If you've ever browsed through public pages dedicated to history or communist nostalgia, you've probably come across "quotations" by Lenin about the internet, IP telephony, or "enemies in the monitor." Sometimes they are presented with a serious face, sometimes as a meme. The short answer: Lenin could not have said anything about the internet. He died in 1924, and the first prototype of the global network (ARPANET) appeared 45 years later, in 1969. Nevertheless, false quotes live on, spread through social media, and even seep into school essays. We analyze the most popular fake quotes, their origin, and the mechanisms of the birth of Soviet internet folklore.

Chronological Argument: Lenin and Computers

To clarify the situation once and for all: Lenin died on January 21, 1924. The first electronic computer (ENIAC) was created in 1945. Packet switching, without which there is no internet, was described by Leonard Kleinrock in 1961. The first connection in the world using the TCP/IP protocol occurred in 1975. The term "Runet" as a public network was mentioned only in the 1990s. Technically, Lenin did not even live to see a working computer. Therefore, any quote where he uses the words "internet," "global network," "online," "cyberspace," "email," is undoubtedly a forgery.