Lenin on the train / Catherine Merridale.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Merridale, Catherine, 1959- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Lenin, Vladimir Ilich, 1870-1924--Travel--Europe.

Lenin, Vladimir Ilich.

Lenin, Vladimir Ilich, 1870-1924--Travel--Germany.

Revolutionaries--Soviet Union--Biography.

Revolutionaries.

Exiles--Switzerland--Zurich--Biography.

Exiles.

Espionage, German--Europe--History--20th century.

Espionage, German.

Soviet Union--History--Revolution, 1917-1921.

Soviet Union.

Russia--Relations--Germany.

Russia.

Germany--Relations--Russia.

Germany.

Physical Description:

xi, 353 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 25 cm

Edition:

First U.S. edition.

Place of Publication:

New York, New York : Metropolitan Books/Henry Holt and Company, 2017.

Summary:

"A gripping, meticulously researched account of Lenin's fateful rail journey from Zurich to Petrograd, where he ignited the Russian Revolution and forever changed the world. In April 1917, as the Russian Tsar Nicholas II's abdication sent shockwaves across war-torn Europe, the future leader of the Bolshevik revolution Vladimir Lenin was far away, exiled in Zurich. When the news reached him, Lenin immediately resolved to return to Petrograd and lead the revolt. But to get there, he would have to cross Germany, which meant accepting help from the deadliest of Russia's adversaries. Germany saw an opportunity to further destabilize Russia by allowing Lenin and his small group of revolutionaries to return. Now, drawing on a dazzling array of sources and never-before-seen archival material, renowned historian Catherine Merridale provides a riveting, nuanced account of this enormously consequential journey--the train ride that changed the world--as well as the underground conspiracy and subterfuge that went intomaking it happen. Writing with the same insight and formidable intelligence that distinguished her earlier works, she brings to life a world of counter-espionage and intrigue, wartime desperation, illicit finance, and misguided utopianism. This was the moment when the Russian Revolution became Soviet, the genesis of a system of tyranny and faith that changed the course of Russia's history forever and transformed the international political climate"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Dark Forces

Black Markets

Red Lake

Scarlet Ribbons

Maps and Plans

The Sealed Train

Leaderless

Lenin in Lapland

From the Finland Station

Gold

Fellow Travellers.

Notes:

"Published simultaneously in the UK by Allen Lane, London"--Title page verso.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Athenaeum copy: Nichols fund bookplate.

ISBN:

9781627793018 : HRD

1627793011 : HRD