April 9, 1917 V.I. Lenin (who was then known under the pseudonym N. Lenin) and his party comrades-in-arms left Switzerland for Petrograd.

As you know, for about the last thirty years, in order to wrest a certain victory from Russia in the First World War, Germany recruited a crowd of Russian-speaking revolutionaries in exile. She put them in a secret sealed carriage and sent them to St. Petersburg. Having broken free, the Bolsheviks, supplied with German millions, made a coup and concluded an "obscene peace."

To understand how true this version is, let's imagine that today's West catches the best Russian oppositionists, from A. Navalny to M. Kasyanov, seals them up, gives them a lot of money for the Internet and sends them to Russia to perform. Will this destroy power? By the way, all these citizens are already in Russia, and everything seems to be fine with their money.

The thing is that the understandable historical hostility of many of our fellow citizens to V.I. Lenin is no excuse for unbridled fantasizing. Today, as we celebrate the 99th anniversary of Lenin's departure to Russia, it is worth talking about.

Why through Germany

Since 1908, Lenin has been in exile. From the very beginning of the First World War, he was a resolute and public opponent of it. At the time of the abdication of Nicholas II and the February Revolution, he was in Switzerland. Russia at that time participated in the war: in alliance with the Entente countries against the Quadruple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, Bulgaria).

The possibility of leaving Switzerland was closed to him.

1. You can’t go through the Entente countries - the Bolsheviks demand an immediate conclusion of peace, and therefore they are considered undesirable elements there;

2. In Germany, in accordance with the laws of war, Lenin and his associates can be interned as citizens of a hostile state.

Nevertheless, all routes were worked out. Thus, the logistically fantastic possibility of passage from Switzerland through England was unsuccessfully probed by I. Armand. France refused to issue passports to the Bolsheviks. Moreover, the authorities of England and France, on their own initiative, as well as at the request of the Provisional Government, detained a number of Russian Social Democrats: L. Trotsky, for example, spent about a month in a British concentration camp. Therefore, after lengthy discussions and doubts, the only possible route was chosen: Germany - Sweden - Finland - Russia.

Often, Lenin's return to Russia is associated with the adventurer (and, presumably, a German intelligence agent) Parvus, on the grounds that it was he who first suggested that the German authorities assist Lenin and other Bolshevik leaders. After that, they usually forget to mention that Lenin refused the help of Parvus - this is evidenced by his correspondence with the revolutionary Y. Ganetsky, who was in contact with Parvus:

“... Berlin permission is unacceptable for me. Either the Swiss government will receive a wagon to Copenhagen, or the Russian government will agree on the exchange of all emigrants for interned Germans ... Of course, I cannot use the services of people related to the publisher of Kolokol (i.e. Parvus - author).

As a result, the passage was agreed upon through the mediation of the Swiss Social Democratic Party.

Railway carriage

The same wagon.

The tale of a sealed wagon took root with the light hand of W. Churchill (“... the Germans brought Lenin into Russia in an isolated wagon, like a plague bacillus”). In fact, only 3 of the 4 doors of the car were sealed - so that the officers accompanying the car could control compliance with the travel agreement. In particular, only the Swiss Social Democrat F. Platten had the right to communicate with the German authorities along the way. He also acted as an intermediary in the negotiations between Lenin and the leadership of Germany - there was no direct communication.

Conditions for the passage of Russian emigrants through Germany:

"one. I, Fritz Platten, am escorting, on my own responsibility and at my own risk, a wagonload of political emigrants and refugees returning through Germany to Russia.

2. Relations with the German authorities and officials are conducted exclusively and only by Platten. Without his permission, no one has the right to enter the car.

3. The wagon has the right of extraterritoriality. No control of passports or passengers should be carried out either when entering or leaving Germany.

4. Passengers will be accepted into the carriage regardless of their views and attitudes towards the question of war or peace.

5. Platten undertakes to supply passengers with railway tickets at normal fare prices.

6. If possible, the journey should be made without interruption. No one should either voluntarily or by order leave the car. There should be no delays along the way without technical necessity.

7. Permission to travel is given on the basis of an exchange for German or Austrian prisoners of war or internees in Russia.

8. The mediator and the passengers undertake to personally and privately press the working class to comply with paragraph 7.

9. Moving from the Swiss border to the Swedish border as soon as possible, as far as technically feasible.

(Signed) Fritz Platten

Secretary of the Swiss Socialist Party".

In addition to Lenin, more than 200 more people returned to Russia by the same route: members of the RSDLP (including the Mensheviks), Bund, Socialist-Revolutionaries, anarchist-communists, non-party people.

