An Unlikely Relationship
The Intertwined Paths of the German Foreign Office and Lenin’s Rise to Power
History produced many curious pairings of people and beliefs. Yet, few have had a bigger impact on our modern world and had a more dispart belief system than the one between Wladimir Lenin and the German Empire. In order to understand why and how it came about, one must understand the factors influencing the partners of this relationship and how they pursued their goals.
Also, many leaders have commented about Lenin’s return to Russia, but none did so like Sir Winston Churchill. So as an intor to the story, his descriptions of the events: “Nevertheless it was with a sense of awe that they turned upon Russia the most grisly of all weapons. They transported Lenin in a sealed truck like a plague bacillus from Switzerland into Russia.
Lenin in early March 1917
By March 1917, Lenin had been living in Zurich, Switzerland, for about a year. He and his wife had moved to the Swiss city in 1916, after staying in the Swiss capital, Bern. They were lodgers in a small flat in the heart of the city. The revolutionary worked in the archives of the city and also held public speeches, while spending a lot of his time in the libraries reading and working on his books. Naturally, he also closely followed the first world war and the events in Russia.
Lenin left for Western Europe in 1907 after the turmoil of the 1905 revolution in Russia had calmed down. He estimated that it would take 20 years, barring a war, until the time was ripe again for another revolution, and the longer he was in exile, the more he doubted that he would be alive to see the revolution himself. Nevertheless, he continued to comment and write about the situation in Russia and also put his ideas to paper. Furthermore, he traveled to Bolshevik congresses and made his points heard there.
With the outbreak of World War I, Lenin saw that a revolution was once again within reach. Lenin started writing anti-war propaganda, which was being published in Russia. The Bolshevik was waiting for the opportunity to present itself, to start the socialist revolution in Russia he had been planning for years.
Russia in early March 1917
While Lenin was in exile crafting his plans on how a socialist revolution could take place in Russia, the country itself was in a dire situation in early March 1917. Troubled by unsuccessful reforms and an army that lacked behind its counterparts, the tsarist rule was threatened.
When the first world war broke out, the country was still recovering from the aftermath of the revolution in 1905. In order to quell the uprising, the Tsar instated the Duma. This organ was supposed to introduce some democratic aspects and limit some of the Tsars’ power. However, it did little to nothing, and the Tsar retained almost absolute power over the Russian state. Furthermore, Russia was a rural country with only a few heavily industrialized centers, such as St. Petersburg (called Petrograd during the first world war as St. Petersburg was perceived as too german).
“Quantity has a quality all its own.”
Russia also had massive military problems at the outbreak of World War I. The Russo-Japanese War a mere decade before had shown that the tsarist armies were not adequately equipped for early 20th-century warfare and despite a push for rapid industrialization, the Russian armies lacked behind their other European counterparts in key aspects, such as equipment and logistics. Despite these massive issues, the tsarist armies were unmatched in size, which made Russia a key actor in the European Balance of Power. As a later Soviet leader, Josef Stalin, would say: “Quantity has a quality all its own.”
The aforementioned issues haunted the tsarist armies for the entire war. After a rapid mobilization, which took the german high command by surprise, the favors of the Russian armies turned. The underlying problems of the Russian forces doomed any efforts made by the Russian general staff. Offensives crumbled after initial successes due to inadequate supply lines and inferior as well as lacking equipment. This led to a situation where one of Russia’s main contributions to the entente war effort was the occupation of significant numbers of german and Austro-Hungarian troops at the eastern front, making them unavailable for service on the western front.
By early March 1917, the situation had deteriorated even further. Food shortages, war-weariness, and a perceived lack of action by the government to combat their woes left the citizens of Petrograd disappointed and angry. People took to the street, and soon, a general strike developed. Within just a few days, even military units had joined the revolution. The tsarist government was unable to quell the uprising, and by March 15th, the Tsar was no longer in power.
Changes caused by the February Revolution, fertile grounds for socialism
With the Tsar removed from power and a provisional government in charge of Russia, Lenin saw that the tides had shifted drastically. The provisional government had no time to secure its power, as it was faced with a slew of problems from the very first minute. The removal of the Tsar did not automatically improve the situation of the Russian people. Food shortages remained a concern, as did the situation of the Russian army. The war did go on, and the provisional government expressed its intent on staying in the war and continue the fight on the entente’s fight.
