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The sealed train
In March, 1917, Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov — known to history as Lenin — was living in Zurich, the impoverished leader of an obscure extremist revolutionary party. Eight months later he had risen from lonely exile to triumphant control of all the Russias.
The drama began with an uprising in Russia on March 15, 1917. Supremely confident that he alone could provide the leadership necessary to prevent a savage counterrevolution, Lenin desperately sought a way to travel across war-torn Europe. Compelled by the urgency of events in St. Petersburg, he made the critical decision to accept Germany's offer of a "sealed train" (sealed off from the other cars to emphasize his noninvolvement with the German enemy) to carry him and his followers to Russia.
What actually took place during that train journey? Did it represent only one part of a vast program of secret German support for Lenin? Why did the train make a sudden, unscheduled stop in Berlin? Was it to permit Lenin to meet with the representatives of the German government to obtain last-minute funds for the coming struggle with the Kerensky government?
These questions greeted Lenin in St. Petersburg, where he soon found himself denounced as a "German agent." Forced into hiding, he nevertheless pursued his cause single-mindedly — writing brilliant editorials and issuing a stead stream of letters, telegrams, and phone calls — even as the propaganda campaigns against him intensified.
In this fascinating and controversial book Michael Pearson draws on diaries, letters, and other historical material to reexamine the charges against Lenin. He provides fresh and tantalizing evidence of Lenin's complicity with the German enemy in a course that would take Russia out of the war and bring Bolshevik control to the empire of the Tsars.
The drama began with an uprising in Russia on March 15, 1917. Supremely confident that he alone could provide the leadership necessary to prevent a savage counterrevolution, Lenin desperately sought a way to travel across war-torn Europe. Compelled by the urgency of events in St. Petersburg, he made the critical decision to accept Germany's offer of a "sealed train" (sealed off from the other cars to emphasize his noninvolvement with the German enemy) to carry him and his followers to Russia.
What actually took place during that train journey? Did it represent only one part of a vast program of secret German support for Lenin? Why did the train make a sudden, unscheduled stop in Berlin? Was it to permit Lenin to meet with the representatives of the German government to obtain last-minute funds for the coming struggle with the Kerensky government?
These questions greeted Lenin in St. Petersburg, where he soon found himself denounced as a "German agent." Forced into hiding, he nevertheless pursued his cause single-mindedly — writing brilliant editorials and issuing a stead stream of letters, telegrams, and phone calls — even as the propaganda campaigns against him intensified.
In this fascinating and controversial book Michael Pearson draws on diaries, letters, and other historical material to reexamine the charges against Lenin. He provides fresh and tantalizing evidence of Lenin's complicity with the German enemy in a course that would take Russia out of the war and bring Bolshevik control to the empire of the Tsars.
330 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1975
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53 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 2, 2016
Description: Account of Lenin's rise to head socialist Russia, from the revolution in 3/1917 to his arrival by train in St Petersburg seven months later. It details the famous train journey across Germany, the role of Kaiser Wilhelm & the background to German interests for bringing Lenin to power.
"When revolution broke out in Russia in March 1917, Lenin, after years in exile, was living in poverty in a Zurich garret the leader of an extremist left-wing party that had a very small following within Russia. Only 34 weeks later he had assumed the rule of 160 million people occupying one-sixth of the inhabited surface of the globe. The Sealed Train is the story of those crucial weeks. It describes Lenin's dramatic journey across Germany with 30 comrades in the famous train."
This book constitutes one of the sources which made this 1988 film : Lenin: The Train . Stars: Ben Kingsley, Leslie Caron, Dominique Sanda, Timothy West.
Lenin’s arrival at the Finland Station, as depicted by MG Sokolov (1875-1953). Stalin, not among the passengers on the train in April 1917, has been added to the scene © Alliluev Apartment-Museum
The bronze head of a statue of Tsar Alexander III during the Russian Revolution in 1917 © AlamyRed October: Russia’s road to revolution. Could the Bolshevik takeover have been averted? Tony Barber on how historians are looking again at 1917
TO THE FINLAND STATION: Shortened version of a 1963 Granada Television documentary on Lenin. Part of a brief series called Men of Our Times. An affirmative portrait. Malcolm Muggeridge narrates.
Want to read
October 3, 20162 OCT 2016 - recommendation through Bettie. Many thanks.
April 16, 2019
Interesting and captivating book.
The author makes some speculations (on the financial influence of Germans) although these are re-discussed in the last chapter.
Lenin appears as a very brilliant political and revolutionary strategist, the puppeteer behind the curtain. He outdoes Mensheviks, his own dissenting Bolshevik leaders, and Kerensky behind the government's power.
It is interesting that the idea of the social structure that was desired was modeled on Paris Commune and even the Soviets idea was "conceived initially on the lines of the Committees of Correspondence and the Continental Congresses of the American Revolution." The Marseillaise was even sung in the sealed train.
The author makes some speculations (on the financial influence of Germans) although these are re-discussed in the last chapter.
Lenin appears as a very brilliant political and revolutionary strategist, the puppeteer behind the curtain. He outdoes Mensheviks, his own dissenting Bolshevik leaders, and Kerensky behind the government's power.