Nadezhda Krupskaya, in her memoirs published under the Soviet regime, wrote about the "secret list of passengers" without any secrecy:

“... We went, the Zinovievs, the Usievichs, Inessa Armand, the Safarovs, Olga Ravich, Abramovich from Chaux-de-Fonds, Grebelskaya, Kharitonov, Linde, Rosenblum, Fighters, Mikha Tskhakaya, Mariengofy, Sokolnikov. Radek rode under the guise of a Russian. There were 30 people in all, except for the four-year-old son of the Bund, who was traveling with us, curly-haired Robert. We were accompanied by Fritz Platten".

Who used whom

L. Trotsky gave a description of the participation of the German authorities and the German General Staff in the passage: “... allowing a group of Russian revolutionaries to pass through Germany was Ludendorff's 'adventure', due to the difficult military situation in Germany. Lenin used the calculations of Ludendorff, while having his own calculation. Ludendorff said to himself: Lenin will overthrow the patriots, and then I will strangle Lenin and his friends. Lenin said to himself: I will ride in Ludendorff's carriage, and for the service I will pay him in my own way.

"Lenin's payback" was the revolution in Germany itself.

Money

Funds for the fare came from various sources: the box office of the RSDLP (b), the help of the Swiss Social Democrats (mainly a loan). Lenin refused the financial assistance offered by German agents even earlier than the organizational one, approximately March 24-26.

After returning to Russia, Lenin delivered the April Theses (April 17, published on April 20, adopted by the Bolshevik Party as a program by the end of April), which became the theoretical foundation of October.

Thus, we see simple facts:

For the "conquests of the February Revolution" Lenin's arrival was indeed fatal;

He did not save the German Empire;

The “obscene” Treaty of Brest signed a year later did not save Germany either, but saved the power of the Bolsheviks.

As for Russia, there is, of course, the point of view that it was completely and completely destroyed by the Bolsheviks, and now we do not live in it. However, for those who continue to live stubbornly in Russia, this point of view is hardly interesting.

There is a fairly well-known story that the Germans brought Lenin and other revolutionaries to Russia in April 1917 in a sealed wagon, with the aim of withdrawing Russia from the war.

The story turned out to be so amusing that on its basis a persistent myth arose that the entire October Revolution was wholly and completely the result of the work of the German General Staff.

But where is the truth in this story, and where are the myths generated by someone's wild imagination?

The return of Lenin to Russia in April 1917 really took place. It is in the train, it is through Germany - it's true. The train also included a "Leninist carriage", which was accompanied by two officers of the German General Staff.

As for the fact that the car was completely sealed - this is an exaggeration. Only three of the four doors were sealed; through the fourth, passengers bought newspapers and groceries during stops. Three doors were sealed for ease of control, so that no one left the car and entered it without the knowledge of the accompanying officers - after all, it is easier to keep track of one door than four.

If someone thinks that the car was sealed in order to maintain secrecy, this is unlikely. The return of revolutionary emigrants to Russia was not a big secret. At the station in Zurich, from which they set off, according to the recollections of eyewitnesses, a crowd of political opponents of about a hundred people gathered, they shouted accusations against the revolutionaries, in response to which they sang the Internationale in chorus.

From this we can conclude that there was no deep conspiracy, which means that the historical role of the "car" and the cunning of the plans of the German General Staff should not be exaggerated.

If the return of emigrants was the result of the long work of the German General Staff, which was betting on another revolution in Russia and its withdrawal from the war by the forces of Lenin and other "returnees" - probably the Germans would have taken care of secrecy a little better and would not have allowed their "agents" to sing the Internationale in chorus right at sending.

It is also important to note that not one train with emigrants, but three, proceeded to Russia. Among the returnees were not only Bolsheviks, but also anarchists, socialist-revolutionaries, Polish socialists, Latvians, Lithuanians, Jews, and even persons who did not declare their party affiliation.

Thus, one can doubt that there was any particularly careful planning of the revolution locally with a stake specifically on Lenin and the Bolsheviks.

The return of a large number of emigrants (as many as three trains), belonging to the most diverse parties, was of interest to the Germans as a banal anti-war agitation.

The interest of the German leadership really was and the passage of emigrants through Germany was agreed at the highest level, but it was considered precisely as a transfer to Russia of politically active citizens who adhere to anti-war views and their activities will put pressure on society, the army and the government.

But at the same time, the German General Staff was not even the initiator of this trip.

The idea was thrown to the Germans by the Social Democrat Parvus - an extremely curious and ambiguous personality.

Parvus was born in Russia (Berezino), but back in 1885 he went to study in Zurich and there he was already carried away by the ideas of social democracy, began to engage in politics and write articles.

Back in the 90s, Parvus made many contacts with both European and Russian leaders of the Social Democratic parties, in particular with Rosa Luxembourg. Parvus was actively printed in Iskra. In 1903, Parvus supported the Mensheviks, then became close to Trotsky.

