Victor Sebestyen

Sebestyen's intimate biography is the first major work in English for nearly two decades on one of the most significant figures of the 20th century. In Russia, to this day, Lenin inspires adulation. Everywhere, he continues to fascinate as a man who made history, and who created a new kind of state that would later be imitated by nearly half the countries in the world.

Lenin believed that 'the political is the personal', and while in no way ignoring his political life, Sebestyen's focus will be on Lenin the man - a man who loved nature almost as much as he loved making revolution, and whose closest ties and friendships were with women. Told through the prism of Lenin's key relationships, Sebestyen's lively talk casts a new light the Russian Revolution, one of the great turning points of modern history.

Victor Sebestyen is the acclaimed author of ‘Twelve Days’ and ‘Revolution’. He was born in Budapest and was a child when he left as a refugee. He has worked for the Evening Standard (where he was Foreign editor and Chief Leader writer), The Mail and The Times. He also reported from Eastern Europe when the Berlin Wall came down in 1989.

A Q&A session will follow.