brother Dmitri, around World War I

Dmitri, Lenin's four years younger brother, was a doctor in the Russian army at the beginning of the World War I.  His collar button is more shiny than the collar button of the man in the painting.

After the revolution...

A group of Red Guards checking passes at Smolny, October 1917 The officers in the Tsar's army wore the heavy, long coats, that were made out of thick material so they would be nice and warm.  But their collar did not have the lapel, which at least some of the red guard coats have...

Red Guard detail.

Thus the man in the painting is dressed in a warm, Russian Army like uniform, with lapels consistent with clothing for a Red Army officer.  Is that what the little red dot next to the 122 implies?

Ronald W. Clark, LENIN a biography, Harper & Row Publishers, p148,p308, 1988
Richard Pipes, The Russian Revolution, Vintage Books, p205, 1990
Dmitri Volkogonov, LENIN a new biography, The Free Press, p88, 1994
Diego Rivera self-portrait, 1930
 For more information or comments send e-mail to fredrik2@inreach.com
Diego Rivera: Lenin in 1922 (?)
A great Leader and Listener contemplating...
Is this a painting of the Cheka (secret police) boss, the #1 at 22 Lubyanka Street (headquarters in Moscow), the one that hears (ears) and knows everything (Lenin)?
Who is it?