At one time, Parvus predicted the Russo-Japanese War long before it began, and also argued that big changes would follow.

For many years, living in Europe, Parvus tried to actively participate in the Russian revolutionary movement. His activity reached its greatest activity in 1905, when Parvus and Trotsky published several newspapers, including Russkaya Gazeta, whose circulation at some point reached 500,000 copies.

Those who knew Parvus noted that he liked to do everything on a grand scale. At the same time, Parvus was very partial to money and strove to get rich, which did not prevent him from defending the ideas of social democracy and denouncing the bourgeoisie.

It would take a very long time to list various projects, projects and deeds of Parvus, his acquaintances and contacts both in Russia and in Europe.

Parvus lived a stormy socio-political and media life, his connections were very extensive, and the fact that it was he who gave the German government the idea to take advantage of the February revolution that happened in Russia and return emigrants is not at all surprising.

The German leadership saw in this proposal its own benefit, described above - anti-war agitation by the forces of politically active "returnees". But no more.

Carefully worked out revolutionary plans, which Lenin was supposed to bring to life, did not exist in the German leadership. There was a stormy socio-political activity of Parvus, who tried to insert his five kopecks into every case, one way or another connected with social democracy and revolutionary activity.

When Lenin learned that Parvus was the organizer of the trip to Russia, he refused:

"Of course, I cannot use the services of people related to the publisher of Kolokol (that is, Parvus)."

"Berlin permission is unacceptable to me. Either the Swiss government will get a wagon to Copenhagen, or the Russian will agree on the exchange of all emigrants for interned Germans."

What exactly was the reason for Lenin's refusal to Parvus is hard to say. Perhaps there was a personal or ideological conflict. Perhaps Lenin was afraid that the participation of Parvus would compromise the case, because Parvus was a controversial personality and the attitude towards him was ambiguous.

In the future, the Bolsheviks will refuse the mediation of Parvus again - this will be in December 1917.

However, despite Lenin's refusal to Parvus, the idea of ​​organizing the trip had already been accepted and approved by the German leadership. And Lenin also thought about returning.

In order not to use the services of Parvus, Lenin contacts the Swiss Social Democrat Robert Grimm, whom he asks to mediate in negotiations with the Germans.

In the future, the role of an intermediary will pass to Friedrich Platten, with whom an agreement will be concluded stipulating the conditions of travel.

The following clauses of the agreement are of interest:

"4. Passengers will be accepted into the carriage regardless of their views and attitudes towards the question of war or peace."

From this we can conclude that the Germans did not place any too high hopes on the "returnees" and were not the authors of the treaty, otherwise this clause would not have appeared. If the Germans themselves planned the operation and made the selection of "agents", then they would try to fill the car exclusively with "peacekeepers".

"6. If possible, the journey should be made without interruption. No one should either voluntarily or by order leave the car. There should not be any delays on the way without technical necessity."

To fulfill this point, three of the four doors were sealed - so that no one left the car. Most likely, the initiator of this paragraph was the German side. The goal was to exclude the disembarkation of passengers on the territory of Germany, because there was no passport control when boarding the car, and those who wished to enter German territory without control could take advantage of this.

"9. Making the move from the Swiss border to the Swedish border as soon as possible, as far as technically feasible."

The train with the "Leninist carriage" proceeded from Switzerland not directly to Russia, but to Sweden. The German leadership agreed to let the train cross the front line, this is known for certain, but Lenin himself preferred to go to the territory of Sweden.

To be quite precise, the train proceeded to the Sassnitz station, from where Lenin and the emigrants got to Sweden by steamer, but these are details.

This again makes it doubtful that the German General Staff was developing some kind of special plan, part of which was the return of Lenin to Russia.

There is too much publicity and different conditions on the part of Lenin himself for a secret and carefully developed plan:

1. The dispatch of the train in Switzerland becomes widely known, political opponents of Lenin come to its departure, and the emigrants themselves sing the Internationale in a mocking chorus right at the station. It is clear that after that every pig will know about Lenin's return to Russia.

2. Lenin refuses the mediation of Parvus (who gave the Germans the idea to return emigrants to Russia) and acts officially through Fritz Platten, secretary of the Swiss Socialist Party and the German Foreign Ministry.

3. The emigrants did not cross directly to Russia, but to Sweden, while the German leadership lost the ability to control whether they would reach Russia and in what composition.

4. Lenin insisted on accepting everyone into the carriage, regardless of political views and attitudes towards the war - again, strange for a special operation if it had been developed by the German General Staff.

5. Not only Lenin and his comrades returned to Russia, but also a large number of emigrants from various parties, as well as those who did not declare their party affiliation. There are three trains. For a special operation - too diverse contingent.

