Lenin advocated for Russian defeat in World War I, arguing that it would hasten the political revolution he desired. Russian participation in the war was disastrous: Russian casualties were greater than those sustained by any other nation, and food and fuel shortages soon plagued the vast country. Militarily, imperial Russia was no match for modern, industrialized Germany. Russia entered World War I in August 1914 in support of the Serbs and their French and British allies. During this time, he adopted the pseudonym Lenin and established the Bolshevik Party. Lenin later moved to Germany and then Switzerland, where he met other European Marxists. His fiancée and future wife, Nadezhda Krupskaya, joined him there. He soon was arrested for engaging in Marxist activities and exiled to Siberia. He later finished college and received a law degree. In 1889, Lenin declared himself a Marxist. After his expulsion, Lenin immersed himself in radical political literature, including the writings of German philosopher and socialist Karl Marx, author of Das Kapital. Later that year, 17-year-old Lenin-still known as Vladimir Ilich Ulyanov-was expelled from Kazan Imperial University, where he was studying law, for taking part in an illegal student protest.
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