The giant monuments to Lenin that still loom over the former Soviet Union

A century after the Russian Revolution, Vladimir Lenin's image reigns supreme across the former Soviet Union, a reminder of the cult of personality

A bas-relief depicting Vladimir Lenin is seen on a dam of Kirov Reservoir in Talas region, western Kyrgyzstan (Reuters)

A century after the Russian Revolution, the influence of its leader Vladimir Lenin has waned but his image remains on monuments built across the former Soviet Union as part of a cult of personality. Lenin was born in 1870 and became one of the 20th century's most important leaders as the revolution inspired by Karl Marx transformed Russia and influenced Socialists around the world for decades.

As the first leader of the one-party communist state, Lenin redistributed land and nationalised industry and banks in a bid to champion the working class. He also used violence on a wide scale to crush perceived opponents of his Marxist ideology.

When he died in 1924, Soviet authorities displayed his body in a mausoleum in Moscow's Red Square, where it lies to this day. They also built monuments and statues of him around the Soviet Union, often depicting him giving a speech to supporters at a station, in what is now Saint Petersburg, on his arrival from exile by train in April 1917 to lead the revolution.

Many of the memorials have been toppled or removed since the Soviet Union was dissolved in 1991 but others remain, reflecting a debate in Russia about his legacy.