From this we can conclude that no specific plans regarding Lenin were developed in the German General Staff.

There was a return of political emigrants initiated by Parvus, which the Germans found useful in terms of anti-war agitation, but nothing more.

It is obvious that the Germans reasoned simply and pragmatically - it certainly will not be worse from the return of political emigrants to Russia, but it could be better. If the "returnees" help to quickly withdraw Russia from the war - the Germans are fine, if they do not help - the Germans did not lose anything, so the plan was a win-win for them.

That is why the Germans agreed to let all emigrants, of different party affiliation and different views, pass through their territory. The Germans did not begin to figure out which of the emigrants would be more useful in withdrawing Russia from the war - they simply let everyone through, without exception.

And the sealing of the car (or rather, three of the four doors) was dictated only by the fact that when boarding the car there was no passport control and the Germans did not want someone to use this for uncontrolled entry into Germany.

The sealing of the car did not pursue the goals of conspiracy. As shown above, the return of Lenin was no secret; in Zurich, both supporters and opponents gathered to see him off. The absence of special conspiracy is evidenced by the choral performance of the International right at the station.

The appearance of Lenin in Stockholm was no secret either. Parvus tried to meet Lenin there, but Vladimir Ilyich refused this meeting.

From Stockholm, Lenin and his comrades drove to the Swedish-Finnish border and crossed it through the customs in the city of Haparanda, which served as a place for active smuggling.

Subsequent events also show that Lenin did not take part in any special operation of the German General Staff.

The first attempt to overthrow the interim government was made in July, and it was not at all like some kind of complexly organized operation. Armed demonstrations took place under the windows of the Provisional Government, which were stopped by arrests. The Bolsheviks were by no means the only organizers of the July demonstrations, and according to some reports, they had no direct relation to them at all.

When the arrests began, Lenin and Zinoviev hid in Razliv, in the now famous hut. However, Lenin's whereabouts were not some big secret, and it was not difficult to arrest him if desired. In early August, Lenin moved to Finland, where he stayed until October. Thus, Lenin's participation in the preparations for the October Revolution was very limited.

The greatest role in preparing for the October Revolution among the Bolsheviks was played not by Lenin, but by Trotsky - it was at his suggestion on October 18 that a decision was made to disobey the Provisional Government at a meeting of representatives of the regiments of the Petrograd garrison. In fact, this was the beginning of the October armed uprising in Petrograd.

Trotsky participated in the work of the Petrosoviet since August, when he was released from Kresty on bail. Lenin at that time was in Finland.

At the same time, Trotsky was not among those who returned to Russia in the "Leninist carriage" - he returned on May 4 from America.

Interestingly, on the way from America to Russia, Trotsky was detained by the British due to the lack of Russian documents, but was soon released - "At the written request of the Provisional Government, Trotsky was released as a well-deserved fighter against tsarism."

The Provisional Government itself, which at that moment was led by Prince Lvov, contributed to the return to Russia of Trotsky, who later played a much greater role in direct preparation for the October coup and the overthrow of the Provisional Government than Lenin, who returned from Switzerland in a "sealed wagon" and most of time on the eve of October spent in Razliv and Finland.

And the revolution itself was not so much the result of the activities of the Bolsheviks, but rather the result of the incapacity of the Provisional Government, the Kornilov rebellion and the growth of the political influence of the Petrograd Soviet, in which the Bolsheviks received a majority only on the eve of the October Revolution.

The greatest role in the October Revolution was played not even by Trotsky, and even more so not by Lenin, but by Kerensky, Kornilov, even earlier Prince Lvov, and before him by Nikolai II, Prince Golitsyn, Generals Ruzsky and Alekseev, as well as Duma Chairman Rodzianko and Deputy Bublikov. It was they who made the October Revolution almost inevitable, programmed it with their actions and mistakes, and some with their inaction, connivance and incompetence.

Trotsky, whose return was facilitated by the Provisional Government itself under the leadership of Prince Lvov, only contributed to the revolution at the final stage. And Lenin took up direct leadership after the coup.

Germany played the role of a transit country in all these events - a country that allowed three trains with emigrants (and not just one Leninist carriage) from Switzerland to Sweden and Russia to pass without hindrance.

Without a doubt, it was an interested transit, but just a transit.

And German money was not found in the treasury of the Bolsheviks in any noticeable quantities. And they will never be found. And the revolution did not happen because the Bolsheviks had so much money, but because someone had run the country very badly for many years.

In short, there was a sealed carriage, but the cause of the revolution was not in it.

This composition was advanced both in time and in essence. It housed Lenin and the Bolsheviks. They took a very serious risk. Everyone: both freedom and reputation. It was possible, of course, to sit in Europe, calmly wait for the permission of the British, decorously go to some port, board a steamer in five months and arrive in Petrograd for a hat analysis. But, knowing the position of the Bolsheviks, the French and the British could well have interned them until the end of the war, which was not seen at all at that time.

