Vladimir grew up and spent the first 17 years of his life in Simbirsk, Russia, a town along the Volga River.  He was born into a family with high educational expectations. His father worked for the Russian governement as an inspector of Russian schools, and both of his parents strongly believed in the pursuit of intellectual studies.    Even in an academically gifted family Lenin received exceptional marks in school that placed him above the rest of his siblings.  His parents pushed him to succeed, but he possessed an inner drive that would expose itself in his later years.