 Five years after that, he was promoted to Director of Public Schools for the province, overseeing the foundation of over 450 schools as a part of the government's plans for modernisation.His dedication to education earned him the Order of St. Vladimir, which bestowed on him the status of hereditary nobleman.Lenin was born in Streletskaya Ulitsa, Simbirsk (now Ulyanovsk) on 22 April 1870 and baptised six days later; as a child he was known as "Volodya", a diminutive of Vladimir.