The carriages in which the emigrants traveled were made extraterritorial

Lenin counted in his mind at breakneck speed. The ever-memorable Parvus volunteered to mediate with Germany, which was happy to flood Russia with active, loud defeatists. Tempting, but unfortunate for the reputation. And Lenin, seizing the idea, replaced the intermediary with a graceful feint, saddled German dreams, and even seriously bluffed, offering to exchange Russian socialists for German prisoners, for which he did not have and could not have any powers. The wagons in which the emigrants will travel were agreed to be made extraterritorial, for which those same legendary seals were hung on them.

From this moment in the story, a grandiose historical hurdy-gurdy begins: what kind of seals, how many seals, there were - there weren’t, they came out - they didn’t come out, and so on and so forth. Since the sealed carriage instantly became a symbol of Bolshevik betrayal and espionage, and Winston Churchill likened Lenin and his fellow travelers to "plague bacilli", the dispute over technical details acquired a fundamental character. Karl Radek, a passenger on the same train, stated, for example, that there were no seals, and everything was limited to the obligation not to leave the cars. There is a compromise option, according to which not all doors were sealed, but only some.

Lenin with a group of Russian political emigrants in Stockholm

However, the most interesting thing is to look at the life of the amazing passengers of the amazing car. Here is Lenin, who, together with Krupskaya, is given a separate compartment by his comrades. He takes a pile of Petrograd newspapers and climbs onto the top couch. From there comes the nervous rustle of paper and characteristic exclamations: “Here are the rascals! Here are the traitors! After reading the newspapers and distributing political labels, they receive guests here and resolve issues. Including how to share the only toilet between smokers and non-smokers. They sing in the corridor. Lenin comes out and joins. In his repertoire: "We were not married in the church", "Do not cry over the corpses of fallen soldiers" ...

We move along the corridor. At some point, a line was drawn across there. This is the border, because one of the compartments of the extraterritorial car is occupied by German officers, and it, together with the adjacent patch, is considered Germany. Migrants are not allowed there. What about baggage? The memoirs noted that the Bolsheviks traveled in a very Russian-intellectual way: with belongings, pillows and, of course, with countless bundles of books. Provisions were thinned out even when leaving Switzerland: customs officers did not allow the national treasure, chocolate, to be taken out of the country.

Churchill likened Lenin and his comrades to "plague bacilli"

The most disturbing thing is when passengers are still taken out of the train. But they are simply counted, put back into the car and the doors are closed. Defeatism is defeatism, but they are still citizens of the enemy country ... There was a difficult moment before loading the wagons on the ferry going to Sweden. Usually passengers are invited to spend the night in a hotel. But the revolutionaries reject the proposal and sleep in the cars. Only when the train is driven into the hold do the Leninists come out onto the deck. A new danger lurks on the border with Finland. The British are in control. They may not miss. But by hook or by crook, everything is settled, only Fritz Platten, the formal organizer of the trip, who voluntarily agrees to return to Switzerland, is sacrificed, and also in Stockholm - the Austrian citizen Karl Radek.

And then Finland Station, an armored car, the April Theses and the October Revolution. And let's say in Lenin's language: “To hell with them, with German money and German seals, to hell with him, with Parvus! The Bolsheviks fooled everyone, took power and held it for more than seventy years.

Vladimir Ilyich Lenin received the first news of the victory of the February Revolution in Russia on March 15, 1917, while in Zurich. From that moment on, he began to look for ways to quickly return to his homeland. Lenin knew well that neither he nor other prominent Bolsheviks could go through England just like that. The British authorities were quite well aware of their revolutionary activities, when passing through England they could be detained and even arrested. Nevertheless, Lenin is considering the terms of passage through England, which should be agreed with the British government through negotiations. These conditions included the granting to the Swiss socialist Fritz Platten the right to transport any number of emigrants through England, regardless of their attitude to the war, the provision of a wagon enjoying the right of extraterritoriality on the territory of England, as well as the possibility of sending emigrants from England by steamboat to the port of any neutral country as quickly as possible. But the British authorities did not agree to this, which forced the Russian emigrants in Switzerland to resort, as the last opportunity to return to Russia, to travel through Germany.

The idea of ​​obtaining permission to travel through Germany in exchange for Germans and Austrians interned in Russia arose in emigre circles shortly after receiving news of the amnesty in Russia. The emigrants knew that during the war between Russia and Germany military detainees and prisoners of war were repeatedly exchanged through neutral countries, and they believed that the amnesty announced by the Provisional Government would open up this convenient way for them to return to their homeland. At a meeting of representatives of Russian and Polish socialist organizations of the Zimmerwald trend in Bern on March 19, this plan was put forward by the Menshevik leader Martov. One of the leaders of the Swiss Social Democracy, Robert Grimm, was instructed to probe the Swiss government for consent to mediate negotiations on this issue with representatives of the German authorities in Bern. When it finally became clear to Lenin that the route through England was closed, he turned to Martov's plan. But the negotiations were slow, and Vladimir Ilyich decided to involve Fritz Platten in this case.