Germany naturally had a strong interest in defeating Russia or at least achieving a separate peace. Ever since the start of the war, Germany was faced with the dilemma of fighting a war on two fronts. Even though the entente powers had a treaty to not agree to a separate peace, the german general staff assessed that Russia was the weakest link of the alliance.
The revolution further destabilized an already highly unstable country and opened the door for a separate peace treaty. A move that would put Germany much closer to victory was now within sight.
The German Foreign Office and Russian Emigrants, First Contacts
German efforts to undercut Russian morale and discipline were widespread and a constant thorn in the Russian General’s side. With the February Revolution, the germans saw a further chance to force the Russians out of the war. Soon after the revolution, the german foreign office (Auswärtiges Amt) contacted Russian emigrants in Switzerland in order to initiate talks about a possible return to Russia. The talks quickly started to slow down as the Russian committee wanted to make sure that they were not seen as collaborators with the enemy. However, one particular Russian revolutionary was eager to get back to Russia as soon as possible.
Wladimir Lenin was also being represented by the committee of Russian Emigrants in talks with the foreign office. However, he was discontent with the slow progress and soon took matters into his hands. In early April 1917, Lenin started to communicate with the Germans on his own, in order to speed up his return to Russia. The German chancellor, Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg, and the foreign office were pressing for a return of the emigrants sooner than later, and so the interests of the two parties met.
The talks between Lenin and the foreign office turned out to be more fruitful, and soon the details of the transfer were ironed out. Similar to the committee of Russian Emigrants, Lenin feared being labeled a german spy upon his return to Russia. Therefore, he set up several conditions applying to his journey. Among them, the declaration of the train as extraterritorial, as well as the renunciation of passport controls over the course of his trip. His demands, combined with the German precautions, culminated in the famous sealed train that transported him and 32 other people from Zurich, Switzerland, to Petrograd, Russia.
Lenin’s return to Russia
Lenin’s journey in the sealed train has become famous. The train left Zurich main station on the 9th of April, and Lenin arrived in Russia on the 16th of April, welcomed by thousands. According to the germans documents, Lenin’s journey was uneventful, and how the foreign office had planned it.
“Nevertheless it was with a sense of awe that they turned upon Russia the most grisly of all weapons. They transported Lenin in a sealed truck like a plague bacillus from Switzerland into Russia.”
While the journey itself was not particularly eventful, it was expertly orchestrated by the german foreign office. The seamless transfer of Lenin to Russia was a product of a greatly functional bureaucratic and diplomatic apparatus. The border posts were informed adequately and ensured a smooth passing of the train. Furthermore, the foreign office got the revolutionaries Visas for passing through Sweden and took care of other administrative tasks related to the journey.
The exceptional work done by the foreign office and the civilian leadership attests to the functioning of the german state long into the first world war. Despite the german emperor’s questionable foreign policy in the years leading up to the first world war, the diplomats in the foreign office were considered to be among the best in the world at the time. Going back to one of the driving forces behind Germany’s unification, Count Otto von Bismarck, the german foreign office enjoyed a very high standing in the german state and was a part of the elite.
Continued German Support
Lenin’s arrival in Russia did not mark the end of relations between Germany and the revolutionary, but rather ushered in the next phase.
One of the main appeals of Lenin from a german perspective was his willingness to pursue a separate peace with Germany. However, in order to be able to negotiate a separate peace, Lenin needed to get to a position of power.
As soon as Lenin arrived, he and the Bolsheviki began working toward the socialist revolution Lenin imagined and that would put him in power. Despite several setbacks in the Summer of 1917, the Bolsheviki managed to establish themselves in power with the October Revolution in November 1917 (Russia was using the Julian Calendar at that time, which caused this oddity of naming). The Power grab in late 1917 was significantly aided by Germany once again, though.
Over the course of the months after Lenin’s return to Russia, the german foreign office continued to support the revolutionary. Mostly through the funnelling of german money to the Bolsheviki, they helped on the way to the October Revolution. Even after the Bolsheviks had claimed power, the foreign office continued to support them with a lot of money.
