Lenin's Hut in Razliv

In July 1917, after an armed demonstration by the Bolsheviks in St. Petersburg against the Russian Provincial Government turned violent, the Provisional Government issued an order for the arrest of more than forty prominent leaders of the Bolshevik Party, including Vladimir Lenin. To evade arrest and prosecution, Lenin and a fellow senior Bolshevik, Grigory Zinoviev, escaped St. Petersburg in disguise, but they didn’t went very far. Lenin decided to shelter just outside the city, in a small village called Razliv, so that could be in constant touch with party workers and keep abreast of the situation in the capital. He took refugee at the home of another Bolshevik worker, Nikolai Yemelyanov, who worked at the nearby Sestroretsk arms factory. A replica of the hut where Lenin hid out during his stay in Razliv. Photo credit: Anna Pronenko/Panoramio Lenin spent a few days in the hayloft of Yemelyanov’s barn, but when rumors reached St. Petersburg that Lenin was working as a fitter in the arms factory, it became obvious that couldn't stay there for long because Yemelyanov’s residence could be searched at any moment. So Yemelyanov transferred Lenin and Zinoviev in the guise of Finnish mowers to the deserted south-eastern shore of a lake. There, by the lakeside, in a small clearing surrounded by dense bushes, Yemelyanov helped Lenin and Zinoviev build a small hut from branches and covered with hay. A haystack was erected next to the hut, because Lenin and his friend would be living as Finnish peasant making hay. Lenin tried to make the best he could of things. Two tree stumps served as table and chair. A large stack recess held papers and manuscripts brought to him by various members of Yemelyanov’s family, who also provided food for the fugitives. Near the hut, a pot hung from stakes where tea was made. For relaxation, Lenin and Zinoviev helped Yemelyanov mow the hay. They even went swimming. But at night mosquitoes made life miserable.