“Once, at 11 o’clock in the morning, I received a phone call from the party secretariat and was asked to be at half past two for a conversation with Comrade Lenin in the premises of the Eintracht workers’ club. I found a small group of comrades there at dinner. Lenin, Radek, Münzenberg and I went to the board room for a confidential conversation, and there Comrade Lenin asked me if I would agree to be their confidant in organizing the trip and accompany them through Germany. After a short reflection, I answered in the affirmative,” Platten wrote in a book about Lenin’s emigration.

The explanation with Grimm was short and decisive. Grimm stated that he considered Platten's intervention undesirable. This statement further strengthened Lenin's former distrust. However, Grimm did nothing against this move, and Platten was received by Minister Romberg to negotiate the move of Russian emigrants living in Switzerland. On behalf of Lenin and Zinoviev, Platten presented to Minister Romberg the following conditions on which the emigrants agreed to make the move:

1. I, Fritz Platten, supervise, with my full personal responsibility, the passage through Germany of a wagon with political emigrants and legal persons wishing to go to Russia.
2. The carriage, in which the emigrants follow, enjoys the right of extraterritoriality.
3. Passports or identity checks must not take place either on entry into or exit from Germany.
4. Persons are allowed to travel completely regardless of their political direction and views on war and peace.
5. Platten purchases the necessary railway tickets for those leaving at the normal rate.
6. The journey must take place as non-stop as possible in non-stop trains. There must be neither an order to leave the wagon, nor an exit from it on one's own initiative. There should be no breaks when driving without technical need.
7. Permission to travel is given on the basis of the exchange of those leaving for German and Austrian prisoners and internees in Russia. The mediator and those traveling undertake to agitate in Russia, especially among the workers, with the aim of carrying out this exchange in practice.
8. The shortest possible time to move from the Swiss border to the Swedish one, as well as the technical details must be agreed immediately.

Two days later, an unconditional agreement followed. Reporting Berlin's decision, Romberg informed Platten that Janson, a representative of the General Commission of the German Trade Unions, would board the train in Stuttgart. From further negotiations it became clear that the following conditions were set for the move: 1) the maximum number of people leaving should not exceed 60 people, 2) two second-class passenger cars would be ready at Gottmadingen. The day of departure was set by the German authorities for 9 April.

The group wishing to go through Germany by April 1 consisted of only 10 people. Bolshevik groups in Switzerland, at the request of Lenin, brought to the attention of émigrés of all political denominations that those wishing to travel in the first batch could join the group. Within a few days, the initially small group of departures grew to 32 people.

By 11 o'clock on the morning of April 9, all the necessary preparations were completed and the Zurich railway station was warned about the departure of emigrants. All those leaving gathered at the Zähringerhof restaurant for a common modest dinner.

At half past three, a group of emigrants headed from the restaurant to the Zurich station, loaded with pillows, blankets and other belongings. An impressive crowd of patriotic émigrés gathered at the station, shouting out accusations of national treason to those departing and predictions that they would all be hanged in Russia as Jewish provocateurs. In response to this, as the train departed, its passengers sang the Internationale in chorus. According to the schedule, the train departed at 3:10. In Teyngen there was a Swiss customs inspection, and the passports were not checked.

/ which Danilkin characterizes both as a Trojan horse and as a Soviet Mayflower / in Danilkin's book is presented without the expected new details.

There is a BBC film "The Zurich-Revolution Train" - and there, too, the emphasis is on the sealed carriage and the events about the passage of the carriage through Germany.

There is an RT project in which, it would seem, every step can be traced

There are details about this legendary trip that many are unaware of.

For example, one graduate historian recently told me that he thought that Lenin alone (maximum with his family) was returning from Switzerland to his homeland.

Many people imagine traveling in a sealed wagon as an exclusively German intelligence operation - Lenin was placed in a sealed wagon and he somehow rushed through warring Europe and jumped on an armored car at the Finland Station.

Most / of those who know History, whom I managed to ask / do not know that most of Lenin's journey did not pass through Germany and not in a sealed wagon.

Danilkin: " back in 1917, immediately after the performance on the armored car, the “sealed wagon” turned into a fact of pop history and an evergreen hit of pop culture, a generator of soap bubbles, each of which reflects the rainbow-foamy image of Lenin; "attribute" imposed on Lenin, a symbol and metaphor of his alienness. This phrase is a key element for the concept of October as "sabotage against Russia" and the Bolsheviks as a "group of conspirators" like those who killed Rasputin. How did the Bolsheviks get "German gold"? Yes, it’s clear how: in a “sealed car”.

