Lenin was a Russian communist revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He served as leader of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic from 1917, and of the Soviet Union from 1922 until his death. Under his administration, Russia transitioned from an autocratic monarchy to become the world's first constitutionally socialist state. Lenin officially pursued a policy of communist internationalism, aiming to spread communist revolution across Europe and the world. However, he also pursued a policy known as "socialism in one country," which focused on establishing a stable communist system in Russia before spreading revolution abroad. He presided over three years of civil war between the communist Red Army and those opposed to the Bolsheviks before the war ended in 1921. Lenin spent over a decade in exile for revolutionary activities, but returned from exile in Switzerland after the Tsar was overthrown in the February Revolution of 1917. The Military Revolutionary Committee appointed him leader of the Bolshevik revolutionary forces on 7 November 1917. Two days later, he led the Bolshevik Party to overthrow of the Provisional Government in the October Revolution and upheld socialist policies that consolidated power under the Soviets. The Bolsheviks took control of the means of production and redistributed land to the peasants. However, Lenin's government took authoritarian measures against political dissent and economic collapse. His recovery of Russia from the ravages of the Great War and the ensuring Civil War introduced a new economic policy (NEP) and other political reforms that allowed for a partial market economy under communist control and a degree of political liberalization. In 1922, Lenin created the first Soviet republics that replaced the government of ethnic minorities living in the former Russian Empire with ethnically based autonomous organizations of government. Amidst political infighting among his Bolsheviks, Lenin died in 1924 at the age of 53. He was succeeded by Joseph Stalin as General Secretary of the Communist Party, who later initiated an industrialization and collectivization of agriculture that resulted in millions of deaths. Lenin remains controversial. He is admired by supporters for advancing socialist policies, but criticized by others for paving the way for Soviet authoritarianism. He has been deemed an inspiring example for communist and socialist movements, but also a totalitarian dictator by anticommunists. Some historians and scholars hold Lenin responsible for a decades-long legacy of political repression and human rights abuses in the Soviet Union.