Almost immediately after their rise to power, the bolsheviki found themselves in a precarious position. The persistent food shortages and the chaotic environment in Russia threatened their position continually. The diplomats in charge demanded further financial aid, which was also promptly delivered.
The next step in the relations between Lenin and his Bolsheviki and the Germans were the peace negotiations in Brest-Litovsk. Lenin aimed to deliver on one of his promises that had overwhelming support within the Russian population. On December 15th, about a month after Lenins’ ascendance to power, an armistice was declared on the eastern front, and preparations for the peace negotiations were being undertaken.
The Germans were also eager to negotiate peace, as it would allow them to use their troops on the western front. However, the German diplomatic service was soon taken aback by the unconventional negotiations and demands of the Bolsheviki. During the ceasefire, the Bolsheviki encouraged their soldiers to fraternize with the german soldiers, a behavior heavily despised by the German leadership. Furthermore, once the negotiating delegation met the german diplomats, they arrived with ordinary people they had taken with them in order to represent them.
The negotiations moved slowly, a deliberate tactic of the Bolsheviki and much to the dismay of the Germans. The longer the negotiations dragged on, the more the soldiers could fraternize and spread socialist ideals. The negotiations were further delayed when Leon Trotsky became the new leader of the delegation, as he saw himself as more capable of delaying them than the previous leader was.
The constant delays in the negotiations led to the germans seizing the initiative by launching another offensive in early 1918. Within a few weeks, massive territorial gains were made by the german forces, and the Bolsheviki found themselves forced to agree to the terms forced on them by the germans. Therefore, on the third of March 1918, the peace treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed.
The Germans had achieved their goal, a separate peace with Russia. However, even now, the relations between them and the Bolsheviki and Lenin did not stop. The power base of the Bolsheviki was very delicate, and it was unclear whether they could remain in power. Fearing another party would recommence hostilities on the eastern front, the german foreign office did its best to ensure that the Bolsheviki stayed in power. Germany aided the Bolsheviki with large sums of money and also diplomatic assurances.
The End of the Relationship
The relations between Germany and the Bolsheviks did cool significantly in September 1918. With the start of the Red Terror by the Bolsheviki, a violent reaction to assassination attempts on Lenin and other Bolshevik leaders, german involvement in Russia decreased. Voices in Germany even called for german action to stop the atrocities.
Furthermore, the relationship was also deteriorating, as the german high command had realized that Lenins’ tactic of fraternization and delays in negotiations had borne fruits. German soldiers from the eastern front were considered untrustworthy and undependable. Additionally, strikes were also becoming more common in Germany, and socialist ideals were gaining enormous populous support.
On the 5th of November 1918, the german emperor then proceeded to cut all ties to Russia and with that, the unlikely relationship between the germans and Wladimir Lenin had run its course.
What were the consequences of the relationship?
The consequences of german support for Wladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviki are far-reaching and go far beyond the scope of just the first world war. In the most direct way, regarding the first world war, the separate peace with Russia did not lead to a German victory, and Germany ultimately found itself on the side of the vanquished in World War I.
It is hardly possible to get a grasp of the long-term consequences of Germany’s help for Lenin and his Bolsheviki. It is hard to retrospectively evaluate whether the Bolsheviki would’ve remained in power even without german help, but it is a fact that german aid significantly helped the Bolsheviki clinging to power in the early days of their reign.
If this is the basis of the argument, the german involvement in lifting Lenin to power and helping him and the Bolsheviki stay there is one of the more impactful decisions of the 20th century. While it might be an overstatement that a clear line can be drawn from the german support over the founding of the Soviet Union, WWII, and then the Cold War with the partitioning of Germany into a communist east and capitalist west, a connection between these events is hard to dispute.
About me: I am a 21-year-old international affairs student at the University of St.Gallen, with a focus on multilateralism, American studies and foreign policy. This article is based on an essay I wrote in a class on diplomacy in the German Empire. Sources for this article include descriptions of the events of various renowned German historians such as Hahlweg (1957) as well as Bonwetsch (1956) but also accounts by Katkov (1956) on the financing of the Bolsheviki by Germany.
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