When trying to put together a crew, it turned out, however, that not everyone had a desire to return to Russia in company with Lenin. Martov was afraid, and therefore the backbone of the detachment was the Bolsheviks - of whom there were not so many in Switzerland: the entire Geneva cell - about eight people, the Zurich - ten, including Lenin and Krupskaya. It was not possible to reach an agreement with the ideologically close "Vperyodists" - like Lunacharsky; he went on the next flight, with Martov. Switzerland, fortunately, was teeming with political emigrants of indeterminate party affiliation, and almost anyone had a chance to enjoy Lenin's grumblings and Radek's laughter for a week. The number of those who, in principle, would like to take part in the construction of a new Russia and see their native graves can be judged from the list of those who registered with the committee for the return of political emigrants to Russia: in March 1917 - 730 people.

In 2013, Lenin's March telegram was sold - for 50 thousand pounds - in which Romain Rolland is mentioned: it turns out that Lenin also wanted to see him among his neighbors in the compartment.

[Lenin] travels with Nadezhda Konstantinovna and Inessa Fyodorovna - apparently in the same compartment; There are various pieces of evidence for this. (It is known for sure that after Stockholm, along with VI and NK, the IF and the Georgian Bolshevik Suliashvili rode in a compartment.)
Zinoviev enjoyed the company of his two wives - the former and the current.
Among the passengers were two small children (with their own difficult fates), whom VI considered himself obliged to entertain - and arranged his trademark mess with them.
Two Germans - escort officers - joined the emigrants at the border; they pretended not to understand Russian.
Lenin, seeing these gentlemen, immediately took a piece of chalk out of his pocket, drew a thick line and was ready to whistle at the slightest sign of a spade being made. There was also a “zero passenger” in the car, who did not take place: a certain Oscar Blum, who did not pass the approval procedure at the general vote due to suspicions of collaborating with the police, but made his way into the car.

The “seeing off” of the revolutionaries ... included two stages - a solemn farewell dinner at the Zernigergorf restaurant at Mulegasse 17 (now there is a three-star hotel Scheuble, the building is obviously old, with a slanted corner), and a party at the "Eintracht" with the participation of Aboriginal party functionaries, students and workers, sighing for their homeland; one 60-year-old Russian was escorted to the point that he set off on the stage in a squat. Travelers signed an undertaking that they realized that the fare was paid, according to the standard German fare, and the German government did not sponsor the passage of revolutionaries.

The conditions of the trip were strictly regulated: observe or goodbye; the next group, which will go to Russia in a month, will feel much freer - the revolutionaries will even make an excursion along the way to the charming Rhine Falls; Lenin, frowning and ruffled, suspecting the whole world of the intention to interpret his behavior in a negative way, did not allow his comrades to take a single step to the side.

The Germans guaranteed that there would be no technical breaks for more than a day on the trip.
Anyone who has expressed a desire to enter the car will be allowed into Germany without being examined; at the border, passengers become anonymous - but they pass through the checkpoint, divided into women and men and showing a piece of paper with a number instead of a passport - “so that on the way one of us does not disappear or, replacing a Russian Bolshevik with a German young lady, does not leave the germ of a revolution in Germany” , - Radek jokes, whose passport should have been checked - and taken off the run: he was an Austrian, that is, he made his way to Russia "hare" (which is why he was sometimes placed in the luggage compartment).

April 9, 1917, Zurich railway station, three o'clock in the afternoon. A short rally right on the platform (marred by a skirmish with social patriots; a gathering in Geneva a few days earlier ended in a scuffle in which several Bolsheviks received serious bruises), a comradely handshake between Lenin and Lunacharsky, a friendly pat on the shoulders of future colleagues in the Comintern Radek and Münzenberg (“Either we will become ministers in three months, or we will be hanged”), the ritual performance of the “Internationale” - in four languages ​​simultaneously and to the whistle of the Mensheviks, a red flag-handkerchief from the car window, “Fertig!” the conductor, the episode with the discovery of Blum (Lenin had to literally grab him by the collar and, without unnecessary delay - this was remembered by the mourners - throw him onto the platform), "Fertig, fertig!" - ready, and at 15.10, the train, showered with curses and threats, separates from the platform and rolls towards the German border: a romantic journey through the storm begins"

The Socialists set off on a journey on an ordinary Swiss train - scheduled at 15:10 from Zurich on April 9 / 1917 /.

