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Lenin on the Train

Catherine Merridale

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Apr 12, 2018 Lisa of Hopewell rated it really liked it

Shelves: audio-books, read-in-2018

2017/18 is the centenary of the Russian Revolution–the first one, that toppled the Tzar and ushered in Lenin and the Bolsheviks, the Civil War and all that we eventually came to know as the Soviet Union. As a Russian and East European Studies major way back in the days of the Cold War, the SALT Talks and way, way before the fall of the Wall or Perestroika, I am reveling in all the new takes on the events that started it all. Trainjokes were a staple of Soviet humor, too, but that’s for another d 2017/18 is the centenary of the Russian Revolution–the first one, that toppled the Tzar and ushered in Lenin and the Bolsheviks, the Civil War and all that we eventually came to know as the Soviet Union. As a Russian and East European Studies major way back in the days of the Cold War, the SALT Talks and way, way before the fall of the Wall or Perestroika, I am reveling in all the new takes on the events that started it all. Trainjokes were a staple of Soviet humor, too, but that’s for another day.

Lenin’s famed trip across war-time Germany in a sealed train ultimately results in the famous Finland Station Speech. We knew that. This book doesn’t add as much as is promised, but it is an interesting read–especially if you are new to the whole topic.

Was Lenin a spy, an opportunist, a true revolutionary? This is the most intriguing part of the book, but she doesn’t really answer this to my liking. He was a crook is one well-founded opinion. Like many revolutionaries clamoring to represent the proletariat, he was himself pretty darned bourgeoisie except in his romantic life. [That’s a gross simplification of all aspects of Lenin–just fyi].

As for the fabled train journey itself–pretty ho-hum as you’d expect. Not enough food, bad toilets, rowdy fellow travelers [pun] who drunkenly sang the Internationale/the Marseillaise thru the whole damned trip, tense border crossings. Lenin, without the aid of modern noise-canceling headphone or even decent earbuds, was forced to create rules for his companions that included quiet hours for sleep. Now, honestly, that doesn’t add much to what we know of him, does it? Not really.

The narrative goes back and forth between little snippets of life on the train (or getting to the train trip, etc.) and the disintegration of Tzarist Russia and the revolution that was beginning–Lenin or no Lenin. There is a little on how Lenin ultimately betrayed everyone and a very brief mention–too brief for the year of the woman (but the author couldn’t have known this I suppose when the book went to press) of Lenin’s wife Nadezhda Krupskaya and fellow feminist-revolutionary Alexandra Kollantai. Let Rasputin die, let the train roll into Finland station, then tell us about those two–way more interesting, believe me.

But, as I said earlier, if you are brand new to this, or if like me, you just enjoy all things related to this time period, then this is a good read. Not a dense scholarly one–a popular, layman’s one. Lenin on the Train by Catherine Merridale.

To learn more about Lenin’s philosophy I recommend this gem–it’s much more intelligent than the cover makes out.

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Apr 14, 2017 Terri marked it as wish-list · review of another edition

Shelves: russian-history, russian-revolution-1917, russian-lenin

May 12, 2017 Keith rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Dec 26, 2019 Judy marked it as to-read

May 29, 2025 Deedee marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: four-word-title, published-in-10october, cover-black, russian-history, history-20th-century, year-2016, l2, color-black-white-gray, l2-no-articles, c3

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