In July 1917 after the demonstrations by workers and soldiers
in Petrograd ( St. Petersburg
), the Russian Provisional Government had banned the Bolshevik party
and had ordered arrest of party leaders accusing them of not only fomenting the
revolt with help of Germans but also accused the Bolshevik leader Lenin of being
spy of Germans.
To avoid arrest and prosecution, Lenin went underground and prior
to taking refuge in Finland, he hid in a small village of Razliv, Sestroretsk
near St. Petersburg on the shores of the Gulf of Finland.
His hiding place in the village was a barn of a party member
NA Emelyanov near the Razliv Railway Station. Lenin remained in the attic of
this barn for few days, however his stay here was very short as there was always a danger of his being found by the
Government.
To prevent his discovery, NA Emelyanov rented a small section
of hay meadow on the other (Eastern) shores of Sestroretskiy Lake. In an area
surrounded by thick bushes, a small hut was built from tree branches and covered
with hay. Lenin stayed in this hut by posing himself as a Razliv-Finnish farmer
and also changed his appearance by shaving his beard and wearing a wig. He used
to sleep on hay bed and used tree stumps as his chair and table. It was here
that he started writing one of his most famous work - The State and Revolution.
Lenin stayed here till August 8, 1917, thereafter he
was smuggled out to Finland. The rest is well known history.
Later both these places were declared of National importance by the
Communist regime.
The Emelyanov's Barn was declared a museum in 1925 and restored to
its original condition as it was in July 1917. Later in 1970 on the occasion of
100th birth centenary of Lenin it was fully encased in glass.
Lenin's Hut being of temporary nature didn't survive for
long, however in 1928 a memorial in the form of a granite hut was built at the
location of his hay hut. Later a exact replica of the actual hut was also
created. A museum showing photos of his life and work was also established
nearby in 1969.
Image from Panoramio is by DimRus
Image from Russian Wikipedia is by Peter Ivanov
- Razliv Museum - Emelyanov's Barn (In Russian) (English Translation)
- Razliv Musem - Lenin's Hut (In Russian) (English Translation)
- Russian Wikipedia (English Translation)
- BBC News
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