Platten: “Swiss customs inspection took place in Teingen, and passports were not checked. In view of the fact that the foodstuffs taken with us - mainly chocolate, sugar, etc. - exceeded the norm allowed by the authorities, the excess was taken away, and the victims were given the right to send the confiscated food supplies to relatives and friends in Switzerland.At the railway station in Gottmadingen, we were temporarily sealed passenger car II-III class. Children and women took soft seats, men were placed in class III.
Then the socialists stood overnight in Singen - waiting for the right train.
The Germans did not form a separate train for the "Lenin group" - a special car was attached to passing trains).

Those. on the first day, Lenin and his comrades traveled 70 km

Second day: via Stuttgart, Mannheim, Karlsruhe, Frankfurt - to Berlin.

It feels like they were driven around in a circle).
Trains in Germany /now/ don't run like that /apparently, after all, not all textbook points are accurate)/

By car -- 1100 km

Day and night we stood in Berlin, went to Sassnitz, to the ferry crossing.

From Berlin to Sassnitz 320 km.
Those. on the territory of Germany, Lenin did no more than 1,500 km, 2-plus days.
Out of 7

Platten:
In Frankfurt, an incident broke out with Radek, caused by his "fraternization with the soldiers."
I confess that I am to blame for allowing the German soldiers to enter the car.
Three of our carriage doors were sealed, the fourth, rear carriage door, opened freely, since the officers and I were given the right to leave the carriage. The compartment closest to this free door was given to the two officers accompanying us.
A line drawn in chalk on the floor of the corridor separated, without a neutral zone, the territory occupied by the Germans on the one hand, from the Russian territory on the other.
Herr von Planitz strictly followed the instructions given to him by Herr Schüler, the attaché of the German embassy, ​​who handed over our party in Gottmadingen to be followed by both officers, these instructions demanded that extraterritoriality should not be violated.
Assuming that in Frankfurt I would not get out of the car, both officers left it.
I followed their example, as I agreed to meet at the Frankfurt station with one of my acquaintances.
I bought beer and newspapers at the canteen and asked several soldiers to take the beer to the car for a fee, suggesting that the employee who was at the control let the soldiers through.

I bring these details here only to explain the incident.

The following picture excited many who were traveling in the strongest way.
Frankfurt workers and women hurried to get into the carriages of the suburban train.
A long line of exhausted, tired people with dull eyes passed by our car, not the slightest smile was visible on their faces.
This mourning procession, like lightning, illuminated the situation in Germany for us and aroused in the hearts of the emigrants on their way the hope that the hour was not far off when the popular masses in Germany would rise up against the ruling classes.

Indeed, in November 1918 a revolution broke out in Germany—it came late, but it came nonetheless.

I must recall one more circumstance that was of great political importance.
It shows in the most obvious way what kind of relationship existed between the General Commission of the German Trade Unions and the German government.

From my letter to Dr. Kleti dated April 8, 1917, it is clear that the question of "Lenin's trip" was decided by the German government and the high military command not without the knowledge and, no doubt, with the support of the General Commission of German Trade Unions. In Stuttgart, Herr Janson boarded our train and asked through Captain von Planitz (our guide, an officer) permission to talk to me.
Herr Janson told me that, on behalf of the General Commission of the German Trade Unions, he welcomed the traveling émigrés and would like to have a personal talk with the comrades. I was compelled to tell him that the emigrants who were traveling wished to observe extraterritoriality and refused to receive anyone on German territory.

My message caused an outburst of merriment among those traveling. After a brief discussion, it was decided not to receive Mr. Janson and not to return his greeting. I was asked to evade importunate attempts, and in the event of their repetition, it was decided to protect myself by force.

In contrast to Frankfurt, the isolation of the platform and the ochering of the wagons in Berlin were of a very strict nature. I, too, was not allowed to leave the platform without an escort.
The Germans were afraid that we would enter into relations with German like-minded people.

At Sassnitz we left German territory; before that, the number of people traveling was checked, the seals were removed from the luggage car, and the luggage was handed over. The passenger steamer Trelleborg took us to Sweden.
The sea was restless.
Of the 32 travelers, only 5 people did not suffer from pitching, including Lenin, Zinoviev and Radek; standing near the main mast, they were having a heated argument.
Ganetsky and the Swedish delegation met us on the shore.

The main part of Lenin's route was in no way connected with Germany, "sealed wagons" / the luggage car and 3 of the 4 doors of the passenger car were sealed.


In Sassnitz, the socialists unloaded from the "sealed wagon", boarded the Swedish ferry "Queen Victoria" [Platten for some reason writes about the steamer "Trelleborg"] and sailed to Trelleborg ....

This is a completely different story - in my opinion, the more interesting part began later - in the remaining 4 days of travel).

/hopefully I'll explain later/

"Lenin's carriage" - by the way, as far as I understand, there is no single version of how it looked