Thousands of Swiss people were living in Russia when the revolution broke out in 1917. At the same time, Russian intellectuals, artists and socialists were also living in Switzerland, including Lenin, who was living in Geneva, Bern and Zurich. The Bolshevik revolution started actually in Switzerland, in Zurich to be more precise, from where Vladimir Iljitsj Oeljanov, better known as Lenin (1870-1924) left to St. Petersburg on 9 April 1917, to organize the violent Bolshevik take-over in October 1917. The exhibition tells the story of the ties linking the two countries at a time of upheaval and provides an overview of Russia’s political and cultural development during this period.  Arond 25 000 Swiss citizens lived in Russia these days. Fritz Platter and his wife were committed to the cause and even organized Lenins´trip from Zurich via other countries to Russia in april 1917. It didn´t help them, because both fell victim to the terror of Stalin. The exhibition was created in partnership with the German Historical Museum (Deutsches Historisches Museum Berlin).