It is interesting that the idea of the social structure that was desired was modeled on Paris Commune and even the Soviets idea was "conceived initially on the lines of the Committees of Correspondence and the Continental Congresses of the American Revolution." The Marseillaise was even sung in the sealed train.
January 4, 2020
Interesting read of you want to become a Communist or not.
April 7, 2016
"All power to the Soviets" and "Death to the Capitalist Ministers". These are two of my favorite marching slogans from the Bolshevik revolution of November 1917. This exciting book presents the efforts of Russian revolutionaries to overthrow the Provisional revolutionary government led by Kerensky that came to power in March 1917 with the overthrow of the last Russian Czar, Nicholas III. The main driver of this final governmental overthrow is the central character of Michael Pearson's work, Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, better known as Lenin. This well-researched work documents Lenin's mysterious journey from Switzerland to Russia after the March revolution. The journey occurred in a sealed railway car traveling through Germany, expedited and assisted by the World War I German government, with stops in Sweden and Finland before arriving in Petrograd (present St Petersburg), Russia. The author fills us in with all details of Lenin's life and political activities before, during and after this train trip. Allegations of German funding making the Bolshevik revolution possible are examined and conclusions are made. This November revolution rocked the world and led to Russia's withdrawal from the Entente nations fighting Germany and Austria-Hungary in the Great War. This enabled Germany to move troops West and provide a difficult fighting year (1918) for France, England and the United States (the Entente). Victory was achieved against Germany in November 1918 and the Allies promptly started assisting the White Russians in their counterrevolutionary struggle against the Red Russians in the awful Russian Civil War. Of course the brilliance of Lenin's strategies in the eight months after his Sealed Train journey is forgotten in the bloodshed and disaster that Communism was for the Russian people. Who is to say whether the democratic forces in the revolutionary government or the reactionary forces led by Kornilov and the monarchists would have done a better job for the Russian people in the long run. A work of non-fiction that should be read by those interested in the history of Russia in the Twentieth Century.
August 6, 2024
Based on the Swedish translation, published 1975:
A worth-reading book, a kind of summary of the events before the October Revolution from Lenin's perspective. A common thread makes the book easy to read, but the veracity of various factual statements is difficult to review as the sources are only reported in a bundle, chapter by chapter. This means that the conclusions of the author's thesis, that the Bolsheviks received large sums from the German state, is difficult to prove. The title is problematic as the train carriage was never sealed; most train doors were locked except one.(1) For a work with an untrue title, the reader should have a particularly critical approach to the content. The closing words also show an ideographic tendency in writing.
The book strengthens the conclusion that a prerequisite for socialism is working class democracy and that the seed of "violent bureaucratism" in this cas stalinism lies in the elitist idea, i.e., the Leninist idea of a cadre party.
2015-12-22, With addition about the "seal" 2023-10-15.
1) According to one of the train passengers, the bolsjevik Karl Radek, as claimed by in the second hand source "Russian post" by Hans Björkegren.
A worth-reading book, a kind of summary of the events before the October Revolution from Lenin's perspective. A common thread makes the book easy to read, but the veracity of various factual statements is difficult to review as the sources are only reported in a bundle, chapter by chapter. This means that the conclusions of the author's thesis, that the Bolsheviks received large sums from the German state, is difficult to prove. The title is problematic as the train carriage was never sealed; most train doors were locked except one.(1) For a work with an untrue title, the reader should have a particularly critical approach to the content. The closing words also show an ideographic tendency in writing.
The book strengthens the conclusion that a prerequisite for socialism is working class democracy and that the seed of "violent bureaucratism" in this cas stalinism lies in the elitist idea, i.e., the Leninist idea of a cadre party.
2015-12-22, With addition about the "seal" 2023-10-15.
1) According to one of the train passengers, the bolsjevik Karl Radek, as claimed by in the second hand source "Russian post" by Hans Björkegren.
October 16, 2022
Very informative on Lenin and how the German High Command (the military) used Lenin and paid Lenin to make revolution in Russia in the hope this would save Germany from losing the first world war.
May 7, 2008
An excellent book that shows how the german government used Lenin to undermine Russia's involvement in WWl. And interestingly how Lenin used the german government to help bring about the communist revolution in Russia.
there is some controversy about the reality of this, but I find it perfectly compelling
there is some controversy about the reality of this, but I find it perfectly compelling
September 2, 2014
The author got it at least half right--he picked a wildly interesting historic set of events that are all too often ignored or unknown.
The part which did not go down well with me was writing in novel style trying to bring the characters to life vs. just relating historic facts or speculations.
I could not finish this book.
The part which did not go down well with me was writing in novel style trying to bring the characters to life vs. just relating historic facts or speculations.
I could not finish this book.
January 21, 2013
for how interesting the subject matter is, this book is written as if for a fourth grader. what's the attraction in this form of popular (narrative?) nonfiction? Anyway, bottom line is Pearson isn't Erik Larsen.
December 18, 2012
This is a detailed account of Lenin's transhipment by German agency from Swiss exile to Russia and of the rise to power of the Bolsheviks.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews